Tag Archives: MA

First Day of Fall – September 22nd

fall_Fall is a magical time of year!

The leaves change colors, the air is crisp and cool and Halloween and Thanksgiving are just around the corner.   Try it to get in the mood for fall!

When the crisp fall air invites you outside for a walk gather some brightly colored leaves.  Press them in sheets of newspaper under heavy books for a few weeks.  When they have dried they will still have their     bright colors and can be glued onto paper.

Make leaf prints by painting one side of a leaf with tempera paint and then pressing it down gently into paper to form the leaf pattern.  Make designs for fun, or use large sheets of paper (tissue paper, brown paper or even newspaper) and save the painted paper to use as gift-wrap.  FallLeaves_SM_000

Place some leaves between pieces of wax paper and iron.  This will keep them from crumbling and give the leaves a glossy sheen.  You can then glue them onto paper – try adding bits of bark or seeds too.

Try putting leaves between pieces of clear contact paper.  You can hang them in the window or use them as place mats.

This Wednesday, September 22 is the Autumnal Equinox, which marks the first day of fall! The sun will be directly over the Earth’s equator, and there will be equal hours of day and night.  After Wednesday, the days will get shorter.

Happy Fall!

 

Quick Start for Education- Now!

This is the start of the Fall semester!
Part of a successful year as an au pair includes your education requirement. You’ve heard about it at orientation, and, hopefully, thought about it already, but one way or the other, now is the time to act.

So how do you get started? Any of the Au Pair in America resources will give you all the details, but for a quick start, here are a few pointers that will guide you on the road to educational success.

Begin the process! Every accredited school has its fall schedule of courses available online and locally, schools are all in the registration period right now so get going! You may be able to register late, but classes fill quickly. Even if there is room available, it will cost you extra money and courses are already expensive, so this is something to avoid.

Think about how you want to fulfill the requirement. You can take one course or a few, travel, or become a student on an American college campus. Do you want to improve your English? That is a good place to start. This could be an opportunity to see another city by taking a travel course worth 3 credits, to explore new subjects that you have always been interested in, or to study a subject that you have already planned a career in. If you really have no interest in any of these possibilities, the UCLA online course is available for your 6 credit requirement. You have many choices, but there are other steps that you need to take before you are done.

Talk to your host family, your community counselor, and other au pairs. Ask your host family about the time in your schedule that is available for you to take courses. Your counselor will tell you whether a school is accredited. Other au pairs will give you their opinions about courses that they have taken.

Research the choices by using the Au Pair in America website (www.aupairinamerica.com) to view all the choices that other au pairs in your cluster have made. Select one or two classes that you would like to take, their cost, where and what time they meet. Then ask for a host parent or community counselor’s opinion.

Register after  you and your host parents have discussed the details.  This requires payment.  Since your host parents have some responsibility for the cost of your classes for the year, they will help you to register.

Participate! Now that you are a student on an American campus, enjoy it. Use the library, sit on campus, go to the bookstore, mingle with the other students. And above all, study! You’ll be proud of your success when the semester ends.

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!

Melinda’s August Cluster Meeting

Staying Cool? Melinda's picture (2)

Last Sunday was a beautiful day and a record number of you shared a part of it together to greet new au pairs, say good bye to cherished departing friends, and discuss the ever-important topic: education.  After getting settled in, we chilled out of the heat and shared information and advice about what to take, where, how, and why!  It was an interesting meeting and experienced au pairs were so important telling us about course work, transportation, sleeping arrangements and good food on the weekends away, and much more.  Thank you all for sharing this vital information!  See you next month!

Melinda

Fall is Apple Season

apples1 Apples come in many varieties, colors, shapes and sizes.  Some are wonderful to munch on, others are best when cooked.  Regardless of the variety apple picking is a fun activity.  If you do go apple picking you will almost certainly bring home more apples than you can possibly eat, but there are lots of fun things to do with apples, and many ways to eat them as well.

Applesauce is very simple to make.  Remove the core and quarter the apples.  If you leave the peel on during cooking it will give the applesauce a pink color.  When the apples are very soft, remove any peel that is left, mash the pulp or put it through a sieve.  Add sugar if needed.

Try making dried apple rings.  They are easy and can be used as a nutritious snack.  Peel, core and slice as many apples as you like into 1/8 inch rings (Macintosh or Golden Delicious apples work best).  Dip each ring into a mixture of lemon juice and water to help the apples keep their color.  Pull a piece of string through the center of each ring and hang in a dry, warm place.  They take 1-2 weeks to dry and become chewy.