Tag Archives: learning

Make Plans for Summer Fun with the Kids!

When the kids are out of school on summer break there are soooo many possibilities. But, if you don’t make plans, you will often end up in the house with bored kids getting into trouble and arguing with their siblings.  Make plans!

Having lots of ideas ready can minimize those problems.

Looking for fun activity ideas to get the summer started off right with your host kids?

The Au Pair in America Summer Fun Pinboard is a great place to start. Together, create a Summer Bucket List. Talk with the kids about things they would like to see and do. Even toddlers and preschoolers can contribute to the conversation. Run these plans by your host parents and clear things like how much you may spend and when is best to do some of these activities.

Check back here next week for information on Camp Au Pair in America: a weekly blog series with themes for a summer break filled with fun and new adventures.

Photo: MissMessie (Flickr)

Helping Young Children Learn Language

Being an au pair is an important role in a child’s life. When you are caring for a young child up to 45 hours per week, there are lots of opportunities to help them learn language. Many host parents are eager for their children to be exposed to foreign language. If this is true of your host parents, you can try the suggestions below, in both English and your native language.

Below are a few tips to start with, for more ideas, check out Ready at Five.

  • Read – Read to them daily, point out pictures and ask questions. Even if they can’t answer the questions, this is still modeling conversation.
  • Talk – Point out objects around them, names of their body parts, explain what you are doing and places you are going. Long before babies can speak, they benefit greatly from being spoken to.
  • Sing – You can sing childhood classics or make up your own silly songs. If you are looking for song ideas, HERE is a great website with lists of songs, lyrics and links to YouTube videos* of the songs.  Children’s music is also available at the public library and even on iTunes.
  • Words – As children move from toddlers to preschoolers begin to point out written language.
  • Writing – Toddlers and preschoolers can begin to learn pre-writing skills by drawing with crayons or doing finger paints.

*The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for babies under 18 months of age. For children 18 months to 5 years they recommend no more than 1 hour of high quality content. You can play the songs on youtube for the audio and not necessarily show the screen to the child.

Photo: Quinn Dombrowski (Flickr)

Time to Enroll in Classes!

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Au Pairs need to take 6 credits or 72 hours of classes each year in America. Host families contribute $500 towards the classes and the transportation back and forth.   Check out the local options in the right hand column of this blog under education.

It is time to enroll in ESL, Suffolk Community College and in the UCLA online class.  Au Pair in America has the only State Department approved online class!

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.

First Steps to Becoming a Host Family

New to Au Pair in America?

Applying is fast and easy with Au Pair in America! First, create a free account at http://www.aupairinamerica.com/applying/  This will give you risk-free access search our pool of au pairs available now and start your application online. The first phase of the online application will only take approximately 15 minutes to complete. You can return at any time by logging into your personal account.

Already have an Au Pair in America account?

If you are currently hosting with Au Pair in America, or have hosted in the past, and wish to reapply, please login to your account at http://www.aupairinamerica.com/applying/

Choosing your au pair

Once your have registered, you will be matched with a personal Placement Coordinator who will help you select the best au pair for your family. You will also be able to browse au pair applications online!

Interview in your home with your Community Counselor

Once your have registered   Your Community Counselor will contact you to schedule an interview in your home.  The Counselor will ask and answer questions, discuss the program and how APIA can help you with your childcare needs, meet everyone in your immediate family, and see the room intended for the au pair.  It is the beginning of an important relationship that will continue throughout your time with APIA.

Do Some Moon Gazing Tonight!

super moonOn Saturday, the moon will be up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the other full moons of 2012, according NASA.

That’s because it will reach perigee, its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit, at 11:34 p.m. ET and become full just a minute later.  When the moon is on the perigee side of its orbit, it’s about 31,000 miles closer to Earth than the apogee side. The only effects expected are slightly higher tides and many beautiful photos.  The annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower, which is associated with Halley’s comet, will coincide with the coming perigee moon. Its light will likely dim all but the brightest meteors.  It should be a gorgeous display if the weather cooperates. The moon will appear largest and most dazzling when it’s near the horizon, as seen in this photo gallery showing last year’s super moon.

Community Counselors from Au Pair in America have an Edge on Training

Costa Rica danceRepresentatives from Au Pair in America around the world gathered last week in Costa Rica for a Conference.  Connecting with our team from around the world and especially with our Community Counselors from all over the United States was the goal of the conference.  Opportunities were offered to travel in Costa Rica before or after the Conference and many of us were happy to see the rain forest and coasts of Costa Rica.  We met the beautiful friendly people of Costa Rica and loved their mantra:

Pura Vida! 

Costa Rica workshop groupCosta Rica partyAt the Conference we had workshops on ways to provide great service to our host families and au pairs.  The connections we form at these meetings, help us service all our families and au pairs even more effectively.  It was a wonderful Conference and re-energized us in our mission of cultural exchange and providing the best and most trusted intercultural live-in childcare in the world! 

   One World – One Team!

One-world-many-stories-globe

Winter Fun For Au Pairs and Host Children

winter is fun

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

tea partyL 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)
winter playingX 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?

indoor playtime

Au Pairs Had A Wonderful Year

Click on the link below for a video of 2010 Au Pairs

Suffolk County Au Pairs

The Au Pair in America Au Pairs in Suffolk County enjoyed 2010 in the USA. They got together every month for meetings and fun activities. Au Pairs went to NYC often, ice skating in Bryant Park, seeing a Broadway Show, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, and competing in a Scavenger Hunt with lots of other au pairs from Au Pair in America. Au Pairs enjoyed Long Island Beaches, a Long Island Ducks Baseball game, cluster meetings at Senior Community Counselor Cindy Garruba’s home, doing Global Awareness presentations in Suffolk County classrooms and libraries, decorating a holiday tree in Stony Brook Village, and decorating HELP Suffolk Homeless Shelter’s recreation room for the holidays.

Best of all, Au Pairs enjoyed the time they spent with their new friends and their host families. Happy New Year!! May we all learn from each other and have a peaceful and prosperous New Year!