Monthly Archives: September 2012

September National Prepardness Month

Au Pair in America cares about safety and has a partnership with the Red Cross. We want to help keep our families safe and prepared all year. The American Red Cross has named September as National Preparedness Month. The purpose of National Preparedness Month is to stress the importance of creating a family disaster plan in order to be prepared in case of an emergency or national disaster. Families should be prepared for all types of emergencies, this includes a fire, winter storm, tornado, hurricane, etc. Developing a national disaster  plan is extremely important for every family to have. Every household should have the following covered:

  • Where to meet if a disaster happens (be prepared to lose cell service)
  • An emergency kit prepared for the home and car

Your emergency kit should include:

  • Identification for all family members (Social Security card, passport, license, etc.)
  • First aid kit
  • Water
  • Food
  • Flashlight
  • Batteries
  • Local Maps
  • Manual can opener
  • Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
  • Cell phone with chargers for car and basic outlet
  • Dust mask

To find more detailed information provided by FEMA click here!

Au Pair in America Annual Host Family Picnic

This year, 8 Boston area counselors organized the annual host family picnic at Carver Hill Orchard in Stow, MA.   This event gives host families and au pairs the opportunity to meet other families and au pairs in the program.  It also satisfies the State Department requirement to offer a host family workshop at least once per year.    We offered handouts and discussions about topics related to the host family-au pair relationship, such as the adaptation process.

On a beautiful fall day, host families and au pairs enjoyed apple and pumpkin picking, mingling with each other as well as freshly baked cider donuts, apple cider and hayrides provided by Au Pair in America.  The children had a choice of different art tables, which included fall coloring sheets and stencils, wood cut fall stamps as well as apple prints.

Not only do events like these bring people together, but it also provides an opportunity for our host families to share this New England tradition of going out into the apple orchard in the fall with their au pairs, many of who just arrived over the summer.

For more photos of the picnic, go to Host Family Picnic 2012 and Host Family Picnic – 2012

For a slideshow of the event, please visit Host Family Picnic slideshow

Fall is in the air

September 22- Fall begins.

As the weather cools and the leaves start to change color it is apple-picking season in most parts of the United States.  I hope that many of you will come to our apple picking event this Saturday.  Here are some other local orchards:  http://www.pickyourown.org/mass.htm

Try these simple apple recipes, no matter where you get your apples:

  • Applesauce is very simple to make. Remove the core and quarter the apples. If you leave the peel on during cooking it will give the applesauce a pink color. When the apples are very soft, remove any peel that is left, mash the pulp or put it through a sieve. Add sugar if needed.
  • Try making Dried Apple Rings. They can be used as a nutritious snack. Peel, core and slice apples into 1/8 inch rings (Macintosh or Golden Delicious apples work best). Dip each ring into a mixture of lemon juice and water to help the apples keep their color. Pull a piece of string through the center of each ring and hang in a dry, warm place. They take 1-2 weeks to dry and become chewy.

Au Pairs Visit Harvard

Over 80 Boston area au pairs attended the Harvard tour, our September Regional Event.  On a beautiful September day, they came to Cambridge to learn about student life and the diversity of one Americas oldest and most prestigious schools.

John Harvard #3 Statue of Liberty #1 Lincoln Memorial #2

Tour guides provided them with historical facts and stories.  Did you know that the statue of John Harvard (which by the way is not John Harvard, but a student who was asked to model, in the absence of any known pictures of John) is the 3rd most photographed statue in the country?   Want to guess what the top two are?    Needless to say the day was full of interesting facts and sights of Harvard!

For more photos, go to Harvard Tour 2012

Au Pair Breakfast

This month our monthly meeting was a breakfast at my house.    It must have been my biggest meeting ever!   19 of my au pairs attended, and since many of them take care of children during the day, some of them even brought their children.  As you can see, it was a crowd!   Fortunately we had a nice day and could sit out in the backyard, and the kids had the chance to run around and play.

With many new au pairs arriving over the summer, this meeting was a chance for the new arrivals to meet each other and the more seasoned au pairs in the group.    We said good-bye to Ramata who will go back to France and to Karolina who is going back to Poland.    Both of them gave advice to the new au pairs on how to have a successful au pair year.

This month we also had our required child care & safety discussion.  As per State Department regulations, we need to offer this at least once every three months.    We discussed discipline and au pairs were able to bring in their own experiences and listen to what others had to contribute.

For more photos from this meeting, go to Au Pair Breakfast.

Back to School Tips

It’s the time of year where the schedule changes and the lazy days of summer come to an end.  This can mean changes to the au pair’s schedule.  It is a good idea for host parents and au pairs to have a discussion about any changes including new school schedules, after school activities and homework expectations.

Of course one of the important aspects of being an au pair is keeping the children safe.  Here are some back to school safety tips that I found on the internet:

Traveling to and from School

1. Plan a walking route to school or the bus stop. Choose the most direct way with the fewest street crossings and, if possible, with intersections that have crossing guards.

2. Walk the route with your child beforehand. Tell him or her to stay away from parks, vacant lots, fields and other places where there aren’t many people around.

3. Teach your child never to talk to strangers or accept rides or gifts from strangers. Remember, a stranger is anyone you or your children don’t know well or don’t trust.

4. Be sure your child walks to and from school with a sibling, friend, or neighbor.

5. Teach your kids — whether walking, biking, or riding the bus to school — to obey all traffic signals, signs and traffic officers. Remind them to be extra careful in bad weather.

6. When driving kids, deliver and pick them up as close to the school as possible. Don’t leave until they are in the schoolyard or building

7. If your child bikes to school, make sure he wears a helmet that meets one of the safety standards (U.S. CPSC, Snell, ANSI, ASTM, or Canadian). Research indicates that a helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by up to 85 percent.

8. If your child rides a scooter to school, make sure she wears sturdy shoes, a helmet, kneepads and elbow pads. Children under age 12 should not ride motorized scooters, according to recent recommendations from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

9. Teach children to arrive at the bus stop early, stay out of the street, wait for the bus to come to a complete stop before approaching the street, watch for cars and avoid the driver’s blind spot.

10. Remind your children to stay seated at all times and keep their heads and arms inside the bus while riding. When exiting the bus, children should wait until the bus comes to a complete stop, exit from the front using the handrail to avoid falls and cross the street at least 10 feet (or 10 giant steps) in front of the bus.

11. Tell your child not to bend down in front of the bus to tie shoes or pick up objects, as the driver may not see him before starting to move.

12. Be sure that your child knows his or her home phone number and address, your work number, the number of another trusted adult and how to call 911 for emergencies.