Monthly Archives: October 2011

Haunted Happenings in October

Goblins and Ghosts stay safe!

  1. Make sure to inspect the children’s Trick Or Treat candy to make sure everything is in a sealed wrapper and appears safe.
  2. Small children should not eat hard candy because of chocking.
  3. Children should be supervised when they go Trick-or-Treating.  Many parents will come home early from work on the day to go with their children.  Check with Host Parents about this.

Halloween Safety Tips for Drivers

Halloween is a wonderful holiday, but because of increased foot traffic and that Trick-or-Treaters are out at night, the potential for automobile related accidents with young pedestrians increases four times on this night according to a CDC (Center for Disease Control) study.

Streets are literally crawling with all sorts of witches, ghosts, goblins, vampires and all other sorts of costumed people. This makes for added responsibility for drivers to make sure that they drive safer than normal.

In many areas, people drive their kids into subdivisions and let them out to walk from house to house. Usually the parent follows behind in the car. This can cause traffic jams in small areas and much confusion as kids dart between cars on the streets going from house to house. A driver is already distracted because they are trying to keep an eye on their own kids and usually aren’t paying attention to much else.

Children and adults tend to be preoccupied and may not pay as much attention to safety as they should. They may not see your vehicle or just assume that you see them automatically. Stay on the defensive and you shouldn’t have a problem while driving on Halloween night

* Don’t use a cell phone or other electronic device while driving on Halloween night. You shouldn’t be doing this anyway, the rate of cell phone related auto accidents has jumped dramatically since the use of cell phones and texting has risen so high. Some states have already made laws concerning this and others are working on it.

Make sure your child carries a flashlight, glow stick or has reflective tape on their costume to make them more visible to cars. Left them know if they carry a flash light to never shine itin the eyes of a driver. This can cause blindness on the drivers part temporarily and they may not see your child.

Drive below the posted speed limit in residential areas during trick-or-treating hours. This will allow you time to break if you see a child dart in front of you.
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HAVE SOME FUN THIS MONTH

The month of October brings exciting activities to the city of Salem, Massachusetts. There are many activities relating to the city’s history and penchant for things macabre, including walking tours, haunted houses, trolley rides, spooky performances, exhibits, harbor cruiss and more. Visit their website for all the details: http://www.hauntedhappenings.org/

October Clustermeeting

P1040071 - CopyLast Sunday our cluster got together to welcome many new aupairs who arrived during the last weeks in our Boston cluster.

We had a lot of information to share: Education requirements and possibilities at the many colleges we have here in Boston were part of the agenda as well as driving for an aupair in MA. With a few exceptions all aupairs are allowed to drive with their home country license together with the international drivers permit for one whole year in MA.

Hannah and Candice from South Africa and Djamila from the Netherlands

Hannah and Candice from South Africa and Djamila from the Netherlands

We ate traditional New England pumpkin soup together and all aupairs brought a dish or dessert to share. Most of it was self made and from a special recipe from their home countries. It was so delicious!!! The quiche from France  for example       ( made by Aurelie from France) was gone in no time……

Maria from Germany, Enyi from Costa Rica and Charlene from France

Maria from Germany, Enyi from Costa Rica and Charlene from France

Ana from Costa Rica, Adri from Italy, Su from Costa Rica and Maye from Mexico

Ana from Costa Rica, Adri from Italy, Su from Costa Rica and Maye from Mexico

It is Dany's turn  from Equador to introduce herself to all

It is Dany's turn from Equador to introduce herself to all

For more pictures please go to Clustermeeting October 2011.

Fun Ways to Eat and Cook Apples

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Apples are great eaten raw and are ideal for school lunch boxes and snacks. You can bake, stew or microwave apples, then turn us into pies, tarts, crumbles and fritters.

Here are some wonderful ways to cook with your favourite apples:

Apple Cake
Peel, core and slice two apples. Prepare a packet butter cake according to directions, pour half the mixture into the cake tin, arrange apple slices evenly and top with remaining mixture. Bake according to directions allowing an extra 5-8 minutes.

Apple Crumble

Peel, core and slice 6-8 apples. Place apples in a lightly buttered baking dish with a 1/4 cup caster sugar and 2 tablespoons of sultanas. Top with toasted muesli and bake until apples are tender.

Yummy Apple Salad
Wash, core and roughly chop apples. Drizzle with lemon juice to prevent browning. Place in a bowl with sliced celery, lettuce , pecan nuts and toss with your favourite salad dressing.

Apple Picking for Au Pairs and Host families

Three counselors hosted the event at Carver Hill Orchard

Three counselors hosted the event at Carver Hill Orchard

Last Sunday three cluster hosted this annual host family and au pair event at an apple picking orchard in Stow. Host families had a chance to chat with each other and got to know the cluster better. The kids could decorate cookies, pick apples in the orchard and participated in heyrides . Everybody enjoyed the fresh made donuts with apple cidre from the farm.

left to right: Katrine from Denmark, Janika from Germany, Ashleigh from the UK, Candice from South Africa, Theresa from Austria, Heike, the community counselor from Boston, Jane from Germany, Anita from Germany, Sabine from Austria, Aurelie from France and Karoline from Germany

left to right: Katrine from Denmark, Janika from Germany, Ashleigh from the UK, Candice from South Africa, Theresa from Austria, Heike, the community counselor from Boston, Jane from Germany, Anita from Germany, Sabine from Austria, Aurelie from France and Karoline from Germany

For more pictures please go to Apple picking 2011.