Author Archives: Carol Steinman

October Calendar

October 14- Columbus Day – Today commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the “New World.”

October 23 – 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.

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

Host Family-Au Pair Beach Party

Since we have had so many new families move to Westport, we had a Host Family-Au Pair Gathering at the beach Sunday September 8th.  We all had an opportunity to meet each other, make some new friends and welcome some newcomers to our wonderful town. A great time was had by all!

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September 8- National Grandparents Day

Take some time with your host children 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.

American Football season kicks off this month The first game in the NFL is September 5th ~ Baltimore Ravens vs. Denver Broncos

American Football Simplified

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.

A football field is 100 yards long. There is a Goal Post at each end of the field (called 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 tries are called Downs. If they move the ball down the field 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; we say the team “loses the ball.” 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.

September Calendar

September 2 -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 4- 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 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.

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September 13 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.


August 27 – First Day of School

The rules regarding stopping for school buses are:

  • Yellow flashing lights indicate that the bus is preparing to load or unload children. You should slow down and prepare to stop the car.
  • Red flashing lights and extended stop arms indicate that the bus has stopped, and children are getting on or off. Motorists approaching from either direction must wait until the red lights stop flashing before proceeding.
  • It is against the law to pass a stopped school bus while its lights are flashing and its’ stop arm is extended. Vehicles must stop on both sides of the roadway. Failure to stop can result in high fines which the au pair has to pay, not the host family.

Multi Cluster Miniature Golf Event

Au pairs from all over Fairfield County mingled and met and played miniature golf at Cove Marina in Norwalk, CT Wednesday evening August 21st.  It was a great way to end the summer, catch up with some old friends and make some new ones.  A fun time was had by all! IMG_1144IMG_1145IMG_1147IMG_1148IMG_1149

July Calendar

July 3:  Fireworks at Compo Beach!


July 4: Independence Day was first celebrated on July 8, 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was read to the public. By the 1880’s, the Fourth of July had become the most significant patriotic occasion in the United States. The holiday is presently celebrated with parades, fireworks, picnics, sporting events, and music. Children can have fun making paintings of fireworks: Use a large piece of paper. Let children drop small amounts of paint (different colors works well, or just use blue and red for a patriotic look. If you can, get black paper and use red, white and blue for fireworks in the night sky). Have the children swirl the paint out with a spoon, let them keep swirling from the center, in all directions around the drop of paint. Some of them may overlap, and that is fine, too. When it is finished it looks like fireworks bursting in the sky. Or give the child a straw and have them blow into the pools of paint to make their own free form painting of fireworks.

July 9 The month of Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is the holiest month of the year. During Ramadan many Muslims fast from dawn until sundown, abstaining from food and drink. The fast is for self-purification and renewal

July 14:  Bastille Day:  On July 14th the French celebrate Bastille Day. This day marks the end of monarchy and the beginning of the French Revolution. A favorite way to celebrate in France is with a picnic. You can plan a picnic with the children – it’s a simple adventure to eat outside on a blanket. Or try the Picnic Memory Game. A player names something they will pack for the picnic, then the next player names what he is bringing and what the other person is bringing. This continues with everyone taking a turn until the list is too long to remember or everyone is laughing too hard to play!

July 16-19:  Library Book Sale

July 20: Westport’s annual Point to Point Swim at Compo Beach.  Event open to ages 10 and up

July 20-21:  Outdoor Art Show along the sidewalks of Parker Harding Plaza in downtown Westport

Healthy Eating…Summer is Almost Here!

Healthy eating–Start slow and make changes to your eating habits over time. Trying to make your diet healthy overnight isn’t realistic or smart.  Changing everything at once usually leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. Make small steps, like adding a fruit or vegetable to your diet every day. As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices to your diet.

Children should eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Many children prefer the crunch of raw food – especially popular are apples, pears, carrots, broccoli, celery and cucumbers. Use your imagination to serve cut up vegetables in an interesting way– for example, make a figure with carrot stick arms and legs, a celery body and a round of cucumber for a head.


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June 6 – National Applesauce Cake Day

Here’s a recipe for a healthy and delicious snack to make with the children

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries

Mix first sugar and shortening, then add flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix in applesauce and raisins/cranberries. Place in a greased and floured 9 x 13 inch baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

June 2013 Calendar

June 13-16:  Welcome summer with the Yankee Doodle Fair.  Great fun rides and amusements at the Westport Young Women’s League on Imperial Avenue

June 14 – Flag Day : Flying the American flag is more popular than ever. It is a symbol of the country’s values and traditions. Its 13 red and white stripes represent the original colonies and the 50 stars stand for the states. You can find a print out of the American flag and flags of many other countries in the Kids Culture Corner http://aupairinamerica.com/resources/kids/culture_corner/

June 16 – Father’s Day To honor the father in your family, work together to make a special picture or homemade gift.

June 21- First day of summer! Long hot days make for children who need some quiet time. Relax and unwind at the end of the day with some summertime reading.

June 23:  Opening day of the Levitt Pavilion – a summer of free outdoor entertainment.  Visit www.levittpavilion.com for their calendar of top quality nightly entertainment under the stars