Monthly Archives: February 2010

Au Pair Valentine's Fun

Valentines Au Pair Meeting

Valentine's Au Pair Meeting

For our February cluster meeting, I invited my au pair group for a Valentine’s Extravaganza at my house.   Au pairs had a choice of making heart-shaped pizzas, decorating heart-shaped cookies and making a heart craft.  After eating their pizzas, many au pairs decorated cookies and made a captured heart craft as  Valentines for their their host children.

Making heart-shaped pizza

Making heart-shaped pizza

It is a requirement of the Au Pair in America program that one of the monthly cluster meetings each quarter focuses on child care, child development and/or child safety.  During this week’s meeting, we discussed cultural differences and how they can affect child care as well as the relationship between au pairs and host families.  We discussed problems that might come up and how to prevent them.

Decorated Cookies
Check out those hearts

For more photos of our cluster meeting, check out Valentine’s Cluster Meeting.

Feedback from Host Mother

“While there are challenges with every childcare experience, I have been pleasantly surprised by almost every Au Pair I have had and they just keep getting better and better!!  My children have a wonderful sense of being citizens of the world as well as a nation.  They have a better understanding of geography and languages as well.  I have the security of knowing that my childcare will always show up for work because she lives with us.  And the comfort of truly getting to know the person whom my kids play with and depend on while I am at work.  The price tag is also extremely attractive.  It is most definitely one of the most affordable childcare option is you work at least 4 days a week or have multiple children.”
C.M, Host Mother