Yearly Archives: 2011

Au Pairs Celebrate the Holiday Season!

“Ho Ho Ho” was frequently heard echoing through the Concord Scout House during our recent Holiday Gala!

Patti's cluster visit Santa

Patti's cluster visit Santa

With over 150 au pairs attending, the hall was filled with laughter and merriment. Starting with a full buffet that included foods from all over the world and the famous au pair punch, we moved on to a surprise visitor from the North Pole who made the rounds to hear from all of you! Photos with the big jolly man were taken with each of the clusters and then we were on to a Yankee Swap that was filled with true confessions and lots of laughter. We ended the evening with intrepid groups of au pairs from several countries who got up on stage to sing a holiday song from home. They were all fabulous and we have the photos and videos to prove it!

Holiday Gala Pictures

We wish you all A Very Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year!

November Line Dancing Kicks It!

Au pairs came together on a cold and darkening evening to dance the chills away, have fun, and get some exercise in the process! We saw several techniques that au pairs brought from their own dancing styles to incorporate into the traditional Line Dancing steps. With master instruction from an experienced cowgirl, everyone was dancing in no time at all! Check out our photos on photobucket!

Celebrating International Adventures at Barefoot Books!

Vennesa telling Tales from Namibia

Vennesa telling Tales from Namibia

This weekend Barefoot Books invited our au pairs to participate in their International Fair to launch their new Atlas.   It was a beautiful weekend in New England and families and children drifted in throughout the day.  Our Mexican au pairs, Ana and Elisa, started the morning off with Mexican stories and making flags.   They also got to enjoy a belly dancer who stopped by to entertain the children.

After lunch Venessa from Namibia shared some stories from her country.  She added to the fun by dressing in a traditional native dress!   In the craft room  Susan and her friend, both from the Czech Republic helped the children decorate eggs and look at pictures of beautiful Prague.   Later some African drummers and dancers helped the children dance to the beat of their music!

Barefoot Books November 4th Pics

Barefoot Books World Fair Blog

Apple Picking in October

Taste Testing!

Taste Testing!

Macoun, Macintosh, Granny Smith. What are they? They’re all tasty and all picked by many of the au pairs attending Patti and Melinda’s  October cluster meeting! Under sunny skies and a very brisk wind, au pairs enjoyed cider and apple cider donuts together while we greeted several new au pairs. We then said goodbye to Alicia Cornellisen and Franzi Goerisch who shared their advice about having a great experience this year.

Then it was into the apple orchards for those who wanted to try their hands at picking. And pick they did, as you can see from the photos! Bites were taken and bags were filled to overflowing with the apples that they had reached high for! Some au pairs decided to skip the orchard and they retreated inside to enjoy the gift shop and various samples. As both activities were wrapping up, a huge rain cloud overhead burst, the winds began to blow harder, and we all ran for cover.

Luckily, the apple picking was pretty much done! Now the pie baking begins!

More Pics Here!

September Cluster Meeting

Launching

Launching

Paddling on the Concord River

On a beautiful and warm September day, a large group of energetic au pairs rowed on the Concord River to the historic North Bridge. Most boats showed excellent technique, with only a few going around in circles and hitting the first stone bridge on the way before getting under it successfully. One of our au pairs biked over 8 miles to get to the meeting and then biked from the boathouse up to the North Bridge for the meeting. Everyone arrived safely and tying up at the dock, the boaters were admired by the tourists from around the world who were watching from the North Bridge.

After enjoying an energy snack of brownies and lemonade in a beautiful and peaceful field, we remembered 9-11 and its significance in our lives regardless of where we are from. Although many au pairs did not remember the specifics of the day, others had vivid memories of hearing the news.

Soon it was time to get back into the boats and fight a very strong current to get back to the boathouse. It was not easy and there were some panicky moments as one or two of the boats were pulled backwards, actually hitting the stately North Bridge or gliding uncontrollably into the woods on the riverside! Finally, all boats rounded the oxbow in the river with only one signaling distress. Eventually, Kevin of the Boat House took the rescue boat out to rescue these paddlers. It was quite exciting and as these tired au pairs motored back to the boathouse with their canoe in tow, it was clear that they had enjoyed the whole adventure! They joined the other au pairs who had already returned to the boathouse to share a few more minutes together before getting ready to start the week of a busy au pair.

view more pictures here!

Summer Evenings

At the batting cage!

At the batting cage!

Our end of summer cluster meeting was held at Kimballs Farm.   It was a perfect evening for ice cream and a perfect time to discuss classes and fall plans.  The meeting was to include practice (or try for the first time) golf, but a distant rumble of thunder and lightning changed the venue to the batting cages.  Amazing how many balls connected to the bats!!!   Way to go girls!

More pictures here ->  Cluster Pics

Au Pair in America at Barefoot Books

Barefoot Books
Barefoot Books

Summer is a time of travel and adventure for children and adults alike. So, how can we travel to experience this sense of adventure, yet stay right in town? If you live in our area, it’s easy! Just step into the world of Barefoot Books at 89 Thoreau Street, Concord.

With the help of our au pairs from Canada, South Africa, Thailand, and Brazil, children visiting the bookstore have had the chance to visit the rainforests of Brazil and the north country of Canada, they’ve learned about the elephants of Thailand, and they have traveled along with a child living on the veld in South Africa. Au pairs have read engaging stories to the children and they have also happily worked with the children to create crafts related to a different group of countries each week during the month of July . This summer program at Barefoot Books has paired au pairs who want to teach about their own countries with children from far and wide who have come to the bookstore to step into another culture with an au pair. 

Look at the photos to get your own view of our au pairs and the children at Barefoot Books. Join us in August to visit with au pairs from New Zealand and all of Europe. Welcome to another expression of cultural exchange provided by Au Pair in America!


More Barefoot Books Pics

Play Ball!

Farewells

Farewells

On a perfect summer evening, au pairs from our clusters enjoyed an evening full of American traditions. Starting the evening off with a typical prebaseball dinner, we greeted several new au pairs who were just beginning their years here. Celebrating two birthdays, and enjoying cake and watermelon, we said farewell to members of the clusters who have successfully completed their year here in the USA.  Also, attending our meeting were two former au pairs visiting their families for the summer and offering encouraging words to the group.
Moving on to the baseball field, it was clear that the au pairs were ready to play ball! Luckily, we had heavy hitters and speedy outfielders, power pitchers, and speedy base-women to keep the game in constant suspense. After those few confusing moments about what to do once the ball is actually hit with the bat, runners began to take advantage of momentary outfield confusion to score heavily. The final scores were too high to keep track! More importantly, each au pair showed her talent at home plate and while warming up, had her photo taken for valuable future baseball cards. The Red Sox talent scouts will be calling soon!

click here for more pics ->  Baseball Pics

Cultural Fair at Boston Children’s Museum

IMG_0864May 1st was a day of cultural education and fun, sponsored by Au Pair in America at the Boston Children’s Museum. Over the course of the afternoon, hundreds of enthusiastic children and parents toured the exhibition, received earth and skin friendly tattoos, had their faces painted with country flags, and chatted with au pairs representing countries from around the world.

The Au Pair in America Cultural Fair was truly a multi-modal event.
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 little and big smiling faces alike, while a  colorful and tempting piñata dangled overt the Mexico booth.  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 cluster photos link below.

Cultural Fair Pictures

Patti’s April Meeting

Farewell Hilda!

Farewell Hilda!

Cake and Ice Cream

What could be better for celebrating  spring!!

Monday night we gathered at my home to welcome in Spring!!

This was Hilda’s last meeting after being a part of our group for two years.   We were so fortunate that her mother was visiting and was able to join us!   After introductions we settled down to the business of the up coming cultural fair, au pair marketing and the Boston Walk for Hunger.   It was a good time to talk about spring activities for the children and I was able to take them to the APIA site and show them the seasonal calender and Kids Corner, many of the girls did not know that these resources were so available to them!   A short discussion on disciplining children took place and an informative sheet was passed out with some additional info.  We then sang Happy Birthday to May and some said tearful good-byes to Hilda.

Princess Warrior battles Harvard "nerd"

Princess Warrior battles Harvard "nerd"

To end the evening the girls were given a choice of two games to play,  Au Pair Bingo or  using aluminum foil to design a dress (thank you counselors from our FACEBOOK page for the idea).   The costumes that were created were so inventive and the girls had so much fun!

More Cluster Photos!