Yearly Archives: 2011

Au Pair in America Cultural Fair

On April 30, Au Pair in America sponsored a day of cultural education and fun at the Boston Children’s Museum.   With the help of local community counselors who each oversees a group of au pairs during their stay in the US, au pairs  came prepared to represent their countries from around the world.    Over the course of the afternoon, hundreds of enthusiastic children and parents toured the exhibition.   They collected country stickers to put in a passport handed out to them,  received earth and skin friendly tattoos, had their faces painted with country flags, and chatted with au pairs.

Traditional dance in authentic costume highlighted the presentation by Thailand while the German au pairs entertained visitors with traditional German spring egg craft and painting.  South African au pairs proudly painted their country’s flag on smiling faces, while a  colorful and tempting piñata dangled over the Mexico booth.  The colorful Costa Rican booth among other things offered Costa Rican expressions in glitter that visitors could practice with the help of  au pairs.  Au pairs from many other countries served as international teachers of the culture and beauty of their homelands as well.  Photos of this great event are available on our cultural fair link below.

Pictures from the fair

Children's Spring Craft


Handprint Lilies

Age 5+ can do this project pretty much solo (you may want to help them form cones from the handprints, depending on how crafty they are).  Any age from baby on up can contribute handprints for the project.

Materials:

  • construction paper  (green for leaves and a flower color)
  • straw
  • scissors
  • pencil
  • scotch tape
  • OPTIONAL:  pipecleaner

Instructions:

  • trace child’s hand onto a piece of construction paper, rounding out the palm
  • cut out the handprint

  • roll the palm into a cone and tape.  Don’t worry about the hole being too small, we can snip it open a bit if needed.

  • Cut pipecleaner into 1/4s.
  • Fold into a V shape
  • Push V into end of straw and put a piece of tape around.
  • Curl a bit.

  • Put end of straw into flower and push through so the pipecleaner is inside the flower.
  • Wrap each finger around a pencil to curl.

  • Cut a long leaf shape out of green construction paper and tape onto the straw.  Curl the leaf like you did the fingers.
  • We put two leaves on each stem.
  • An odd number of flowers always seem to look nicer in a vase.

2011 Cultural Fair

2010 Cultural Fair

2010 Cultural Fair

  • Where: 300 Congress St, Boston, MA 02210
  • Date: April 30, 2011
  • Time: 11:00am–2:00pm

  • Local Au Pairs to participate in an International Cultural Fair at Boston Children’s Museum on April 30th On Saturday, April, 30th, au pairs from local families will host an International Children’s Cultural Fair at the Boston Children’s Museum from 11am to 2pm.  The au pairs, who are a part of Au Pair in America live with local host families for a year and care for their children.    The fair will be a celebration of culture geared toward families and children.  The au pairs will share songs, traditional dances, crafts and facts about their countries.  Children will be given a ‘passport card’ to collect country flags as they visit the displays which have been put together by au pairs from the many different countries.    All are welcome to attend the event at Boston Children’s Museum at 300 Congress Street, Boston MA.   The cultural fair is a great opportunity to interact with these young women who come from many countries around the world.    Pictures of last year’s fair.

Apply By April 30 and Save $700!

promo_star_700Trust the world’s most experienced
au pair program.

Promotion Deadline Reminder:
Apply by April 30 and Save $700!

families_welcome

Apply before Saturday, April 30, 2011, and we will waive the $350 application fee.

Save an additional $350 when you match by June 30th, 2011! Register today to access to hundreds of au pair profiles with no obligation.

Learn more about these special offer for host families by contacting Alex Ramirez at (800) 928-7247 ext. 5161 or at aramirez@aifs.com.

Earth Day      April 22earth

For over 40 years, Earth Day has inspired and mobilized people and organizations worldwide to demonstrate their commitment to environmental protection.  Visit the official website at http://www.earthday.org/

Check out what is going on around the world to protect our planet.

Au Pairs visit the Prudential Center Skywalk

In addition to monthly meetings offered by each counselor to her au pair group, Au Pair in America counselors in the Boston area organize a regional event once a month that is open to all Au Pair in America au pairs in the Boston area.   This month, 50 au pairs joined me and two other local counselors for the Prudential Center Skywalk

View of Boston

View of Boston

Blue, sunny skies made for breathtaking views from the 50th floor.  Au Pairs were able to do an audio tour and learn more about the city of Boston and its landmarks.  They all enjoyed getting to know the city they chose to come to a bit better.  A true cultural exchange experience!

To see more photos of our regional event, please go to Skywalk 2011 or Heike’s Pictures

Boston area au pairs go maple sugaring

In an effort to bring relevant cultural experiences to our au pairs, counselor Heike and I took our groups to a maple sugaring tour at the Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary in Belmont.    We were welcomed by two experienced nature guides who ventured out into the snowy landscape with us to teach us about about maple sugaring.

a walk in the woods

a walk in the woods

We talked about and visited several maple trees, among them a red maple, a striped maple and of course, the sugar maple which is used to make maple syrup.  We learned how to differentiate them by the way their leaves and buds look or how the branches come out of the trunk.

We ended up at a tapped sugar maple tree and observed the sap dripping into the bucket attached to the trunk.    We learned that it takes a set of perfect weather conditions to come together to make the sap that is stored in the roots in winter to start flowing up the trunk.   It is a combination of cold nights and warm days, conditions that can be found in the Northeastern US and Canada.  When we tasted the sap, we all expected it to taste a lot sweeter than it was.  It is the process of boiling down the sap that converts it into sweet syrup.

tapped maple tree

tapped maple tree

sugar shack

sugar shack

As part of the tour, we visited a fake sugar shack and the guides explained the process of how maple sap is boiled down to maple syrup.  We learned that it takes 40 cups of sugar maple sap to make one cup of maple syrup!  We got a chance to go into the kitchen and boil down some maple sap.   We also tasted “fake” maple syrup and the real deal and had to guess which is which.

taste test

taste test

At the end of the tour, a nice surprise was waiting for us:  vanilla ice cream with maple syrup, dried blueberries and cranberries.

Maple Sugaring Group

Maple Sugaring Group

For more pictures of our maple sugaring tour go to maple sugaring photos

Valentine fun at February au pair meeting

Valentine’s Day may not be celebrated in countries that my au pairs come from.  However, they are part of an American family now and sharing American customs provides an important cultural learning experience for them.   At our Valentine meeting it was all about hearts: eating heart-shaped cake, cookies, pancakes and candy and making heart necklaces.   We had so much fun together and au pairs shared their experiences with and feelings about Valentine’s Day.

We also said good-bye to Pearly from Thailand who has been an outstanding au pair with her current host family in Belmont for the last two years.  She leaves having gained another family and many valued friends.

For more picture of our February meeting please go to Valentine Meeting

Tax Information for Au Pairs

Taxes

Taxes have been a big topic lately and I’m sure there are lots of questions. I will go over tax questions at our cluster meeting next week.

Here are some of the basic questions:

Who is supposed to file taxes? – All au pairs (even those who don’t owe money)

Will all au pairs have to pay something? – No, it depends on when you arrived and how much money you earned last year.

When are 2010 taxes due? – April 18, 2011

Where can I get the tax form? –  1040NR-EZ Form

Where can I get the instruction booklet? – 1040NR-EZ Booklet

Where can I get detailed information and see a sample au pair tax form? – APIA Tax Info for Au Pairs

Boston Area Au Pairs go snowtubing

This January, our cluster met other Boston area au pairs to go night time snowtubing in Nashoba Valley.   We have  au pairs that come from countries that usually don’t get snow and many of them are excited to participate in winter activities.  After enjoying a cup of hot chocolate and treats, au pairs braved the elements and headed for the slopes.

For more pictures please visit Snowtubing 2011