Tag Archives: Au Pair in America

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!

Cultural Fair April 30th

2010 Cultural Fair
2010 Cultural Fair

Boston Children’s Museum

11:00am – 2:00pm

On April 30th  Au Pair in America will be hosting their 2011 Cultural Fair at the Boston Children’s Museum.

Au Pairs from many of the countries Au Pair in America recruits from will be bringing our worlds together with fun activities, maps, music, flags and much more!

Sometime soon au pairs will be receiving an email inviting them to participate.  Please take a moment to look at last years photos below.  We hope to make this years event the best ever!!

2010 Cultural Fair

March Madness!!

Gathering in the Common Room

Gathering in the Common Room

March’s cluster meeting began with an informal gathering at the all purpose room.   Everyone introduced themselves to our two new au pairs.   Counselors talked about Boston’s Walk for Hunger and showed a short DVD about last years event.   April’s Cultural Fair  and au pair marketing opportunities were some other topics discussed.

Later a volleyball game in the gym soon turned into a fast paced game of basketball

More March Cluster Pics

Red and Blue Teams

Red and Blue Teams

February Skating on the Frog Pond

Lacing up!

Lacing up!

Under a bright blue sky and a warm winter sun, au pairs came out of hibernation today to enjoy ice  skating at the Frog Pond on the Boston Common.  Along with many other New Englanders young and old, our au pairs strapped on borrowed or rented ice skates and gracefully glided around the pond while gazing at the cityscape surrounding them. The golden dome of the State House, which is just a stone’s throw away, glistened in the background and park benches surrounding the Frog Pond were filled with interested spectators enjoying the activities on the ice.

Enthusiastic  au pairs came out to practice what was either a new sport for them or one that they had not practiced in quite a while. They hooked arms as they laughed their way through the throngs of other skaters.   We hope that this will be the first of many visits to the Frog Pond for these skating au pairs and those that were unable to attend will give it a try at another time.   Check out our photos of the skaters!

Ice Skating Pictures

Dr. Martin Luther King Day

Dr. Martin Luther King

Dr. Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King Day is a federal holiday held on the third Monday of January. It celebrates the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr., an influential American civil rights leader. He is most well-known for his campaigns to end racial segregation on public transport and for racial equality in the United States.

Each year schools, federal offices, post office and banks across America close as we celebrate the birth, the life and the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  It is an occasion for joy and celebration for his life and his work toward nonviolent social change in America and the world.

It took many years for Congress to decide to celebrate the holiday.  In the years leading up to the official decree many African-Americans celebrated the birthday themselves with a few states declaring King’s birthday a state holiday.

The bill was finally passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and was signed into law on November 2, 1983.  The first national celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday took place January 20, 1986.

To learn more about Dr. King and his life visit these websites.

http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/martin-luther-king-day

http://www.answers.com/topic/martin-luther-king-day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AU PAIR IN AMERICA!!

Au Pair in America Celebrates 25 Years!

Au Pair in America was established in 1986 as the first federally approved au pair program in the United States.  We have established high standards of excellence, partnering with the U.S. government, international partners, our U.S. field network, AIFS staff and orientation team to provide a quality cross-cultural experience for over 87,000 au pairs from around the world and thousands of American families.  Join us in celebration.

Holiday Partying with the Au Pairs!

“Ho! Ho! Ho!” were the operative words for close to one hundred au pairs at our multi-cluster holiday pot luck dinner party this past week.   Held at the historic Concord Scout House,  several Boston area clusters gathered for what has become an annual tradition of good food, good fun, and good cheer.

Santa's visit

Santa's visit

For more  pictures click -> Holiday Pictures

The evening started with the potluck dinner that reflected the diversity of au pairs that attended. We had appetizers from South Africa, India and Italy, salads from Italy and Colombia, desserts from Germany and Thailand, just to name a few.  The community counselors came through with delicious roast ham, lasagnas, and potato casseroles, and our famous Au Pair Punch!

Our special guest, Santa, arrived to circulate and hear what is on our au pairs’ wish lists this year.  Peals of laughter and lots of photo opportunities were a part of his extended visit. Then, it was on to the Yankee Swap during which we found out a lot that we did not know about each other, in addition to swapping gifts!  It was all in good fun though.

One of the nicest parts of our traditional party is the holiday singing that ends the evening. Each of our many countries’ languages was represented on stage as au pairs gathered together to sing their favorite holiday songs in their native languages to us. This is a wonderful tradition that you can experience now in our YouTube video here on the blog.

Au Pairs bring holiday cheer in song!

0511-0711-0615-2028_Abstract_Christmas_Tree_clipart_imageThen, after all the festivities, it was time to say, “Happy Holidays to all and to all a good night” as au pairs bundled up and made their way out into the starry December night.

November Cluster Meeting

Yee Haw!

Welcome Au Pairs!!!

Welcome Au Pairs!!!

On a cold autumn evening last weekend, two clusters and our many guests enjoyed an evening of good old-fashioned line dancing with Cowgirl Mary Rinker at the Bay Path Barn. Although the barn was cold when we arrived, it soon heated up with the tunes of American country western favorites.  Au pairs, many in their boots and cowgirl clothing, seemed to get into the spirit immediately and the fun began when we tried out the first dances that Mary had taught us.

After 2 straight hours of line dancing, the au pairs were heated up and ready for a break!  We used the time to catch up with each other, to welcome our many new au pairs, and to say farewell to those that had finished their year in the USA!  All in all, we had a great time.  It was the perfect way to spend time together before heading out into the darkness.

Line dancing is particularly well suited for our gathering because all interested participants can learn the steps quickly and it requires no partner.  The best part is that the steps can be adapted to all sorts of music and it is great exercise. Language is optional as we just follow the demonstrations.  Everyone lines up, (that’s why we call it line dancing!) and the fun begins.  So, as we like to say at line dancing, “Yee Haw, Cowgirl!”

view photo album ->  Country Line Dancing

NOVEMBER DATES TO REMEMBER

1102Election Day

Would you like to know more about the American political system? Check out http://bensguide.gpo.gov/ for a simple presentation of information about the US government including elections. Talk to the children about what you learned and create an Election Day theme at home: decorate in red, white and blue (how about colored napkins on the table?) Put out an American flag, and serve red, white and blue snacks. Blue and white corn chips with red salsa, vanilla ice cream with strawberries and blueberries or layers of colored Jell-o served with whipped cream.

1107Daylight Savings Time Ends

Move your clocks back one hour before going to bed on Saturday night and enjoy the extra hour of sleep…

1111-1Veteran’s Day

A day to honor American veterans of all wars, Veteran’s Day is a federal holiday. You can find some suggestions of activities to do with children at www.va.gov/KIDS/.

1125Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving dates back to the first European settlers in North America. After hardship, illness and hard work, the Pilgrims celebrated a successful harvest that they shared with their Native American friends. This national holiday is a day to feast and give thanks. Visit this site to compare Thanksgiving to other harvest festivals: www.familyculture.com/holidays/thanksgiving.htm.

1126

Black Friday

Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving and is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many employees take the day off, which increases the number of potential shoppers. Many retailers open very early (typically 5 am or even earlier) and offer door buster deals and loss leaders to draw people to their stores. Merchants and the media use the term Black Friday to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers are in the black (i.e., turning a profit).