Tag Archives: au pairs

Social Distancing: 5 Online Adventures for Kids

Reading, playing, and doing art projects are always great ways to entertain children and keep them physically active and learning. It’s a good idea to limit screen time. But, in this time of social distancing, technology can play an important role in allowing kids to see and connect with the world outside of their homes. Many online resources are popping up to create those opportunities.

Here are five to get you started:

And if kids have questions about the coronavirus, Live Science has created an ultimate kids’ guide to the new coronavirus that has lots of information and is appropriate for school-aged kids.

Handling Expenses

Host parents often ask for suggestions on how best to handle common expenses that occur as au pairs are caring for the children.

Miscellaneous Expenses

There are different ways to handle the little day to day expenses that come up.  Things like when an au pair takes the kids out for ice cream or picks up a gallon of milk.  Some families keep a cookie jar fund, a little cash that they set aside weekly or monthly for these types of expenses. Others give their au pair a prepaid debit card for this purpose. Below are some suggestions for avoiding problems with expenses.

Host Families

  • It’s important to be clear about how long this money should last and what types of expenses are approved.
  • Let the au pair know whether or not you expect receipts.

Au Pairs

  • Only spend the money on approved expenses.
  • If it is something you are not sure about, ask first.
  • Put your receipts in the cookie jar in place of the money to avoid any confusion.

Gas and Fare Cards 

Host families are responsible for the au pair’s transportation costs: to and from classes, cluster meetings and when driving the kids.

It is a good idea to figure out how much gas an au pair will use for these trips and either put gas in the car or give a gas allowance.   If your au pair is riding to classes or cluster meetings with another au pair, you should offer to share the cost of gas.

Au pairs are responsible for their own transportation at all other times.  You should replace the amount of gas used for personal use.

Photo: Andrea Travillian

NCR Trail Bike Ride with Baltimore cluster

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Last Sunday a few members of the Baltimore APIA cluster met up at the NCR Trail in Hunt Valley to enjoy a bike ride from the Ashland Road starting point. We rode 6 miles and enjoyed a light picnic and some conversation. It was the first time for everyone there to discover this great trail which is part of the Rails to Trails project. Now they know where they can go to enjoy the beauty of nature and get a little exercise. Bikes can be rented just across the street from the Ashland starting point at Hunt Valley Village, www.HuntValleyVillage.com.

 

Childcare with a Cultural Flare ~ Simplify your Life!

DSC_0143If interested in learning more about hosting an au pair in your home to see if this would meet your childcare needs please stop by my Au Pair in America table at The Festival on the Green at the Crofton Country Club located at 1691 Crofton Parkway between the hours of 10am and 4pm on September 26th. I will have au pairs on hand to answer any of your questions. If you are not in the market please feel free to let others know that may be! Have a great weekend. For more information about us visit our website at www.aupairinamerica.com.

Au Pairs and their children enjoy reading books at The JNP Project

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In the month of July au pairs from Au Pair in America and their children met in downtown Annapolis at The JNP Project for a private story time.  Jane & Jake and all the undersea characters from Awesome were introduced to the children and they had a blast, and DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE!  The JNP Project™ [Jane Not Plain] is a movement nurturing character, courage, and confidence (healthy inner awesome self-esteem) in all boys and girls (5-12+), while helping them discover and make choices from their inner awesome!  We had so much fun reading, coloring, dancing, singing and exploring the first adventure that we plan on meeting here once a month for coffee and reading time.  The great thing was that the children remembered the story from the previous month and couldn’t wait to move onto the next book!  The JNP Project offers many on-line activities for childcare providers to engage with the children under their charge.  For more information on this great day visit http://thejnpproject.com/kids-summer-reading-fun-with-jane-and-jake-in-awesome/.

Au Pairs meet at the GoKarts in Crofton

DSC_0362Go Kart racing has been a popular pastime for about 50 years in the U.S. and has been the first step for many drivers who eventually go on to professional racing in NASCAR, Formula 1 and the Indy Racing League.  And there are some women’s names in the professional racing world too, such as Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher.  While we may not have been thinking about such high aspirations when we joined together for a couple of hours of fun this past Sunday at Crofton Go-Karts, we surely exhibited the adventurous spirit Au Pairing bring out in person!

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Fifty-two Au Pairs Enjoy an America favorite ~ An Oriole Baseball Game in Baltimore

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On May 16, 2015, au pairs from the Baltimore, Columbia and Annapolis clusters came together to see the Orioles play baseball at Oriole Park at Camden Yards Stadium in downtown Baltimore. In total 52 au pairs came out to enjoy the day and to experience one of America’s favorite forms of entertainment!  So many countries from around the globe were represented we lost track.  While the sun was shining and the weather was very hot the Orioles pulled off a win against the Los Angeles Angels!

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Piney Orchard Street Festival May 16th 11AM to 6PM

Piney Orchard Street Festival 2015Interested in learning more about hosting an au pair in your home. Come visit my table at the Piney Orchard Street Festival. I will be located in the parking lot of the Community Center (not on the main street because this festival has grown so much in recent years!) where there will be lots of kid friendly vendors. I will also have au pairs on hand to help answer any of your questions. Great family fun event with lots of live music, food and even pony rides!

So What is Presidents Day Anyway?

Presidents DayPresidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birthday” by the federal government. Traditionally celebrated on February 22 ~ Washington’s actual day of birth ~ the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present. To see a listing of all U.S. presidents go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents. Click on each president to find out who they were and what they achieved during their presidency. Most American school children have to learn their presidents so this is a great site to go through with them and test their knowledge!  Have fun.  You may  learn something new.