Tag Archives: childcare

Camp Au Pair – Backyard Safari

Next week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Backyard Safari  These activities focus on animals you might find in the a variety of environments: jungles, savannahs, safari parks and zoos.

Crafts, recipes, activities, and games can all be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Backyard Safari pinboard. 

Field Trips can be an excellent way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Get permission from your host parents before any outings. Check the websites before you go to be sure you understand the hours, costs, and whether advance tickets/reservations are required. Search online to see if your area has any of the following:

  • Local Zoo
  • Animal Rescue Park
  • Drive Thru Safari

Webcams – You can do a Google search for websites with webcams that allow you to observe nature.

Books – Stop by your local library and look for books on animals you might find on a safari or in the zoo. You can also check YouTube for some books on this subject being read aloud.

Movies – There are lots of movies with animal themes.

  • Back to the Outback 
  • Madagascar 1, 2 & 3
  • The Jungle Book
  • The Lion King
  • The Wild
  • Zootopia

Videos – Look for fun videos about animals on YouTube. Here are some to get you started.

Image: Jumble Tree

Camp Au Pair: Art Experiences

This week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Art Experiences.

Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to art can all be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Art Experiences pinboard.

Field Trips can be a great way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Get permission from your host parents before any outings and be sure to take all social distancing precautions. Some museums are requiring advanced tickets or have reduced hours due to the pandemic.

Online Art Fun – Here is a great website with lots of art activities including ones for older kids.

Webcams – You can do a google search for art websites with webcams. Here are a few to get you started:

Videos – Look for fun videos on YouTube about drawing and all kinds of art.

Books – Stop by your local library and look for books on famous artists and art.

Check YouTube for books on art being read aloud:

Image: teachkidsart.com

Camp Au Pair: Backyard Safari

This week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Backyard Safari.

Crafts, recipes, activities, and games can all be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Backyard Safari pinboard. 

Field Trips can be a great way for kids to learn and have new experiences.

  • Local Zoo

Webcams – You can do a google search for websites with webcams that allow you to observe nature.

Videos – Look for fun videos about African animals on YouTube.

Books – Stop by your local library and look for books on animals you might find on a safari or in the zoo. You can also check YouTube for some books on this subject being read aloud.

Image: Jumble Tree

Camp Au Pair – Art Experiences

This week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Art Experiences.

Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to art can all be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Art Experiences pinboard.

Field Trips can be a great way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Get permission from your host parents before any outings and be sure to take all social distancing precautions. Some museums are requiring advanced tickets or have reduced hours due to the pandemic.

  • Art Museums
  • Paint Your Own Pottery Studio
  • Clay and Ceramics Studio

Online Art Fun – Here is a great website with lots of art activities including ones for older kids.

Webcams – You can do a google search for art websites with webcams. Here are a few to get you started:

Pottery & Ceramics webcam
Glass Blowing webcam

Videos – Look for fun videos on YouTube about drawing and all kinds of art.

Books – Stop by your local library and look for books on famous artists and art.

Check YouTube for books on art being read aloud:

https://youtu.be/PA_yQPDV43w

Image: teachkidsart.com

Camp Au Pair – Dinosaurs

This week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Dinosaurs.

Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to dinosaurs can all be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Dinosaurs pinboard.

Field Trips can be a great way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Get permission from your host parents before any outings and be sure to take all social distancing precautions.

Here are a few places to go that fit this theme:

    • Children’s museum with dinosaur exhibit
    • Natural history museum
    • Nature center with fossils

Toys – Many kids have dinosaur toys already. See what your kids have and think of fun, new ways you can play with these toys with them. Imagine taking a plastic dinosaur and making footprints in play dough to form your own fossils.

Webcam – This NPS Paleontology Lab offers a webcam where you can watch paleontologists remove rock from around fossils. The cam is normally working 9 am-5 pm PST, so 12-8 pm our time.

Videos – Look for fun videos on YouTube about dinosaurs and fossils. Here are a few to get you started.

Movies – The Good Dinosaur, Land Before Time, and Ice Age are all great family movies that fit with this theme. For older kids, consider movies like Journey to the Center of the Earth and Jurassic Park (which is rated PG-13).

Books – Check your kids’ bookshelf for books on dinosaurs.

Photo: krojotak.com

Three Ways for Au Pairs to Stay Red Cross Ready

Being knowledgeable in basic first aid and CPR is important for au pairs (and anyone else caring for children). Au Pair in America’s commitment to infant/child safety begins before au pairs arrive to the U.S., with pre-arrival training and continue throughout the au pair year.

#1 Training At Orientation

Our orientation includes seminars by American Red Cross instructors who provide hands-on demonstrations in infant/child CPR and safety. Printed materials are provided that reinforce the safety information and can be used to review from time to time.

#2 Enroll in a Red Cross Certification Class

After settling into their host community, all au pairs are encouraged to complete an Infant/Child CPR and First Aid certification program. Au Pair in America will pay for this training through the American Red Cross.

Classes are available through the Red Cross. Au Pair in America will pay for the cost of a class providing an au pair has at least six months left on her visa and is taking one of several approved childcare/child safety-related classes, such as Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED. Au pairs should check with their community counselor and host family before signing up. Au Pair in America will register the au pair directly.

To locate a class, visit www.redcross.org/takeaclass. For step-by-step instructions on how to locate a class and have Au Pair in America complete enrollment, click here.

#3 Stay Current on Safety Information

The Official American Red Cross First Aid app puts expert advice for everyday emergencies in your hand. Available for iPhone and Android devices, this app gives you instant access to the information you need to know to handle the most common first aid emergencies. With videos, interactive quizzes and simple step-by-step advice, it’s never been easier to know first aid. Download the app for free from the American Red Cross website or in your app store.

Photos: Robin Leon

Back to School Planning

Back to school time is here. This can mean changes to the au pair schedule and possibly to the duties.  It is very important to communicate these changes to avoid problems.

Here is a list of topics to consider discussing:

  • Au pair’s work schedule
  • The children’s school and activity schedules
  • Where the children get dropped off and picked up and who will be doing this
  • What to do if a child is staying home sick, late to school, does not get off the bus (if they are supposed to)
  • Driving laws regarding stopping for school buses
  • How to tell if school has been canceled or delayed for bad weather
  • Add the au pair to your list of people allowed to pick up the kids from school and explain the process
  • What to pack for lunch
  • The routine after school (do they have free time before starting homework, what to give for a snack, any chores, where do they put their backpacks & lunchboxes)
  • How to communicate about what’s going on at school. Your Kids in Care logbook from Au Pair in America can be a great two-way communication tool for keeping track of schedules, afterschool activities and day to day info that needs to be transferred between host parents and au pair.
  • If your au pair will be the one going through the children’s backpack and helping with homework, consider designating an area for putting things that need to be read and/or signed by parents.

Here are some Printable Fill-in-the-Blank School Notes for parents. You can print these out and have them ready for times when the kids are absent, late, have an early dismissal or you need to give permission for something.

Check out Au Pair in America’s Pinterest School Tips and Ideas pinboard for things like organization ideas, back to school traditions, printable lunch box notes, and fun lunch recipes.

 

And the winner is………..

We had wonderful snowmen participating in our snowman contest. Everybody who met the requirements to participate in this competition won in our 2014 aupair snowman contest……………………….And the winners are:

Caren from Namibia

Caren from Namibia

Jessy from Germany

Jessy from Germany

Katja , Educare aupair from Germany

Katja , Educare Extension aupair from Germany

Lynn , Extraordinaire Extension aupair from Germany with "Olaf" from Frozen.

Lynn , Extraordinaire Extension aupair from Germany with "Olaf" from Frozen.

Manuela, Extension aupair from Germany

Manuela, Extension aupair from Germany

CONGRATULATIONS to all, who did such great art work. I am proud of you and your creativity! Your prize , the I LOVE BOSTON T-shirt is going to you all very soon 😉

Pool Party July cluster meeting

For our July cluster meeting we met at my home in Braintree for a Pool party since the weather was sunny and hot.

Our agenda this time was water safety for kids which is an important topic to know during the summer. Every 3 month we are required to have one safety meeting.

We also chatted with new aupair who just arrived this week in the US and said good bye to many who came for their last cluster meeting. Nobody could believe how fast this time ran by. Either just one year or even two if the aupair extended for a second year like Janika from Germany. They all promised to visit again since Boston became their home, they experienced so much, have seen so many places in the US,  made so many friends and also became part of their host families daily live.

Going back means also starting over in a new/old culture and that they will experience almost the same culture shock as when they arrived here in the US.

From left: Theresa and Lara who almost finished their year as Educare aupair with Lara's sister who is visiting her

From left: Theresa and Lara who almost finished their year as Educare aupair with Lara's sister who is visiting her

Talking about water safety while cooling of with the feet in the pool

Talking about water safety while cooling of with the feet in the pool

Andrea from Mexico was one of many who finished her required education and received her certificate of completion at our meeting

Andrea from Mexico was one of many who finished her required education and received her certificate of completion at our meeting

Eating ice cream as dessert was part of the lunch we had

Eating ice cream as dessert was part of the lunch we had

Jennifer from Germany also received her certificate of completion for her 6 credits

Jennifer from Germany also received her certificate of completion for her 6 credits

Lynn from Germany also won our picture contest where she had to have the Au Pair in America t-shirt on together with something of Boston. Her prize was an "I LOVE BOSTON" shirt

Lynn from Germany also won with this picture our summer picture contest where she had to have the Au Pair in America t-shirt on together with something of Boston. Her prize was an "I LOVE BOSTON" shirt. See below 🙂

DSC_1000 - Copy - Copy

Group picture at the Sunset Lake

Group picture at the Sunset Lake

For all pictures please go to Pool Party July Cluster meeting 2013

May Cluster meeting in the Boston Common at Memorial Day weekend

With lots of sunshine we had a wonderful clustermeeting at the Boston Common at our Memorial Day weekend.

We celebrated that many of our cluster walked for 20 miles at our regional event the “Walk for Hunger” on May 6 to raise awareness of the hunger in MA.

For some aupairs this was their last cluster meeting and we had to say good byes to them.

We also could welcomed a new arrival from Colombia: Paula who  resides in Beacon Hill and loves it already.

From left: Anita from Germany, me, Jessica and Hannah from South Africa

From left: Anita from Germany, me, Jessica and Hannah from South Africa

Three aupairs from Austria, Theresa and Sabine are in our Boston cluster

Three aupairs from Austria: Theresa and Sabine are in our Boston cluster with their friend of the Washington cluster here in Boston to visit

We enjoyed the warm temperatures at the Frog Pond in Boston today

We enjoyed the warm temperatures at the Frog Pond in Boston today

We also covered a topic that will soon be important since summer is around the corner: ” How to keep children safe during the summer at the pool”.

Every quarter we will introduce an agenda for children’s safety to our aupairs.

Many aupairs who volunteered at schools or school fairs got rewarded as well with a certificate and everyone who completed their education with 6 credits or the equivalent of hours.

Taking part of the education at an accredited school is part of the aupair childcare program.

For more pictures please go to: Memorial Day cluster meeting at the Boston Common 2012.