Get creative, make your own puzzle
Today is National Puzzle Day!
Do a puzzle or make one of your own. Au Pairs can help the children to find a fun picture in a magazine and glue it to lightweight cardboard. Cut into shapes. If the children are small, make it just a few easy shapes. To make your own word or math puzzles with the children, visit http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/.
Mozart
Children don’t often have the chance to listen to classical music. Au Pairs can download Mozart from the web at www.classicalarchives.com/mozart.html. This music may be calming and delightful at nap time, mealtime, or to inspire drawing on paper with crayons or markers.
Mother and Baby Kangaroo
People across New South Wales join together in celebration of what it means to be Australian. Australia is unique because it is an island country that is also a continent. You can learn more about Australia by visiting www.kidskonnect.com/content/view/301/27/.
This cake is a lie! Sealed Air Corp
America’s beloved Bubble Wrap turns 50 today, proving that even ephemeral plastic bubbles can morph into a timeless invention. But consider that if the original inventors had their way, people would have used “Air Cap” as wallpaper — a concept that would have undoubtedly proved as fulfilling as the prototype model future homes of the 1950s.
Bubble Wrap represents perhaps the ultimate garage invention as the brainchild of New Jersey engineers Marc Chavannes and Al Fielding in 1960. Yet it only took off as fun air-filled shipping material after the wall decor idea died, and people soon discovered the joys of popping each air-filled bubble by hand, or en masse using their bodies or other implements.
Manufacturer Sealed Air Corp. has recognized the joy that its product brings by officially declaring this Monday Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. Part of the celebration involves a limited one-day run of golden Bubble Wrap at the company’s Saddle River, N.J. facility, and the rest is presumably up to the end users. Do you store the golden Bubble Wrap for the grandkids, or do you indulge your inner child here and now?
It’s somewhat remarkable that a love of Bubble Wrap remains alive and well even in an age when the digital world’s allure may increasingly substitute for simpler worldly pleasures. Millions of Facebook users have declared themselves fans of Bubble Wrap, and Bandai has rolled out a virtual bubble-popping app for your iPhone or iPod.
So take some time today at work or at home to roll some Bubble Wrap between your fingers, find a satisfying air pocket, and squeeze. And don’t forget that kids love to pop those little bubbles too! Just don’t get caught in a traffic jam with a 7 year old popping bubble wrap in the back seat!
A racoon sleeps during the cold winter months
Animals handle cold winter weather in different ways. Some, such as birds, butterflies, and whales, migrate to warmer climates. Some animals, like deer, fox, and moose, grow thicker fur coats so they can stay warm during the winter. However many animals hibernate during the coldest weather – they spend the warmer months of the year eating and storing as much body fat as they can and then live off this extra weight as they sleep in the winter. Bats, some mice, frogs and many squirrels sleep all winter. Others, including chipmunks and raccoons, wake up once in a while to eat and then they go back to sleep. Have fun learning about the art of hibernation with your children during this cold time of the year.
At the library!
Look for books about animals in winter.
Watch for animals in your neighborhood. Are there more or less than in the warmer weather?
To learn more about animals that hibernate go to http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/winter/win2.html
To color hibernating pages online go to http://www.enchantedlearning.com/painting/Hibernate.shtml
HIBERNATING GAME! Here is a fun game for you to play. It’s called “HIBERNATION”. First you must pretend to be one of the animals you have researched. Curl up and “sleep” and then wake up HUNGRY for snack time! Yea…fun!!
Martin Luther King, a powerful speaker
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, but he is honored on the third Monday of the month with a federal holiday. Martin Luther King Jr. was an important leader of the Civil Rights Movement here in America during the 1950s and 60s. The holiday was created as a day to remember his fight for the freedom, equality, and dignity of all races and peoples, and as a time to remember the message of change through nonviolence. For more information about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., visit www.holidays.net/mlk.
To discover fun facts about Martin Luther King and to do some crafts and activities on this special holiday go to www.educational-kids-crafts.suite101.com/article.cfm/celebrate_martin_luther_king_day
Au Pairs in the Chicago area are challenged to find fun and interesting things to do with children while indoors during the cold, winter months. Au pairs are encouraged to provide interactive child care and to have a new activity planned for the children in their care.
Muddy Hand Cookies
2/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 ½ cups flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa mix
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Place all dry ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly and then add to butter mixture. Blend together thoroughly.
Chill dough in wax paper until firm; about 2 hours.
Roll dough to ¼” thick on floured surface.
Lay your hand on the dough and cut around to make your hand print.
Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350F for 6-8 minutes!
ABC’s of Winter Fun
A is for Art – try drawing, painting or gluing
B is for Baking – bake a dessert together for dinner
C is for Clay – Use non-hardening clay or play dough to shape and mold
D is for Dance – put on a lively tape
E is for Exercise – be sure to get some everyday
F is for Friends – invite some over
G is for Greenhouse – find a local greenhouse to visit to enjoy the sights and smells
H is for House – make a playhouse from a large appliance box
I is for Ice skating – take the children to a local rink
J is for Jigsaw puzzle – be sure to pick one that isn’t too difficult
K is for Kitchen science – try a safe experiment
L is for Library – borrow some new books
M is for Movie – make one with a video camera, or watch one
N is for Necklace – make one out of cereal or macaroni
O is for Origami – learn to make simple paper creations
P is for Puppets – socks make easy and fun puppets – put on a show!
Q is for Quiet Time – everyone needs some of this
R is for Reading aloud – choose a good book and a comfortable place to sit
S is for Seeds and Suet – put out food for the birds and watch them eat
T is for Tent – make one from old blankets and chairs
U is for Unplugged – do a day with no TV
V is for Variety – try something new everyday
W is for Walk – take one in any weather (be sure to dress appropriately)
X is for Xylophone – make your own with glasses, water and a metal spoon
Y is for Year – make a calendar or scrapbook to remember the year
Z is for Zoo – visit the animals
Indoor “Drive-in” Movie
Help your child to decorate a box as a car so he can sit in it to watch a movie. Make movie tickets. Consider inviting a couple of other kids to join in.
Choose a new or old favorite movie for a special ‘cold afternoon treat’.
Serve appropriate snacks to eat during the movie.
With Old Man Winter settling in for the season, you may be looking for things to do on these frigid, blustery days. This month, enjoy free general admission on weekdays at the Museum of Science and Industry. You can even give your New Year’s resolutions a boost in YOU! The Experience, an exhibit that will get you moving and thinking about your health and wellness in new ways.
YOU! The Experience is brought to you through the generosity of Abbott, the Abbott Fund and the Pritzker Foundation. Additional major funding provided by J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family, Mazza Foundation, and Robert S. and Susan E. Morrison.
Native to South America, the first pineapples were planted in Hawaii on this day in 1813. Now 10% of the world’s pineapples are grown in Hawaii, where it first became a commercial crop. It is also widely grown in Central America and Asia. Kids will love this delicious recipe from www.allrecipes.com.
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and baking soda. Make a well in the center and add the eggs, vanilla and crushed pineapple, with liquid from can. Mix well to blend. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. To make the frosting: in a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, confectioners sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat until creamy. Spread on warm cake.
About AIFS
Founded in 1964, the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS) is one of the oldest, largest and most respected cultural exchange organizations in the world. With global offices in 15 countries, we organize cultural exchange programs for more than 50,000 participants each year. Our programs include college study abroad, au pair placement, camp counselors and staff, gifted education, high school study/travel and insurance services. Since 1964, more than one million students and teachers have participated in AIFS programs worldwide.
United Nations Logo
United Nations
The UN officially opened in 1951. It is made up of 191 countries from around the world. It was created after the Second World War as a way of bringing people together and to avoid war. The United Nations logo shows the world held in the “olive branches of peace.” The United Nations had a special meeting of children from many countries. Visit the website at www.un.org.
