In March, we met at Together in Motion for a yoga class taught by me. 11 au pairs participated and we had a good class.
Afterwards, we gathered for some food and discussions. Taxes were still a big topic as tax day is April 15, and we discussed that in detail. We also had our quarterly childcare/safety meeting and discussed host family expectations with regard to electronics use and engaging children in activities.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures!
In February, we had a Valentine’s meeting at my house which included sweet Valentine’s treats. Since taxes are due in April, we also discussed the process of filing taxes for au pairs. It is an easy process, but it doesn’t feel so easy when you are from a different country and haven’t done it before.
It was nice sitting around the table and chatting. It is always a good chance for au pairs to exchange experiences and get feedback from others. We also said good-bye to Jaque, who left our cluster in January.
For our cluster meeting this month, we joined 4 other Boston area au pair clusters for snowtubing at Nashoba Valley. Approximately 50 au pairs hit the slopes in pleasant temperatures.
This month we said good-bye to Deborah and to Mayela, and we welcomed Vanessa and Jana. We took some time in the lodge to connect before heading out and enjoyed refreshments.
For more photos, please visit Snowtubing 2014
Last week, we had our annual au pair holiday party. We joined another cluster in Lexington and went to the Yantze River Restaurant in Lexington Center.
Au pairs ate from the plentiful buffet, did a yankee swap game and sang holiday songs in their language. 
We ended the meeting by caroling around the Lexington Center Christmas tree.
For more photos and some videos please visit Holiday Party
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.
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 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.
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.
This is one of my favorite regional events that we offer for our Boston area au pairs: a Harvard University tour. Counselor Patti Estabrook organized it this year and almost 100 au pairs showed up on a beautiful fall day.
Au pairs learned about student life and the diversity of one Americas oldest and most prestigious schools. Tour guides provided 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?
For more photos, please visit Harvard Tour 2013.
This month we congregated at my house for a breakfast in my backyard. We had a beautiful day with warm temperatures.
September is always a big cluster meeting. Many new au pairs have arrived over the summer and everybody is home now after traveling over the summer. It always is a good chance for the new and more seasoned au pairs to intermingle and get to know each other. Many phone numbers were exchanged! Some au pairs also brought their host kids who had a good time playing with each other in the backyard.
It was time for our quarterly childcare focus talk. This time we read and talked about “A Memorandum from a Child” which discusses constructive ways to interact constructively with children.
For more photos, please go to September 2013 breakfast.
Homework Hassles
Once school begins, children of all ages have homework. Some children complete their homework without any adult help while other children need lots of help.
Homework is very important because it helps children practice and strengthen academic skills, teaches time management, initiative, self-reliance, and resourcefulness. Homework also teaches children responsibility, the sense of accountability for mistakes and successes, and it gives them a sense of autonomy as teachers assign tasks to them rather than the parents or the Au Pair.
Support, encouragement and guidance are key in helping a child finish homework assignments. What works for one child may not work for another. Here are a few ideas that might be useful when dealing with homework:
*Decide on a quiet place to do homework.
*Check with host parents if the television or stereo can be on while studying.
*Talk about a reasonable homework schedule. Should homework be done after school or after dinner?
*Should privileges be removed from a child that procrastinates?
*Can the child talk on the telephone or play with friends before they work on homework?
*Give the child a reasonable break. Some children can sit for an hour and do homework while others can only concentrate for fifteen minutes.
*Are there consequences for not doing homework?
*How much assistance should the au pair provide if the child asks for help?
Also:
*Be patient. Homework situations can be frustrating for the child and au pair especially if the situation turns into a power struggle.
*Do NOT get angry with the child. Discuss your frustrations with the host parents.
*Let host parents know if the quantity of the homework is overwhelming for the child.
*Show enthusiasm when the child puts forth a good effort.
*Do NOT do the homework for the child.
With these in mind, helping a child do homework should be much easier and more productive.
Please remember: Most of you have been trained in British English rather than American English. You may encounter words that are spelled differently here than what you originally learned – such as color (colour), pajamas (pyjamas), plow (plough) and harbor (harbour). When in doubt, check a dictionary.
