Tag Archives: cultural childcare

Cinco de Mayo

image002Cinco de Mayo officially commemorates the anniversary of an early victory by Mexican forces over French forces in the Battle of Pubela on May 5, 1862. It is not the anniversary of the defeat and expulsion of the French forces by the Mexicans, which occurred in 1867. It is also not, as is often assumed, the day of Mexico’s celebrations of independence, which are actually held on September 16. It is believed that the origins of Cinco de Mayo celebrations lie in the responses of Mexicans living in California in the 1860s to French rule in Mexico at that time.

Cinco de Mayo is seen as a day to celebrate the culture, achievements and experiences of people with a Mexican background, who live in the United States. There is a large commercial element to the day, with businesses promoting Mexican services and goods, particularly food, drinks and music. Other aspects of the day center around traditional symbols of Mexican life, such as the Virgin de Guadalupe, and Mexican-Americans who have achieved fame, fortune and influence in the United States.

Click on this link to go to some free Cinco de Mayo coloring pages for children:  http://www.freekidscoloring.com/holiday/cinco_de_mayo/

Don’t Miss: An ‘Eggstravagant’ Weekend In Riverhead

From Riverhead Patch:

easter egg huntThe Riverhead Recreation Department presents free fun at Stotzky Park.

Don’t miss a fun weekend of free Easter-themed activities at Stotzky Park in Riverhead.

Snow might have fallen Thursday but that won’t stop a full slate of fun family Easter activities scheduled for the weekend.

The Riverhead Town recreation department presents “An Eggstravagant Weekend,” featuring a full slate of free family activities at Stotzky Park all weekend long.

Here’s a schedule of events so you won’t miss a thing:

Friday, March 22

Flashlight Egg Hunt: 7:45 p.m.

Children ages 10 to 14 are invited to bring flashlights and baskets or bags to compete in a first-ever evening egg hunt. Prizes will be awarded for special eggs.

Drive-In Movie: “Hop,” 8:30 p.m.

Families are invited down to watch the movie “Hop” on the big screen in their cars, just like in the good old days of drive-in movies. Audio will be transmitted through car radios. Popcorn and coffee or hot chocolate will be available for purchase.

Saturday, March 23

Egg Hunts:

Parents can bring the kids to the park to play games, meet the Easter Bunny, and hunt for eggs. Prizes will be given for special eggs. Participants should bring their own baskets and bags.

10:00 a.m.: Children ages 0-3

10:30 a.m.: Children ages 4 and 5

11:00 a.m.: Children ages 6 and 7

11:30 a.m.: Children ages 8 and 9

For children ages 0 through 5, only one adult will be allowed to enter the field with a child; no older siblings will be allowed to help.

Children ages 6 through 9 must participate by themselves.

Participants should plan to arrive early.

For more information in case of inclement weather, call 631-727-5744 ext. 30.

Check your local Patch and other papers for Passover and Easter activities close to you!

Make a Daffodil Pinwheel

Spring is tomorrow (even if it doesn’t feel like it!) Here is an easy craft to celebrate the start of Spring!

Daffodil Pinwheel Craft

This cute daffodil craft uses the basic pinwheel with a cup on the front to form a daffodil.  pinwheel-daffodil

You can use the templates I’ve provided or design your own using:

  • construction paper and stickers
  • fun foam, or
  • thin pieces of plastic (like one would use for overhead projectors)

Fun foam ones are nice and sturdy, but you’ll need to use straight pins instead of push pins to make them.

Materials:

  • paper
  • printer
  • something to color with
  • pencil with eraser at the end (unsharpened is best, I think)
  • push pin or straight pin
  • optional:  a small bead (like a pony bead)
  • optional:  green paint

Instructions:

  • Optional:  paint your pencil green so it looks like the stem of a flower.
  • Optional:  you can print the B&W template on yellow paper.
  • Take the circle and crimp it along the lines to make an orange cup shape.
  • Fold the rectangular template piece on the dashed line to make a square decorated on both sides.
  • Glue the square together so you have a square decorated on both sides.
  • Cut on the diagonal dotted lines (don’t cut all the way into the middle).
  • Bend each corner to the center dot, but don’t crease your folds.
  • Place the cup in the middle of the pinwheel.
  • Push a pin through the center into the eraser of a pencil (don’t push it super tight)
  • Optional:  put a bead in between the eraser and the paper … some people find it spins a bit better this way… I’ve never noticed the difference (maybe it’s the type of pencil eraser?  I use fresh, unsharpened school pencils)
  • Place it in a vase or pot and decorate your springtime table.

Template:

templates

Groundhog Day is February 2nd!

ground hogGroundhog Day is celebrated in the U.S. each year on February 2nd. On this day in mid-winter, the groundhog awakens from a long winter’s nap, and goes outside of his den to see if he sees his shadow. This tradition is big on an otherwise cold and dreary mid-winter’s day.

According to legend, if the groundhog sees his shadow (a sunny morning), there will be six more weeks of winter. He then returns to his den and goes back to sleep. If however, he does not see his shadow (cloudy days), he plays around outside of his hole for a while. If he does not see his shadow, spring is just around the corner.

The Groundhog’s Day tradition travelled long ways. It comes from German roots. German immigrants brought the tradition with them from Germany. As they settled in hills of Pennsylvania, they began the tradition of using the Groundhog to predict the the arrival of Spring. The tradition is based upon Candlemas, the day that is the midpoint between Winter and Spring. A famous Candlemas poems goes:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.

ground hog day moviePunxsutawney, Pennsylvania is the site of the annual Ground Hog event. Our little rodent friend (yes, Groundhogs are classified as rodents) is called Punxsutawney Phil. There are a few other “predictors” around the country, but they all pale in comparison to Phil’s ability to predict the remainder of winter.

Watch the movie Groundhog Day, a fun romantic comedy that centers around the Punxsutawney event!  You can find the movie on Net Flix, at the library, and on demand.  Enjoy!

Time for Au Pairs to Register for Classes

School Registration is NOW!

Global Awareness Presentation by Bruna
Global Awareness Presentation by Bruna part of the UCLA Advantage Class course requirement.

August is lots of fun and it is easy to forget that September is quickly approaching.  On the right hand column of this blog there are links to all the education opportunities for au pairs in Suffolk County.  Make sure you register for your classes NOW!

Educare Au Pairs must take 12 credits or 160 hours of education at the college level for their year in America.  All other Au Pairs must take 6 credits or 80 hours of education at the college level for each year in America.  If you have questions, please email or call me!

Host families should assist their Au Pairs to make sure the classes fit into the schedule and works best for childcare and for your Au Pairs!

School is something that adds to the cultural exchange experience for the Au Pair and is a requirement of the Department of State for the program.

Singing Au Pair Ariane Galvan

Ariane Galvan from Brazil is an Au Pair with Pair in America.  Ariane, also known as Ane, is with a host family in Sag Harbor, NY.  Like most au pairs, she loves NYC!   She also loves to play guitar and sing!  Here is Ariane Galvan singing New York, New York! 

Academy Awards this Sunday, February 26

Time to pick the best picture and actors!  You can still catch most of the nominated movies at the local theaters and on DVD.  Watch the Academy Awards on Sunday evening.  Start with the Red Carpet pre-show which is on several TV channels.  I love the fashions, seeing who has the best and the worst outfit!   Check out the official Academy Award website for the nominees and all things Oscar.  http://www.oscars.org

In NYC you can actually take your picture holding a real Oscar for free!  oscar Cindy

You’re Invited!

  • Have your picture taken holding an actual Oscar statuette to share with friends and family via Twitter and Facebook!
  • See the Oscar statuettes that will be awarded to the Best Actress and Best Actor winners at the 84th Academy Awards® (these statuettes will return to Hollywood on Friday, February 24 at noon).
  • See the Scientific and Technical Award – an Oscar statuette – presented to the Eastman Kodak Company in 2007 “for the development of photographic emulsion technologies incorporated into the Kodak Vision2 family of color negative films.”
  • See a display of Oscars in various stages of completion.
  • Also on display, Michael Douglas’s Best Actor Oscar from Wall Street. 

                                                                                                            Cindy Garruba with Oscar Statue

When

Wednesday, February 23 through Sunday, February 27         

Hours

Wednesday: 1 p.m. – 7 p.m.             

Thursday – Sunday: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Where

Grand Central Terminal, Vanderbilt Hall

Admission

Free and open to the public

Heart Expressions

In honor of Valentine’s Day, some heart idioms!  

Idiom definition:  an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but that has a separate meaning of its own.

  1. To have a heart of gold – to care about other people.
  2. To have a big heart – to be giving, caring.
  3. To be cold-hearted – lacking in sympathy.
  4. To wear your heart on your sleeve – to let everyone know how you feel about someone.
  5. To cross your heart and hope to die – to promise.
  6. To cry your heart out – to cry a lot and feel really badly about something.
  7. To eat your heart out – to be jealous of someone.
  8. From the bottom of your heart – to really mean something.
  9. To have a change of heart – to change of your mind. 
  10.  To have a heart – to be compassionate, to care about other people.
  11. To have your heart in your mouth – to be scared or nervous.
  12.  To have your heart set on something – to really want something.
  13. To set your heart at rest – stop worrying about something.
  14. To be soft hearted – to be sympathetic.
  15. To take something to heart – to have your feelings hurt by something someone says or does.

Reading to Children

mom readingIt is never too early to start reading to children.  Children of all ages enjoy having stories read to them.  Reading, cuddling up on a couch or reading before a child takes a nap or goes to sleep at night, is comforting for the child.  This special time together builds a bond, take the time to read to the children in your life.

  • Read slowly, this gives children time to think about what you are reading.
  • Change your voice for different characters, or read in a softer voice from some characters, louder for others.   A sing song voice is fun for young children.
  • family-reading_300Share a picture book with a child and have them tell you a story from the pictures!
  • Read every day!
  • Children have favorites, so don’t worry if they want the same story every day, but add a few others so they can develop new favorites.
  • Talk about the story, ask the children what was their favorite part.  Let them share the story back to you or their parents!
  • Do arts and crafts about the story.  Have them draw you a picture about the story.
  • If the children are old enough to read themselves, have them read you a story.  Alternate, you read, they read.  This will encourage them to read more!
  • Have fun, read stories about subjects you and the children enjoy!
  • Turn off the TV and computer and read!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Kung Hei Fat Choy!

year_of_the_dragon_activitiesToday, January 23, 2012, we wave goodbye to the rabbit and welcome in the Year of the Dragon!  

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, which begins on January 23, 2012 and ends on February 9, 2013.  The Dragon is the fifth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 Animal signs.  The Dragon is a creature of myth and legend.  In ancient China, the celestial Dragon represents an emperor and  power. Today, it  is the ultimate auspicious symbol signifying success and happiness.           May the celestial Dragon bring great good luck to everyone.

Fireworks and Family Feasts

At Chinese New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children “lucky money” in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck. The fireworks that shower the festivities are rooted in a similar ancient custom. Long ago, people in China lit bamboo stalks, believing that the crackling flames would frighten evil spirits.