Yearly Archives: 2012

November 2012 Calendar

November 2 – Day of the Dead / el día de los muertos– This is a Mexican holiday marked by celebrations, special foods, reunions and visits to cemeteries.   It is also known as All Soul’s Day. https://blogs.aupairinamerica.com/cha/wp-content/uploads/sites/67/2012/10/candyskull.jpg

November 4 – Daylight Savings Time Ends-In most parts of the country you’ll get an extra hour of sleep – set your clock back one hour. https://blogs.aupairinamerica.com/cha/wp-content/uploads/sites/67/2012/02/Deadline-Clock-300×1981.jpg

November 6 – Election Day https://blogs.aupairinamerica.com/cha/wp-content/uploads/sites/67/2012/06/abraham-lincoln.jpg

November 11 – Veteran’s Day A day to honor American veterans of all wars. Veterans Day is a federal holiday.

November 22 Thanksgiving – Thanksgiving dates back to the first European settlers in North America. After hardship, illness and hard work the Pilgrims celebrated a successful harvest that they shared with their Native American friends. This national holiday is a day to feast and give thanks. https://blogs.aupairinamerica.com/cha/wp-content/uploads/sites/67/2012/06/thanksgiving-turkey1.jpg

November 23– Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving and is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many employees have the day off, which increases the number of potential shoppers. Merchants and the media use the term Black Friday to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers are in the black i.e., turning a profit for the year.  Sales are everywhere–set your alarm and hit the stores before the sun comes up to get an authentic experience of this unique day! https://blogs.aupairinamerica.com/cha/wp-content/uploads/sites/67/2012/06/money-clipart1.gif

Child Focus

Homework – Now that the school year is well under way, your host children may have more homework than before.  Tips to help everyone get homework done can be found here http://aupairinamerica.com/resources/activities/homework_support.asp

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Driving – Keeping children happy in the car can be challenging. One helpful approach is to engage them in car games in the safety of their car seat or seat belt.

I Spy:  Very young children can play”” I Spy with my little eye”” and they say the color of the thing they are looking at and everyone else in the car needs to guess what it is.  For example, “”I spy my with my little eye something red”” and people guess that the child is looking at a red car or red mailbox.

Alphabet Game- ages 3 and up – Children who can identify letters and can easily see out the window of the car can play this game. One child starts with A and has to find a word on a sign visible from the car with the letter A. The next child has to identify the B, and so on.  Older children can play the Geography Game.  One person starts by saying aloud a country, city or state and the next person must take the last letter to begin his country, city or state.  For example: 1st person says New York and the next person can say Kansas and the next person can say Seattle.

Fun Things to Do Next Weekend:

Saturday October 27 at 8 p.m.  Haunted Hayride in Shelton.  Join other au pairs for an evening at the Fairview Tree Farm where ghosts, goblins and other Halloween frights await you in the woods .  www.fairviewtreefarm.com

Sunday October 28:  Westport Playhouse will be hosting Community Day.  Purchase tickets for the play Raisin in the Sun for $15. Phone: 203-227-4177 www.westportplayhouse.org

Monday October 29:  Have your little ones dress up in their Halloween costumes, meet in front of the YMCA at 3 p.m. and have them join the parade down Main Street.  The parade will end at Town Hall, where there will be music and refreshments .  If it rains, just go to Town Hall for an afternoon of Halloween fun.

October Calendar

October 8- Columbus Day – Today commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the “New World.”

October 24 – Game One of the Baseball World Series – In baseball the World Series is the championship games of Major League Baseball in North America, played in October after the end of the regular season between the pennant winners of the American and  National Leagues. The Series winner is determined through a best-of-seven playoff, meaning that the first team to win four games wins the series. The World Series has been an annual event since 1903.  It is played at the baseball stadiums of the two teams in the series.  Baseball is so popular that it is sometimes called the “national pastime.” The word “ballgame” in the United States almost always refers to a game of baseball, and “ballpark” to a baseball field.  The rules of baseball can be found here http://aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/baseball.asp

October 24 – United Nations Day – This is the anniversary of the creation of the United Nations in 1947, committed peace and development, based on the principles of justice, human dignity and the well-being of all people. Teach your children something about your country today – a song, a story, game, a new food or a national tradition.

October 31-Halloween This is the day children dress up in costumes and, in many communities, go door-to-door to ask for candy. Safety on Halloween is extremely important – don’t take our eyes off the children and don’t let them eat unwrapped candy.

Fun Things to do with your Host Children:

October is National Stamp Collecting Month –Collecting stamps is a fun and easy introduction to geography, history, art and nature. Help your children start a stamp collection by sharing stamps from your letters from home. Ask your au pair friends for stamps from their countries. https://blogs.aupairinamerica.com/cha/wp-content/uploads/sites/67/2012/05/576640-01-main-103×1031.jpg

Make a Pizza – Pizza is easy and fun to make and can be a nutritious meal for the children. Buy ready made pizza dough (in the refrigerated or freezer section at the supermarket) or a ready-made crust (in the bread department). Buy shredded mozzarella cheese and a jar of pizza sauce. If you want meat on the pizza you can cook a small amount of ground beef in a pan until it is brown. If you would like vegetables, sauté some sliced peppers, onions or mushrooms in a little bit of oil. You and the children can then make the pizza. First the dough or crust goes on a cookie sheet or pizza pan if you have one. Then spread the sauce, add the other toppings, and last of all, sprinkle the cheese. Bake as directed for the crust. Be careful, especially with the children, as the oven must be very hot to make a nice crusty pizza.

Cookies are popular everyday, but since October is also Cookie month you might want to bake your own with children ages 4 and up, or buy large plain sugar cookies at the store and have fun decorating them with store-bought icing, chocolate chips, sprinkles and other toppings. https://blogs.aupairinamerica.com/cha/wp-content/uploads/sites/67/2012/06/7512892-delicious-and-tasty-chip-cookie1.jpg

Paper bag masks – Use a large brown paper grocery bag for a mask by cutting out holes for the eyes (try it on the child to get them in the right place) and then coloring the face in fun ways with crayons. You can make different characters – a monster, a king or queen, animals etc. Cutting holes for the shoulders can also be helpful.

Make a bird feeder – Go for a walk to find a pine cone at least 4 inches long. Cover the pine cone with peanut butter and maybe bits of bread, crackers or cereal stuck to the peanut butter. Hang it from a tree by string or yarn and watch the birds come eat it. Try to hang it away from any place a squirrel can get to it.

Water Painting – If you have an old paint brush use it to paint fences, houses or the sidewalk with water. You will be surprised how long this activity stays interesting.

Football

American Football season kicks off this month

The first game is September 5th ~ Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants

Visit http://aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/football.asp for the full rules of American Football.

American Football Simplified

A football field is 100 yards long. There is a Goal Post at each end of the field, in the End Zone, one for each team.  Each team has an Offense and a Defense. If the Offense has the ball and tries to score by getting it across the Goal Line – the line where the playing field and the End Zone meet, the Defense tries to stop them. The Offense gets four tries to move the ball 10 yards toward their own goal post. These are called Downs. If they make the 10 yards or more, they get another four tries to move the ball another 10 yards. If they don’t move the ball 10 yards in four tries, the ball goes to the other team, or the team “loses the ball.”   A Football Game is made up of 60 minutes of play time. The 60 minutes is divided into four Quarters of 15 minutes each. At the end of two Quarters, there is a break called Half Time. On the Scoreboard you can see the minutes and seconds running out. The team with the most points at the end of four Quarters wins.

The Super Bowl is the final game of the Football season when two teams play each other for the championship. The game takes place in late January or early February. For some people the TV commercials are the best part of the Super Bowl.

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September 2012 Calendar

September 3 -Labor Day – Labor Day is the first Monday in September and was first celebrated in the United States on September 5, 1882 as a trade union holiday.  Now Labor Day is seen as the end of summer and the beginning of school for many students. The day is often celebrated with picnics, sporting events and reunions.

September 9- National Grandparents Day – Take some time today to make a surprise for Grandparents Day.  This is not a widely celebrated holiday, so grandparents will appreciate being remembered and would particularly enjoy a homemade gift or card.  https://blogs.aupairinamerica.com/cha/wp-content/uploads/sites/67/2012/06/grandparents.jpg

September 11 – Take a moment to day to remember victims of the 2001 September 11 attacks, often referred to as 9/11 (pronounced nine-eleven) On this day, hijackers intentionally crashed two airplanes in to the World Trade Center in New York City causing them to collapse. Hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania, after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane.

September 16- Rosh Hashanah – Rosh Hashanah starts at sundown and is a solemn celebration of the beginning of the Jewish year.  Synagogue services are held on Rosh Hashanah. During the services, the shofar, a ram’s horn, is sounded.  During Rosh Hashanah special dishes are prepared. Many of the dishes contain honey,which symbolizes the desire for a sweet year. A round bread represents the fullness of the year.

September 22- Fall begins As the weather cools and the leaves start to change color, it is apple-picking season in most parts of the United States.  Visit Blue Jay Orchards in Bethel (203-748-0119) , Jones Family Farms in Shelton (203-929-8425)  Silverman’s Farm in Easton (203-261-3306) or Warrups Farm in W. Redding (203-938-9403)   Try these simple apple recipes, no matter where you get your apples:

  • Applesauce is very simple to make. Remove the core and quarter the apples. If you leave the peel on during cooking it will give the applesauce a pink color. When the apples are very soft, remove any peel that is left, mash the pulp or put it through a sieve. Add sugar if needed.
  • Try making Dried Apple Rings. They can be used as a nutritious snack. Peel, core and slice apples into 1/8 inch rings (Macintosh or Golden Delicious apples work best). Dip each ring into a mixture of lemon juice and water to help the apples keep their color. Pull a piece of string through the center of each ring and hang in a dry, warm place. They take 1-2 weeks to dry and become chewy.

September 22 – Elephant Appreciation Day Elephants are the largest land animals.  There are Asian (or Indian) and African elephants – the two look slightly different.  Younger children may enjoy reading books with elephants in the story such as the classic “Babar” series by Jean de Brunhoff or “But No Elephants” by Jerry Smath.  Older children (ages 6 and older) would be interested in facts about elephants and learning about conservation of the endangered Indian elephant.  Finish off the day with Elephant Ears, a sweet pastry available at many bakeries or visit the website for a recipe.

September 25 Yom Kippur – Beginning at sunset, Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. The observance is also known as the Day of Atonement since the events of Yom Kippur focus on asking and granting forgiveness.  Many Jews attend services at a synagogue or temple on the eve and day of Yom Kippur.  On Yom Kippur, many Jews perform no work and abstain from food and drink for 24 hours.

September 30 Sukkot – is a joyous Jewish holiday that lasts for seven days and remembers the time that Israelites wandered in the desert during their journey to the Promised Land.  It is observed by the building of a temporary dwelling (a sukkah) decorated with fruits and other symbols of the harvest.

August

Thursday August 23, 2012: Norwalk Community College Open House for au pair registration – 10:30 a.m-noon

Wednesday August 29, 2012: Multi Cluster Miniature Golf in Norwalk

Thursday August 30:  Fairfield University Open House Registration for au pairs

August Activities

Dream Day – Not everyone remembers their dreams but if the children are old enough to tell you about their dream, it might be fun to create a dream log with words and or pictures. Children who have scary dreams may be helped by reading There’s a Nightmare in my Closet by Mercer Mayer, or The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Dream by Stan and Jan Berenstain.

Sea Serpents – Sea serpents are not a part of our everyday life and so they are fascinating to children. Have fun drawing your own ideas of fantastic sea serpents, remind the children that they can be friendly or scary but are never real. Two delightful books about sea serpents: Harry by the Sea by Gene Zion and The Mysterious Tadpole by Steven Kellogg.

Toasting marshmallows over a campfire is a summertime treat. This may not be possible at home, but you can still make ‘smores, a messy, gooey, sweet summertime delight.

Ingredients for one ‘smore

2 graham cracker squares

1 large marshmallow

Handful of chocolate chips

2 tablespoons melted butter

Tin foil

Place marshmallows and chocolate chips in graham cracker squares, like a sandwich and wrap in tin foil.  Place in the toaster oven or under the broiler for 2-3 minutes and Voilá a tasty gooey treat!

In the US we most often eat potatoes baked or fried. However, almost every culture has its own way of preparing potatoes – introduce your family to potatoes as you know them. Potatoes are also useful for many craft projects. Cut one in half and carve a simple design into the cut end, then dip it in paint and use it for printing. Cut an end off a sweet potato and let it sit in shallow water for several days. It will start to grow into a beautiful vine