Tag Archives: Stony Brook Village Promenade of Trees

Au Pair in America & Stony Brook Holiday Festival

Au Pair in America Suffolk County Cluster enjoyed a great Host family day at the Stony Brook Holiday Festival.  APIA was a proud sponsor of the event again this year.

Lots of host families and au pairs visited.  

Children made ornaments, everyone decorated the APIA International Peace Tree.

Santa arrived on a firetruck to listen to the children’s wishes.

There were carolers, a petting zoo, and a Puppet Parade featuring local legends and spies from the Revolutionary time.

A fun filled day.  Over 60 trees are decorated and on display until January 2, 2020.  You can vote for your favorite.  APIA’s tree in number 111 to the left of the Post Office.  Happy Holidays!

Great Holiday Event with APIA & Stony Brook Village

On Sunday, December 2nd, despite the wet weather, host families, au pairs and many others, enjoyed the Annual Stony Brook Village Holiday Festival.  Au Pair in America was happy to be one of the sponsors this year supporting the Santa Fund run by the Ward Melville Heritage Organization.

Community Counselor, Cindy Garruba, Host Families and Au Pairs all helped decorate our International Peace Tree for the Promenade of Trees, our theme is “We Bring The World Together!”

A children’s chorus sang Christmas Carols as everyone waited for Santa to arrive.  Santa arrived on his fire truck at 2 PM!  He spent lots of time with each child.  Au pairs and host families socialized while they waited on line to give Santa their wish lists.   

While they waited, a balloon artist entertained the kids on the line.  Each child received a balloon animal of their choice!

The festivities continued with a parade of big puppets featuring historical local heroes and heroines.  It was a great day!

Back to School & More for Suffolk APIA Au Pairs

Suffolk County Au Pair in America Au Pairs Cluster Meeting September 2018 at Community Counselor, Cindy Garruba’s HomeCluster meetings are so important for au pairs to meet each other,  form friendships and connect with their counselor.

We start the meeting with a craft.  It gives the au pairs time to socialize and to be creative.  They paint ornaments we will use to decorate our International APIA Peace tree at the annual holiday festival in Stony Brook Village.  This is an event attended by au pairs and their host families on the first Sunday in December.

Every September Cindy shares tips to make back to school and routine with host children easier for au pairs.  We review minimizing morning madness, communicating with school through the backpack & how to use it effectively, bus stop and bus safety.  It is also Baby Safety month, so we review tips on how to keep little ones safe. 

There are a few distracted driving and bus safety videos watched that really emphasis how to be the kind of driver who pays attention to the road!  These videos really demonstrate why everyone should stay off the phone while driving and how to keep kids safe!

We got the chance to wish Ana good bye after 2 years as an Au Pair!  Ana has a trip planned around Europe before returning to home to Peru! 

After the learning part o the meeting is done, there is time for dessert and socializing.  Everyone learns, eats and makes new friends!