Monthly Archives: November 2013

Thanksgiving

THANKSGIVING

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Time for Family & Friends

In The United States Thanksgiving tradition began in 1621 after the first harvest by the Pilgrims who came from England.  New York was the first state to celebrate Thanksgiving in 1817 and in 1863 it became an official holiday.

Thanksgiving is generally seen as a time to get together with loved ones, eat a ridiculously large amount of food, watch some football, and of course give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. Many homes will be decorated with horns of plenty, dried corn, and other ’symbols’ of Thanksgiving.  Schoolchildren across America will ‘reenact’ Thanksgiving by dressing as either pilgrims or Wampanoag Indians.

230512-Royalty-Free-RF-Clipart-Illustration-Of-Happy-Pilgrim-Children-Serving-A-Thanksgiving-Turkey Start a Thankful List with the children:

Have each child write a list of things he or she is thankful for and hang it on the refrigerator.  Keep adding to the list by asking the children at least once a day what they were thankful for that day. If the child is too young to write, have the child tell you what he/she is thankful for and you write it down.

This could be shared with the family at the Thanksgiving table!

Au Pairs play laser tag

This month, we joined another Boston cluster and visited Lasercraze in Woburn for a heated game of laser tag.   Adrenaline was pumping as 2 teams of 20 pairs each competed against each other in this riveting game.  It is amazing to observe how competitive one can be!

We also enjoyed sitting together, having refreshments and talking about au pair business.

For more photos, please go to Lasertag.

October Cluster Meeting

For October, I had planned a fun host family and au pair picnic at Honey Pot Hill Orchard in Stow.  Unfortunately, that had to be cancelled due to rain.   We had the au pair meeting at my house instead.   In true fall fashion, we had apple cider donuts and apple cider.  We also had a good-bye cake, saying our official good-byes to Lilly, Ning and Allegra who are leaving our cluster the next month.

For more photos of this meeting, you can go to October 2013.

Helpful Webinars for Au Pairs

Webinar Schedule (All times Eastern time zone)

October 15

8 pm               Nutrition. Good eating for you and your kids

9 pm               It’s Up to You. Making the most of your Au Pair year

10 pm             Activities to do with Preschoolers

October 29

11 am             Language Development: Birth and beyond

12 noon         Tantrums are no fun for anyone. Help, my kids are fighting again!

1 pm               American holidays: what they are, activities and getting through

the holiday blues

November  11

8 pm               Managing play with more than one child

9 pm               Repatriation

10 pm             Feeling Sad or Stressed: Tips for gaining balance in your life

November 26

11 am             Help! My kids are fighting again

12 noon         Activities for School Age Kids

1 pm               Homesickness. Making it through

December 5

8 pm               Activities to do with Preschoolers

December 6

9 pm               Successfully communicating with your host family

December 9

10 am             Homework: Finding the right strategy for your child

December 15

9 pm               Homesickness. Making it through

10 pm             Toilet Training 101

December 17

8 pm               Tantrums are no fun for anyone