What an evening it was. The Westbrook Elementary School in Bethesda organized their International Night where parents served excellent food from many countries. Eight au pairs from Israel, Russia, South Africa, Costa Rica, Bosnia, Italy, Mexico helped with crafts. Children were coloring Au pair in America placemats, doing international quiz and getting prices.
Spring is here, enjoy it!!
1~ April Fool’s Day
17~ Palm Sunday
19~ Passover
22~Good Friday
22~ Earth Day
24~ Easter Sunday
April 1- April Fools Day
Today is generally observed by tricking someone. Think of a silly and harmless trick to play. Work with the children to write a silly story to read to the parents. Try serving breakfast foods for dinner or some other harmless way to trick the children.
April 12- Scrabble
Alfred Butts who was born on this day in 1899 invented Scrabble, the game that uses letter tiles to spell words. As soon as children learn to read and spell they can play an easy version of Scrabble. For very beginning readers you can create your own simple game by making letter tiles from index cards for each letter that is used in the words the child knows. Be sure to make extra vowels (a, e, i, o, u) as they appear most frequently. Uses these letter cards together you can help strengthen the children’s reading and spelling skills while having fun.
April 19 Passover
Passover, also known as Pesach or Pesah, is a Holy Day, observed by several religions, begins today and lasts seven or eight days, depending on your beliefs. It commemorates the exodus and freedom of the Israelites from Egypt. It is also observed by some Christians to commemorate the deliverance from sin by the sacrifice of Jesus.
April 22- Earth Day
The goal of the day is to “increase awareness, responsibility and action toward a clean, health future for all living things.
April 24- Easter
Easter is an annual festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is always celebrated on a Sunday.
Childcare focus – Cleaning Up Made Easy
Is it hard to get cooperation at clean-up time?
Turn clean-up time into a game. Try throwing a die, if it lands on one, the person who threw the die must clean-up one thing, if the die lands on four, he or she must pick up four things, and so on. Everyone plays (even the au pair)!
Driving- Personal car use for au pairs is a privilege and calls for a high level of responsibility. If you have a car accident, you can be asked to pay a deductible of up to $500. Parking tickets are expensive and you pay for them, so pay attention to parking restrictions.
Education– Extending: In order to extend, you must show proof that you have completed the education requirement at an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution. Your extension request will not be processed without this proof.
One or more of the following documents can be used to verify that you have completed your education:
Letter from the school on letterhead
Completion certificate from the school
School transcript
Hints for success- Take responsibility for your actions
No one is perfect. If you make a mistake, admit it, apologize and work to correct the situation.
Lost Passports Make a copy of your passport and visa and keep it in a safe place.
If your passport is lost or stolen, you should call the Stamford office to speak to the Compliance Officer. Then you should contact the consulate or embassy of your home country and get the process started to replace your passport. Chances are your visa was stapled in your passport. If you lost your visa as well, you cannot travel outside the U.S., but you can stay in the U.S. to finish the program. To learn how to replace your visa, visit http://aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/procedure_5.asp
Acting
Most children love to be the center of attention, so being on stage is natural for them. Choose 4 or five things that don’t go together and put them in a bag. Work with the children to make up a story to act out using the things in the bag. It can be very funny!
Fun With Crayons!
The first box of 8 crayons was introduced in 1903. Since then over a 100 billion crayons have been produced and there are now 120 colors available! Check the labels for some interesting color names.
80 au pairs visited today the White House. The weather was nice and everybody enjoyed it. Here are some pictures.
Time is running out to register for the Spring Session of the APIA Advantage Course through UCLA. The class begins is March 28.
This class is a great option for:
Looking for ways to satisfy your education requirement? Have you thought about the APIA Advantage program? By taking this course, you can complete your education for just $500 (or half of the requirement for EduCare) and learn so much about America and the community where you live. The next session will run from March 28 until August 1, 2011. There’s still time to enroll. Register at www.uclaextension.edu/aupairs
The National Park Service has compiled a helpful list of the major DC attractions such as museums and monuments and government buildings that offer tours. It includes: days and hours they are open, phone numbers and whether there are fees.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual two-week event that celebrates springtime in Washington, DC as well as the 1912 gift of the cherry blossom trees and the enduring friendship between the people of the United States and Japan.
The predicted peak blooming period of the cherry blossoms – MARCH 29 – APRIL 3!
Here are some of the highlights:
Family Day – Saturday, March 26, 2011
National Building Museum
401 F Street, NW
Metro Judiciary Square, Red Line
10am-3:30 pm
Opening Ceremony – Saturday, March 26, 2011
National Building Museum
401 F Street, NW
Metro Judiciary Square, Red Line
4-5:30 pm
Smithsonian Kite Festival – Sunday, March 27, 2011
Washington Monument Grounds
10 am-4 pm
Fireworks Display – Saturday, April 2, 2011
Waterfront Park – 600 Water Street, SW
Fireworks at 8:30-9 pm
Cherry Blossom Parade – Saturday, April 9, 2011
Constitution Avenue from 7th to 17th Streets, NW
10 am- 12 noon
Cherry Blossom Festival Website
National Park Service Bloom Watch
Metro Website (use the trip planner feature on this website to find the metro options, taking metro is much better than driving for the festival events)
It’s time to purchase your tickets to attend the highly anticipated 45th International Ball at the US Naval Academy!
Date: April 16, 2011
Location: United States Naval Academy
Time: 8:00 pm
Cost: $10 per ticket, plus $1.50 service charge
Dress: Cocktail Dress, Formal (check out Ross, TJ Maxx and Marshalls for discount dresses and shoes)
