ALICE BROWN EARLY LEARNING CENTER -Ms. Caligiuri’s pre-k class had a visit from Andrea Vargas Guerrero. Andrea is an Au Pair with Au Pair in America in Huntington, Long Island. Ms. Caligiuri wrote this about Andrea’s visit: 
This morning, Charlotte’s Au Pair, Andrea, visited the class to speak with the Pre-K 3 children about her home country Colombia! Andrea explained to the children about the several differences between the United States and Colombia. Colombia is a Much Smaller Country Than America Andrea showed the children on a map how small Colombia is when compared to the United States. The Colombian Flag VS. The American Flag Andrea also spoke about the Colombian flag and how different it is from the American flag. Breckin: The flag of America is red, white, and blue. Mason: And there are stars and the stars are for each of the states. Andrea showed the children what the Colombia flag looks like. Andrea: The Colombian flag has three colors…yellow, blue and red. She then gave each child their own sticker of the Colombian flag. At the end of Andrea’s visit, she taught the children how to count up to ten in Spanish. She showed a book of numbers, and while the children said each number in English, Andrea said it in Spanish. After going through the whole book, Andrea played a game with the children, where she said a number in Spanish and the children were asked to jump that number. Thank You Visiting Our Class Andrea!!!!!
Category Archives: Safety and Childcare
OCTOBER IS FIRE PREVENTION MONTH
October is Fire Prevention Month and the American Red Cross is encouraging people to take steps to lessen the risk of a fire in their home.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, there are between 350,000 and 400,000 house fires in the United States every year. Home fires are the biggest disaster threat to families in this country, above floods and hurricanes.
That’s why the American Red Cross is encouraging people to remember two key fire safety steps: installing smoke alarms and developing a fire escape plan.
“The Red Cross responded to more than 62,960 home fires in fiscal year 2011,” said Charley Shimanski, senior vice president, Red Cross Disaster Services. “Fires strike suddenly and spread quickly. It’s important to take simple steps now to protect the members of your household. During a fire, every second counts and being prepared can greatly reduce the effects of these devastating disasters.”
It is recommended that people check each smoke alarm in their home by pushing the test button at least once a month and replacing batteries every year, or as needed. Fire escape plans should include at least two escape routes from every room in the home and a convenient meeting place at a safe distance from the home. Practice the escape plan at least twice a year and revise as necessary. Families are encouraged to pay particular attention to developing and regularly practicing escape plans for children and older adults.
Additional recommendations include:
- Keep matches and lighters away from and out of reach of children.
- Don’t leave the kitchen, and don’t leave the home while you’re frying, grilling or broiling food.
- Once you are out, stay out! Call the fire department from a neighbor’s home.
During Fire Prevention Month, visit www.redcross.org for more steps people can take to lessen the chance of a fire in their home.
Halloween Safety Tips
Ghouls and goblins will take over the night. But even scary creatures need to be safe and celebrate Halloween right. Halloween’s greatest hazards aren’t vampires and villains, but falls, costume mishaps and automobile collisions. The Red Cross wantsyour family to have a safe Halloween so we’re providing these tips,
the Lucky 13:
- Map out the route that you plan to roam, so adults are assured you will find your way home!
- From the bravest of superheroes to the noblest of knights, everyone should remember to bring their flashlights!
- If you visit a house where a stranger resides, accept treats at the door and, please, don’t go inside.
- When you get ready to put on your disguise, use face paint instead of masks, which will cover your eyes.
- Always remember, before you embark, to wear light-colored clothing to be seen in the dark! (And remember to use reflective tape, even on bikes, and brooms and the edges of your cape!)
- Whether you walk, slither or sneak, do it on the sidewalks and not in the street.
- As you roam through the neighborhood collecting your treats, please look both ways before crossing the street! (And speaking of streets, the corners are the place for trick or treaters to cross no matter their pace.)
- Wigs, capes and costumes are flammable attire, so avoid open flames to prevent a fire!
- Use a glow stick instead of a candle so your jack-o-lantern isn’t a safety gamble!
- You may fly on a broom or a space ship from Mars, but please be on the lookout for drivers in cars! (Between parked cars is no to hide, be sure that you’re seen whether you’re a clown or a bride.)
- Monsters and zombies should stay off the lawn, and only visit homes with their porch lights turned on!
- You may be dressed as a werewolf, a cat or a frog, but be cautious around strange animals, especially dogs.
- For additional information on how you and your family can be prepared for emergencies on Halloween or on any day of the year, please visit www.RedCross.org
March Cluster Meeting
Taxes aren’t much fun, but they have to be done, even by au pairs. On Sunday, March 18th, Cindy Garruba Senior Community Counselor in Suffolk County for Au Pair in America helped the au pairs prepare their tax returns. Cindy handed out the forms, directions and provided the steps to complete the returns provided by Au Pair in America’s Stamford office. Taxes done, they will mail them in on or before the April 17th deadline date!
Since Spring has sprung early here on Long Island, we reviewed playground safety. Tips on safety can be found on the APIA website http://www.aupairinamerica.com/resources/safety_tips/ . Au Pair in America considers the safety of the children in our au pairs’ care of the utmost importance. The au pairs also viewed a video about playground safety
We also shared how important friendship is in the Au Pair program. “Strangers are just friends waiting to happen.” Lifelong friendships are formed as au pairs. We exchanged friendship bracelets to remember to reach out to each other when we need a friend!
September Au Pair Cluster Meeting
The Suffolk County cluster of Au Pair in America meeting in September was filled with au pairs and with important information. Cindy Garruba, Senior Community Counselor advised all host families to make sure their au pair attended this important meeting.
All summer long Au Pairs were arriving in Suffolk County. Some of them came to families whose former au pair had completed her time as an au pair and was heading home to her own country. Some were coming to new host families! Along with au pairs who have been in the country several months, the new au pairs gathered at Cindy Garruba’s home. They had lessons on safe driving led by Cindy, always a high priority for all au pairs. Cindy also taught the au pairs about managing the needs of their host children going back to school; things like handling the stressful morning on school days, safe trips to the bus stop, communicating with school through the back pack, and advice from teachers.
Along with the valuable lessons learned, the au pairs also had a chance to talk about themselves. They each told the group their name, their country, when they arrived in the USA, where their host family lives in Suffolk County, how many and the ages of their host children. The group includes au pairs from Europe, Asia and South America. Everyone made new friends!
Mardi Gras Fun With Kids
March 8 Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras, French for “Fat Tuesday” marks the end of Carnival and the beginning of the Christian fasting of Lent. The biggest Mardi Gras celebration in the US is in New Orleans, Louisiana. Rio de Janeiro in Brazil also has a huge celebration. Find a Brazilian au pair in your cluster and ask her to tell you all about it.
Make Mardi Gras Pasta Necklaces
Coloring pasta is easy to do and gives kids something bright and beautiful to work with. Once the pasta is colored and dried, necklaces can be made by stringing on yarn.
Supplies for Colored Pasta:
- Dried Pasta – any pasta works, but for stringing you will need tubed pasta. I used macaroni, penne, and wheels.
- Food coloring
- Rubbing alcohol
- Plastic baggies
- Paper towels
- String or Yarn
Place your dried pasta in a zip plastic baggie. Pour in 3-4 drops of your food coloring. Pour in 1 Tablespoon of Rubbing Alcohol. Now seal the bag and shake it all together. Make sure each piece of dried pasta gets coated.
Pour your colored pasta out on paper towel lined trays. Food coloring can stain, so be careful. You’ll want it completely dry before you start to work with it again, as you don’t want any color to drip. I put mine out in the sun to dry faster.
Get out your string or yarn and cut the length of a necklace for your child. Then tie a knot at one end, big enough that the pasta will stay there. I like to tie pasta in my knotted end so the others won’t fall off. I also like to put a little tape around the top of the string so it won’t fray as you string.
Have your child string on pasta, all sizes and shapes. You can introduce patterns or do counting with your child. Once they’ve hit the end of their string, tie the two sides together for a necklace around your child’s neck.
Make Mardi Gras Paper Plate Masks
Supplies for Masks:
- Paper plates
- Color construction paperPlastic baggies
- Markers and/or crayons
- Glue
- Stickers
- Glitter
- Craft feathers
- Hole punch
- String
Cut a paper plate in half (you can make two masks per plate this way).
Cut eye holes in the half plate.
Shape the mask by cutting around the edges–scallops, points, curves or whatever suits you. Be sure to cut a curved groove between and beneath the two eye holes for the nose.
Place a line of white glue around the eye holes and along the edges of the mask. If you want, you can also create swirls or other patterns with glue on the mask.
Sprinkle glitter on top of the glue while it is still wet. Allow the glue to dry.
Decorate the mask as you see fit once the glue is dry. Use markers to color the white paper plate; glue feathers, beads or cut-out construction paper shapes to the mask; or add anything else that might make the mask colorful and festive.
Punch one small hole on each side of the mask and tie a string into the holes.
Au Pair in America Partners with AAA
The most trusted choice for live-in childcare, Au Pair in America has partnered with AAA, the nation’s most trusted name in driver safety and instruction, to offer a custom course specifically designed for au pairs. This course differs from those offered in your community, in that AAA has taken the best of several of their courses, adapted them to be the most accessible to the au pair population, with special focus on driver and child passenger safety. Key components of the course include:
- Driver Safety
- Child passenger safety (car seats, communication, expectations)
- Communication and traffic devices
- Vehicle Awareness (understanding what your vehicle is “telling you.”)
- Reducing Risks while Driving (includes defensive driving techniques, phone/texting issues, and drinking and driving awareness)
This AAA course designed exclusively for Au Pair In America. Course includes a combination of lecture, group exercises, video/other media to ensure the maximum understanding to speakers of other languages or newly arrived to the US participants.
All Host Families with au pairs arriving into the USA in 2011 will receive more information about this new course and how their au pair can be enrolled!
Winter Fun For Au Pairs and Host Children
ABC’s of Winter Fun
A is for Art – try drawing, painting or gluing
B is for Baking – bake a dessert together for dinner
C is for Clay – Use non-hardening clay or play dough to shape and mold
D is for Dance – put on a lively tape
E is for Exercise – be sure to get some everyday
F is for Friends – invite some over
G is for Greenhouse – find a local greenhouse to visit to enjoy the sights and smells
H is for House – make a playhouse from a large appliance box
I is for Ice skating – take the children to a local rink
J is for Jigsaw puzzle – be sure to pick one that isn’t too difficult
K is for Kitchen science – try a safe experiment
L is for Library – borrow some new books
M is for Movie – make one with a video camera, or watch one
N is for Necklace – make one out of cereal or macaroni
O is for Origami – learn to make simple paper creations
P is for Puppets – socks make easy and fun puppets – put on a show!
Q is for Quiet Time – everyone needs some of this
R is for Reading aloud – choose a good book and a comfortable place to sit
S is for Seeds and Suet – put out food for the birds and watch them eat
T is for Tent – make one from old blankets and chairs
U is for Unplugged – do a day with no TV
V is for Variety – try something new everyday
W is for Walk – take one in any weather (be sure to dress appropriately)
X is for Xylophone – make your own with glasses, water and a metal spoon
Y is for Year – make a calendar or scrapbook to remember the year
Z is for Zoo – play zoo, pretend to be animals in the zoo, what noises do they make?
Back to School and Routine
APIA Suffolk Au Pairs meeting in September was standing room only!! Cindy Garruba, Senior Community Counselor, led the au pairs discussion of getting the children they care for back into routine for the school year. The discussion including communication between the school and home through the backpack. The backpack is the way notices, homework, classwork, and anything the student needs goes to and from school. Also discussed was minimizing morning madness on school days. We also discussed the healthy way to sneeze and cough to avoid spreading germs, not in the hand, but in the sleeve!!
After the discussion, we discussed lots of upcoming fall activities including the Annual NYC Scavenger Hunt for NY APIA Au Pairs. Dessert, conversation, and a chance to meet the newest au pairs were a highlight of this fun and informative meeting.
Au Pairs Summer and Water Safety Training
Each June Community Counselor Cindy Garruba teaches a cluster meeting to prepare her Au Pairs for the Long Island Summer Childcare. All of the Suffolk County Au Pair in America Au Pairs will spend time at a beach or pool with their host children. It is important that they learn water safety and prevention of drowning. An experienced former Red Cross Lifeguard and Swim Instructor, Cindy stresses safety tips from her years of experience growing up along the Long Island Sound Shore.
Cindy also does training on sunscreen and sunburn prevention, basic first aid for cuts and scrapes, poison ivy identification and treatments, identification of ticks, lyme disease symptons, rashes, prevention and treatment recommendations.
This training is essential for a safe and fun summer in Suffolk County Long Island, NY.
Smmer Safety meeting at Cindy's Beach house