Monthly Archives: September 2020

Comprehensive List of Online Resources for Education

Online Education Options for Au Pairs:  Local in-person classes should be a priority for achieving the education component. If you are not able to find a local in person course your CC can discuss online options. Only ONE online course can be taken at at time. ONE PER SEMESTER.

Education:
Your course will be approved if these things are met:
1. Comes from an accredited college, university or technical college approved by the DOS.
2. The college, university, or technical school must be an American school.
3. Two online courses were not taken at the same time in the same semester.
3. Provide a certificate and proof of registration. These must be EMAILED to your community counselor. 
4. All classes must be finished by the end of your 10.5 th month….45 days before the end of your year. If you are extending with a new family, the education has to be finished by the 8th month of your term. 
Please submit all certificates at the time you finish them by emailing them to the counselor at her APIA address. Don’t wait to send all at once. 
5. 72 hours or 7.2 CEUs must be achieved to extend a term.
6. Au pairs in their extension term must also earn 72 hours for a one-year extension or a 9-month extension. 36 hours or 3.6 CEUs for a 6-month extension.
7.. A special 6-month extension requires 36 hours or 3.6 CEUs.
8. The education allowance is available to assist with earning certificates or paying tuition for a class. It is not paid directly to the Au pair. Maximum of 500.00 per year for the first term or a 12-month or 9-month extension.  Maximum of 250.00 for a 6-month extension.

ALL CLasses must be from an accredited, USA college or university! 

Some classes are grouped together and are called a ” Specialization”. This means that each course within the specialization group must be taken and will give a specific amount of hours. Please count each course’s hours to total how many you will achieve.

Most Popular Search Mechanisms: NOT all classes found will be approved by the State Department. Check with your counselor BEFORE you sign up! 

www.coursera.org

www.edx.org

www.ed2go.com/

https://online-learning.harvard.edu/catalog

Most Popular Courses:

20 hours The Science of Well Being – www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being

22 hours Dog Emotion and Cognition – www.coursera.org/learn/dog-emotion-and-cognition

Interior Design – www.ed2go.com/courses/arts-and-design/graphic-arts/ilc/introduction-to-interior-design

Introduction to Hospitality and Tourism Industry – https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-to-hospitality-and-tourism-industry

Computer Science for Business Professionals – https://online-learning.harvard.edu/course/cs50s-computer-science-business-professionals?delta=0

How to Write an Essay – https://www.edx.org/course/how-to-write-an-essay

Tricky American English Pronunciation – https://www.classcentral.com/course/tricky-american-english-pronunciation-8274

Fundamentals of Supervision and Management – www.ed2go.com/courses/business/soft-skills/ilc/fundamentals-of-supervision-and-management

This course is from the University of Pennsylvania and yields 40 hours.  It is self-paced. You can do the work whenever you have time. There is no specific class time.

English for Career Development – https://www.coursera.org/learn/careerdevelopment

Improve your English Communication Skills – https://www.coursera.org/specializations/improve-english?

Photography – www.ed2go.com/schoolcraft/online-courses/secrets-of-better-photography/

Culinary Arts – https://classroomaupair.org/intro-to-culinary-arts/

Best Course for 5 Hours:

Fairfax University of America – Online Museum Courses https://www.fxua.edu/sls/programs/non-intensive-esl/#museum-classes

Best ESL/TOEFL Courses:

The University of California at Irvine offers a series of classes: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/intermediate-grammar

International Language Institute – DC – www.ilidc.com

LADO – DC Metro Area – www.lado.com

UCEDA – https://uceda.edu/toefl-preparation/ or https://uceda.edu/aupair/ for ESL classes, too.

Kenton County Adult ESL – https://www.kentonesl.org/

Community College of Allegheny County – Grammar Refresher – https://www.ed2go.com/ccac/online-courses/grammar-refresher

Zoni Language Center – Intermediate Conversations – www.zoni.edu/intensive-english-program/

Hudson County Community College – English Skills for Real Life Situations – https://classroomaupair.org/english

Prince Georges Community College – ESL – https://www.pgcc.edu/go/adulteducationesl/

Fairfax Universtiy of America – https://www.fxua.edu/sls/programs/non-intensive-esl/

Georgia Tech Language Institute – https://esl.gatech.edu/additional-programs/short-courses

International Language Institute – www.ilidc.com

https://www.ed2go.com/courses/language/languages/ilc/speed-spanish

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/learn-spanish

More Popular Choices:

Teaching English courses:     https://www.coursera.org/learn/tesol-writing

Learning Across America and Learning Express – https://www.learningacrossamerica.net/find-your-class

Classroom Au Pair – www.classroomaupair.org

Psychology Classes:

Yale University:   One course gives  15 hours           https://www.coursera.org/learn/introduction-psychology?recoOrder=5&utm_medium=email&utm_source=recommendations&utm_campaign=Kl0YwECzEeuTnfsZ4aha4w

Penn State University:  five courses in the specialization giving 80 hours.           https://www.coursera.org/specializations/positivepsychology?recoOrder=8&utm_medium=email&utm_source=recommendations&utm_campaign=Kl0YwECzEeuTnfsZ4aha4w

Wesleyan Unversity 37 hours     https://www.coursera.org/learn/social-psychology?

 For 72 hours in one specialization certificate:

English   80 hours https://www.coursera.org/specializations/american-english-pronunciation

Psychology 80 https://www.coursera.org/specializations/positivepsychology?

Digital Marketing 80 hours https://www.coursera.org/specializations/digital-marketing

Tie Dying is fun for groovy Au pairs! 

 Tie Dying is fun for groovy Au pairs!

 This is a very fun activity to share with your preschool and up age host children, just remember to wear gloves. This is best done outside. PRO TIP : The dye will change the color of anything it touches, even skin so use caution! 

  1. All items must be made of 100% cotton. Check the label and confirm 100% cotton. You can use worn items that have a stain or need a new life! Pale colors can be tie-dyed if you choose coordinating colors. Pillowcases, t-shirts, hoodies, tote bags- All great choices!
  2. Wash your item before tie-dying it. The item can be wet or dry for the dye.
  3. Check out this web site for details about creating specific patterns on your garment. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/293226625713649961/?autologin=true&lp=true 
  4. Make a place to tie dye– A  table with a plastic table cloth or large trash bag works great. Lay a couple of paper towels directly under the item to absorb the run off dye.
  5. Make your pattern by folding, twisting, or wrapping the item and rubber band it together very tightly. Use a lot of rubber bands.  Remember that inside the folds will be left white.
  6. Use two or three coordinating colors for the best results. If you use more colors it will bleed together and make a brown color.  Wear plastic gloves or you will be tie-dyed too!
  7. Place in a zip lock bag and leave for 24 hours.
  8. Take out of the bag ( wearing plastic gloves) and lay in the grass or hang in some way off the ground and wash off the excess dye with a garden hose. The dye will change the color of most porous hard surfaces- like driveways, so grass is best.
  9. Wash the item by itself once using cold water. After one or two times of wearing and washing by itself,  you can wash along with other clothes. The item will not bleed onto other clothes.
  10.  Enjoy your creation for years to come!   * For our projects we used Tulip brand tie-dye kits  that can be found at many retail stores or on-line.

Here are a few of the Au Pair projects!

Tie dyeIMG_4142 IMG_4144 IMG_9486 IMG_9489imagejpeg_0IMG_4145