This year again Au Pair in America will have a team and join the Walk for Hunger
A Regional Event with au pairs from the greater Boston area.
All au pairs and host families who would like to join our team please register on the link below
Team name: Au Pair in America
It’s free to register but you can certainly donate as much as you want. Please ask you host family, friends or neighbors if they would donate money to your team.
Movie Night
Music & Movie Fridays at the
Boston Harbor Hotel
(plus more free events – check out this site)
click the link here –>Celebrate Boston!
March 10th: Daylight Savings Time. Be sure to set your clocks forward before going to sleep. The kids maybe groggy this week as they adjust to the time change. Please be sensitive to that as you go through the week.
March 17th: St. Patrick’s Day. This Irish holiday has been celebrated in the USA since 1737. Traditional icons that mark the holiday: Leprechauns, Pots of Gold, Rainbows, Shamrocks and the Color Green! There will be local parades in many of our towns…Stamford, Danbury and of course in NYC. It might be fun to go and experience this tradition.
March 25: Passover begins. Passover, also known as Pesach or Pesah, is a Holy Day, observed by several religions, begins today and lasts seven or eight days, depending on your beliefs. It commemorates the exodus and freedom of the Israelites from Egypt.
March 31: Easter is an annual festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is always celebrated on a Sunday
It is never too early to start reading to children. Children of all ages enjoy having stories read to them. Reading, cuddling up on a couch or reading before a child takes a nap or goes to sleep at night, is comforting for the child. This special time together builds a bond, take the time to read to the children in your life. 
louder for others. A sing song voice is fun for young children.One of the most well known competitions of the international rowing world took place this past weekend on the banks of the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Over twenty au pairs gathered there to have hot chocolate and fudge brownies, while they people watched and cheered on their favorite teams rowing up the river in sculls, two person, four person, and eight member boats.
Olympic teams competed in fierce competition with their own best records, with each other, and with the increasing wind conditions. University teams such as the University of Washington and University of Virginia were au pair favorites and with all of the cheering and support, they both took first place in the Championship and Collegiate divisions respectively. Despite the cheering the cluster gave them, the Naval Academy did not fare as well.
Crowds estimated at over one hundred thousand lined the riverside from the Boston Harbor and the river basin all the way to Watertown, on both the Cambridge and Boston sides. To add to the festivities, the autumn foliage was in full display. It was a true New England day and as the sun began to sink, au pairs filtered off to enjoy the remaining Sunday evening fun.
Click here for pictures Pics of Head of the Charles
Are you catching Olympic Fever?
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE OLYMPIC RINGS?
The Olympic symbol consists of five interlaced rings of equal dimensions, used alone, in one or in five different colors, which are, from left to right, blue, yellow, black, green and red. The Olympic symbol (the Olympic rings) expresses the activity of the Olympic Movement and represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games.
First things first:
Keep track of the Olympic events here is the official website for the games:
The games are on NBC. The viewing schedule:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/results-schedules/index.html
Olympic websites:
Kids Activities.net
This one has background info, crafts, games, and snacks.
http://www.kidactivities.net/post/Olympics-Theme-for-Kids.aspx
Project Britain:
This one has activities for older kids divided in subjects such as literacy, math, science, history, geography, art and design
http://projectbritain.com/olympics/teachingresources.html
Care.com
Information on indoor and outdoor activities including have an Olympic ceremony.
Teacher planet
Lesson plans, worksheets, and activities
http://www.teacherplanet.com/resource/summerolympics.php
DC Olympic website with links to
Athens Perseus project, National Geographic and food from Ancient Greece
http://erikafranz.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/summer-olympics-summer-adventures-for-the-family/
British links teaching about the Olympics
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/apr/16/london-2012-olympics-teaching-resources
Printables
So many farewells!
“Save money for travel” and “Play Ball!” were two exclamations heard in equal parts at our July cluster meeting, a mixture of fond farewells, parting advice, and a great game of American baseball. Saying goodbye to 11 departing au pairs was sad, but it was made little bit easier by chocolate cake and watermelon, then a fantastic game of American Baseball.
Americans never think about how strange a sport baseball is until they try to explain it to those who have never played it or watched a game. Running from base to base and having to stop sometimes, but not at other times, is odd. “Three strikes and you’re out” is arbitrary. Distinguishing a strike from a ball is arbitrary.
Still, everyone showed amazing athletic skills, including strong batting, excellent speed covering most of bases, and great catching. The opposing pitchers were formidable. Chloe Haggard pitched consistently hittable balls even while injured and Kathi Lange was frightening in her windup and was even part of a key double play midway through the game.
With lightening in the distance and darkness falling, it was time to end the game. However, it is clear that our au pairs are ready to play more ball!
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!
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!
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!
