Valentine’s Day (February 14) is a time of love, friendship, giving, and caring. Americans use Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to tell friends and family how much they care. Children usually exchange cards at school.
Are you looking for Valentine’s day activity and craft ideas?
Look no further… Au Pair in America has a Pinterest pinboard devoted to Valentine’s Day:
Photo: Clever Cupcakes (Flickr)
Looking for ideas to keep the kids busy on a snow day (when they are home from school for winter weather?)
Here is a simple snow day game plan…
Photo: Tony Crider (Flickr)
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:
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:
Image: teachkidsart.com
Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to all kinds of bugs, insects, butterflies, and spiders can be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Bugs & Butterflies pinboard.
Outdoors – Kids today do not spend enough time outdoors. Take the kids in the backyard or another nature area (approved by your host parents) and do some activities related to this theme:
NOTE: If you are outdoors with the children, be sure to check for ticks when you come back inside. Here is a blog post explaining the health risk ticks can pose and how to find and remove them safely.
Videos – You can find many great videos of butterflies and insects on YouTube. Check out these videos for kids about bees and ants. All about Insects covers lots of tiny creatures who crawl and fly. Here are a few videos to get you started.
Movies – A Bugs Life, The Bee Movie, Maya the Bee, and The Ant Bully all fit this theme.
Webcams – You can do a Google search for websites with webcams that allow you to observe bugs.
Books – Check your kids’ bookshelf for books on bugs and butterflies.
Image: minieco.co.uk
When kids are out of school for the summer, it doesn’t take long for them to become bored and sometimes that leads to sibling squabbles and mischief. Even though they don’t realize it, they are usually missing routine and predictability in their daily schedule. One solution is to make fun plans to keep them busy! 
Each week this summer we will share a different Camp Au Pair theme. These weekly themes are designed to give you ideas to keep your host kids occupied and engaged all summer long. They will also be learning. (But shhhh, don’t tell them that part.) Check back each Friday, for the next week’s theme. This gives you a chance to make plans and gather materials for the next week. For each theme there will be crafts, games, snacks and activities. You can just use these ideas or add your own and customize the themes to fit the ages and interests of your host children.
Here are the themes you can look forward to:
Check out Summer Fun & Summer Holidays pin boards for even more ideas.
If you get some great pictures doing these activities with your host kids, please send those to your counselor. We love to share your accomplishments and inspire other au pairs!
Let’s make this an amazing summer!
Image: teachkidsart.com
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. Continue reading
Image: swetpaulmag.com
This week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Science (STEM).
Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to all things science, technology, engineering and math can be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Science (STEM) pinboard. Continue reading
Image: minieco.co.uk
This week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Bugs & Butterflies.
Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to all kinds of bugs, insects, butterflies, and spiders can be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Bugs & Butterflies pinboard. Continue reading
Prince George’s County Fair (Image: F Delventhal)
Looking for a change of scenery?
Want to get out DC’s concrete jungle for the day?
Or maybe you just want to try a fried Oreo?
All of these dreams can come true over the next few weeks at one of the many area county and state fairs.
Usually held in late summer or early fall, county and state fairs often include agricultural exhibits or competitors, carnival amusement rides, and games, displays of industrial products, automobile racing, and entertainment such as musical concerts (adapted from Wikipedia).
Montgomery County Agricultural Fair (Images: Catherine McEaddy)
The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair and the Arlington County Fair are held in August; The Prince George’s County Fair takes place in September. KidFriendly DC and NBCWashington have details about some of the most popular county fairs throughout Maryland and Virginia.
Interested in checking out an agricultural fair on urban turf? Then don’t miss the 10th Annual DC State Fair on September 8th. That’s right- DC has a state fair! It may be small in comparison to Maryland or Virginia’s state fairs, but the DC State Fair definitely has the best t-shirts. Plus as a DC resident, you can enter one of the contests!
Image: funlearningforkids.com
This week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Cars & Trucks.
Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to all kinds of vehicles can all be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Cars & Trucks pinboard.
Field Trips can be a great way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Here are a few places that fit this theme:
Videos – Amazing Big Trucks is a kid-friendly video showing big trucks in action. Look for fun videos on YouTube about cars and trucks.
Movies – Cars, Turbo, The Love Bug, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Bob the Builder Mega Machines movies all fit this theme. Common Sense Media’s list of Best Car Movies for Kids and Teens has more suggestions. (Always check with your host parents first, as some of these movies are rated PG or PG-13.)
Books – Common Sense Media’s list of books about Cars, Trucks, and Trains has lots of great suggestions, including Let’s Go for a Drive! An Elephant and Piggie Book, Bulldozer’s Big Day, and Go, Dog, Go! Stop by your local library for these and other books about cars and trucks.
