Au Pair In America Au Pairs Busy Teaching Youngsters About Their Native Lands

 

On Tuesday April 13, 2010 Denise Rojas and Karen Sanchez, two au pairs from Costa Rica, taught Peggy Pasierb’s Pre-K class at St. Paul’s Nursery School a little about their Costa Rican culture.  They showed the children where Costa Rica is on a map and then they taught the children a counting song in Spanish.  After reviewing Spanish words for colors, the children painted a picture of the Yiguirro, the national bird of Costa Rica.  They then played the Spanish form of the song Heads, Shoulder, Knees and toes.  After the bilingual class, students went home with Costa Rican candies, a Global Awareness coloring page and book mark.

On Wednesday April 7, 2010, Lara Soares and Joyce Oliveira, Brazilian au pairs with Au Pair In America, introduced Brazil and its culture to the four year olds at the St Paul Christian School on Easton Road in Westport .   Using colorful maps and pictures and power point technology,   Lara and Joyce showed the children Rio and Sao Paulo, the Brazilian Rain forest and all of the animals, insects and plants that inhabit it. They talked about soccer, their national sport and pastime, and what it is like to live in Brazil.  The children learned how to say hello and good bye in Portuguese and they even heard the similarity between Spanish and Portuguese numbers one to ten.  The children made their own Brazilian flags and took home famous Brazilian cartoon characters to color at home.  Global Awareness presentations are interactive, fun learning experiences that introduce our children to their global neighbors and foster multi-cultural understanding and appreciation .   It is a volunteer educational program sponsored by the American Institute For Foreign Study .

Our au pairs Chennitsa, Jaye, Irena, Lara, Lisa, and Karen braved the cold to face paint and apply tatoos on children at the Saturday March 27th Touch A Truck benefit for the Westport-Weston Nursery School.  It was a fun family day.  Children explored busses, fire trucks, dump trucks and more.  They blew horns and whistles, rode a mini train, jumped and bounced in a play house, and even got to play video games in a truck!  Thank you to all of you who attended and participated in this yearly event.