On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, our group met in Harvard Square for ice cream and coffee, sitting near the Charles River. We said some good-byes to au pairs leaving and hellos to au pairs arriving.
Tag Archives: counselor
Au Pairs celebrate Valentine’s Day
This month we had a Valentine’s meeting at my house. We had a great turnout for a weekday night. We enjoyed Valentine’s treats and au pairs had a great time connecting with each other.
During this meeting, we welcomed new au pairs Chura and Sarah. We also discussed taxes which can feel daunting to au pairs.
For more photos of our meeting, go to Valentine’s 2016
September Barbecue
Our cluster meeting in September was a barbecue at my house. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and we had the meeting inside. Still, we had a good time. The turnout was great now that everybody is done traveling and the summer au pairs have arrived. We welcomed Pim, Paula, Basia, Lara, Naemi and Fernanda to our cluster. It was nice to see the new au pairs starting to make connections.
At this meeting we also discussed childcare issues such as how to approach difficult behaviors. For more photos please visit September 2015
Au Pairs do yoga
This month, we met at Together in Motion in Arlington to practice yoga together. Au pairs seemed to have a good time doing so.
Afterwards, we had some time to chat and connect. We said good-bye to Erika who is going back to Italy, and we welcomed Marketa from the Czech Republic. It is nice to see how my au pairs use these meetings to connect with each other. Au pairs also check in with me about issues that come up for them.
For more photos, go to Yoga 2015
Au Pair Breakfast
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.
Au Pairs take a yoga class
This month I gathered my au pairs at Together in Motion in East Arlington and taught a yoga class for them. It was a very unusual class, as there was lots of talking and giggling involved. We had a great time together and gathered afterwards in the lobby to enjoy some refreshments.
We said good-bye to Ant and Hongmei who will leave in June after being au pairs for two years. What an accomplishment! Congratulations! We also welcomed German au pair Lara who arrived this month.
For more photos from our meeting go to Au Pair Yoga
Au Pairs visit Prudential Center Skywalk
This month, we met another Boston area cluster for a visit to the Prudential Center Skywalk. Au pairs enjoyed the view from the 50th floor despite the fact that it was cloudy. Au pairs also learned a lot about Boston by using the audio tour device and reading up on Boston facts.
Afterwards, we walked over to Vapiano restaurant in the theater district. Counselors distributed a handout about spring activities, including child safety reminders. Each quarter, counselors hold a childcare/safety meeting with au pairs in an effort to ensure good quality childcare for their host families.
View from the top
For more photos of our meeting, go to Skywalk 2012.
Boston area au pairs go snowtubing
Nashoba Valley Snowtubing
This month, our au pair cluster met 3 others for snowtubing at Nashoba Valley. Some au pairs had never experienced snow and were excited to participate.
With lots of man-made snow and colder temperatures, the conditions for snowtubing were excellent: the slopes were icy and fast and au pairs flew down the hill! Lots of excited screams!
our cluster
Counselors brought a cake and hot chocolate which were welcome by au pairs who came in from the cold.
For more photos of our event please go to snowtubing 2012.
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
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
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
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
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
For more pictures of our maple sugaring tour go to maple sugaring photos