Several dozen au pairs living in New Canaan, Darien and Norwalk gathered at Bayley Beach in Rowayton to participate in the very American tradition of carving pumpkins for Halloween! The girls are all with Au Pair in America, representing countries around the world.
Despite the pandemic and travel restrictions from many countries, Au Pair in America has been bringing new girls into the US weekly. In New Canaan we welcomed FIVE new arrivals at our most recent cluster meeting!
Despite the pandemic, Au Pair in America au pairs in New Canaan found ways to help those less fortunate among us and give back to the community that has welcomed them so warmly.
In September, Staying Put in New Canaan asked for help decorating face masks to be included in food baskets being delivered as part of it’s Celebration of Generations virtual luncheon. Au pairs in New Canaan volunteered to decorate 60 of the white cotton masks. An international group from Brazil, the Czech Republic, Peru, New Zealand, Germany, Colombia, Latvia, South Africa and Poland participated.
During the month of November, the group participated in an individual Turkey Trot 5K and raised $310 which was donated to the CT Food Bank. We celebrated doing good for others while promoting healthy habits.
To add cheer to the holidays for New Canaan’s elderly residents, au pairs decorated dozens of hand made cards that were distributed along with poinsettias and cookies to Staying Put in New Canaan clients. During virtual meetings in December, the girls shared holiday traditions and recipes from their home countries, promoting the cultural exchange which is the heart of the au pair program.
Driving with kids in the car can be particularly distracting especially if there is crying, whining, or some other issue that warrants attention. It is hard to ignore children who want attention, but when you are driving you need to remain focused on DRIVING!
If the snow &/or ice is heavy or threatening to become heavy, don’t go out. It is not worth the risk. Cancel, change plans, make due. If you must go out, keep the trip as short as possible, and follow these guidelines.
When there is snow &/or ice on the street:
1. If your car has been outside, warm up the car and clean the snow & ice off all windows, windshields, and hood using a brush & scraper (make sure your headlights and brake lights are snow free). Do not warm up a car in a closed garage.
2. Go more slowly than usual, and leave more time than you normally would to get where you’re going.
3. Keep a safe distance between you and the vehicle(s) ahead of you. Safe distance in snow is double the normal distance.
4. Turn your headlights on if it is snowing (and any time you use your windshield wipers). In heavy snow, fog lights might also be helpful (but not all cars have them).
5. Don’t make sudden or jerky movements with steering, and don’t accelerate or brake forcefully. This can cause you to slide and lose control.
6. If you start to slide or skid, take your foot off the gas pedal and keep steering & looking where you want to go. When you are headed the right way again and feel some traction, accelerate slowly (or brake slowly). If your wheels start to spin, take your foot off the gas pedal until you feel the tires grab again.
7. When you break, push the break gently. If you have anti-lock brakes, you will hear a thumping sound which is normal (it is the way the car prevents the brakes from locking up and making the situation worse). If you have regular brakes, pump them slowly, keeping your heel on the floor and the ball of your foot on the brake pedal (this helps you to be gentler because you are using only your foot, not your whole leg).
8. If you need to get out of a parking space with a lot of snow, you might need to “rock” the car, going forward a little, then back a little, over and over. Keep the wheels fairly straight, with only slight movements left or right. It is really difficult to get over snow when the wheels are turned hard to the left or right. If that doesn’t work, you may need to either shovel the snow out of the way or put down sand, kitty litter or gravel to get traction (some families keep a bag of this in the trunk).
9. Keep your gas tank at least ¼ full so that the gas line doesn’t freeze (if extra moisture gets in the line), and keep your windshield wiper fluid 1/2 full or more. You don’t want to run out of wiper fluid in the middle of the road with trucks spewing dirty slush onto your windshield.
10. Never use the cruise control in snow, ice or rain. It can cause the car to hydroplane and you could lose control.
Au Pair in America celebrated International Exchange Day in Waveny Park with food, children’s games, face painting, and a community service project which collected over 100 pairs of shoes for donation to Person-To-Person in Darien! International Exchange Day, which is on August 5 each year, is a nationwide celebration of the benefit of international exchange. Participants come together to share cultural diversity and customs, to give back to their communities, and to have some fun. IED is also an opportunity to raise awareness of international exchange programs and spread the word about the power and breadth of cultural exchange. Thank you to all of the host families that donated shoes! Your generosity is appreciated 🙂
More than two dozen au pairs with Au Pair in America helped the Young Women’s League of New Canaan fill 10,000 plastic eggs with candy for the town Easter Egg Hunt! The au pairs, from around the world, enjoy experiencing American traditions during their time in the US. They are quite eager to volunteer in the community, meet new people, and have fun!
Our cluster was very fortunate recently to have a demonstration in Thai cooking from a Bangkok native! We sampled spring rolls, made our own summer rolls with rice paper wrappers and a selection of ingredients, and then watched the making of Pad See Ew– stir fried noodles with chicken and Chinese broccoli.
Unfortunately, kitchen accidents happen every year because people forget basic safety principles. Read the kitchen tips listed below to remind yourself how to practice good kitchen safety in your home.
So What is Presidents’ Day Anyway?
Presidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birthday” by the federal government. Traditionally celebrated on February 22—Washington’s actual day of birth—the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.
To see a listing of all U.S. presidents go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents. Click on each president to find out who they were and what they achieved during their presidency. Most American school children have to learn their presidents. This is a great site to go through with them and test their knowledge!
