Tag Archives: suffolk county au pair

Canoe Trip Sun to Storms back to Sun!

On a sunny Saturday afternoon 21 Long Island Au Pairs and 3 Community Counselors headed out on our annual canoe trip on the Nissequoque River.  Postponed one week due to storms we were all excited to have a fun afternoon on the river.

8 Canoes headed out with 2 to 3 au pairs per canoe.  Most had never canoed before and they had to get the feel of the paddles and put the strongest au pair in the rear to captain the canoe.

 

Counselors Cindy Garruba, Eileen Friedman and Captain Kristi Halpern joined the group and gave some guidance as they canoed along side the au pairs.

About half way into the trip dark clouds covered the sky and soon a series of intense downpours rained upon the group. Several of the canoe teams pulled to the side and had to dump out their canoes, take shelter and wait for the storm to subside.  After awhile the storms subsided and blue skies returned.

Drenched and tired, we all made it to the end of the river.  Counselor Andrea Wax was waiting for us to return, she had reassured au pairs who called her during the storm.  She took pictures of the returning teams.  Everyone had an unforgettable experience and said it was fun, even with the storm.  Au Pairs from Au Pair in America are adventurous young women ready to tackle any challenge they face!

 

Fun Street Fair & 4th of July Fireworks!

Au Pairs from APIA Suffolk County enjoyed the “Alive on 25” Riverhead Street Fair.  Community Counselor Cindy Garruba invited her cluster to spend the evening enjoying the music, street vendors, and food trucks along Main Street in Riverhead.

There were antique cars and the au pairs enjoyed posing with them!  We all loved the ones that reminded us of the 50s and 60s! 

We strolled along the Peconic River and looked at the boats docked waiting for the fireworks to start.  Everyone was treated to a Ralph’s Italian Ice by Cindy.  Chocolate was the most popular flavor!

The fireworks was the highlight of the evening.  Au Pairs were surprised by how great the display was and how many people gathered to watch.  We talked about the reason Americans celebrate the 4th of July.  The Au Pairs enjoyed hearing about how much Americans value the birth of our nation and celebrating our Declaration of Independence back on July 4, 1776!

Saying Good bye to Au Pairs

Community Counselor Cindy Garruba wishes Caroline from Brazil good bye

Every au pair must return home to her country when she completes her Au Pair in America program.  APIA wants to support au pairs as they take the step ahead into the “real world”!  Some au pairs are heading to University to complete a degree or earn a masters, some are heading into the career world, and some might be heading onto another world adventure.

Anais from France at her good bye coffee

What ever our APIA au pairs are about to do, we want to prepare them as best as possible.  Au Pair in America has started a Re-entry Resume building program for our au pairs.  Field Reps/ Community Counselors, Cindy Garruba and Robin Leon have developed tools for au pairs to use to build their resumes.  They have taken skills au pairs learn and translated them to meaningful terms to use on their resumes.

Caroline from Brazil with her Education Certificate

Luggage Tag Good bye Gift for Au Pairs

Counselors host cluster meetings or good bye coffees for au pairs as they leave.  They now can add resume building into these farewells.  APIA au pairs also earn education certificates when they complete their required classes.  Once they return home, they also receive the Completion Certificate.  Many also earn Global Awareness certificates for sharing their culture as lessons in US classrooms, youth groups, or organized groups.  They often earn ESL or TOEFL certificates, too.  Many au pairs from APIA love volunteering and earn Volunteer certificates from APIA.  All of these certificates build their resumes, too.

Au Pairs from Au Pair in America are always a part of the family and we send them off with a good bye luggage tag that says:

“I’m going places with Au Pair in America!”

 

 

Suffolk Au Pairs Celebrate Mom’s Day

Suffolk APIA au pairs prepared an International Cookbook for their host moms for Mother’s Day.  They provided their favorite recipes from their countries and pictures with their host moms.

Au Pairs from Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, France, Germany, Panama, South Africa, and Thailand contributed recipes and gave the cookbook to their Host Moms as a gift.  Feeling like part of the family is an essential part of the Au Pair in America program!  

Special thanks to all the au pairs who contributed and their wonderful host moms.  Thank you for sharing your cultures, your homes and your friendship! 

Easter and Passover

Wishing all of you who celebrate Easter and/or Passover a very happy holiday!  Some lucky people get to enjoy double the festivities!

Celebrating Easter

easter

Easter is one of the most awaited Christian festivals. It is celebrated throughout the world by the followers of Christian community. It is considered to be very auspicious as it is believed that this was the day when Christ resurrected after crucifixion. This day is of immense religious as well as social significance amongst the Christian community.

Church services and festive celebrations blend together during the Easter weekend. On Easter Sunday in New York and other cities, large Easter parades are held.  Easter in USA is also very much commercialized. Easter symbols like bunnies, Easter tree, Easter Eggs and Easter lamb are found in different forms during the Easter festivities throughout the market. The popular trend of Easter symbols such as the Easter bunny and egg tree were introduced to the American folklore by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s. Gradually American people took to crafts such as egg and Easter tree decoration. Easter in US is also a time to enjoy special Easter foods such as baked ham, potatoes and vegetables. Several special recipes are made at each home. Easter parties are also organized where traditional Easter delicacies are served and people enjoy wonderful get together along with Easter games and music.

For children’s Easter games and activities go to:  http://www.thekidzpage.com/easter_games/index.html

Observing Passover

Chanukah 05_VariantenPassover is an eight day celebration observed each year by the Jewish religion. It commemorates the freedom of Jewish slaves from Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II.   Families celebrate Passover by having a seder. With special foods, songs, and customs, the Seder is the focal point of the Passover celebration. Seder means order, and the Passover story is read in order from a book called a haggadah.

Fearing that Jews were becoming too strong, a Pharaoh decreed that all male Jewish babies were to be killed. Jocheved and Amran, a Jewish couple, wanted to save their infant son – so they put him in a basket that floated him down the river. The infant was rescued by the Pharaoh’s daughter and she raised him as her own son. She named the baby Moses, which means “take from the water.”

When Moses grew up, he empathized with the Jewish slaves and tried to get the Pharaoh to free them. The Pharaoh refused – so there were 10 plagues sent down to Egypt: Blood, Frogs, Lice, Beasts, Cattle Disease, Boils, Hail, Locusts, Darkness, and Slaying of the Firstborn. The name Passover comes from the Plague of Slaying the Firstborn. The Angel of Death passed over the homes of the Jews who had put lambs blood on their doors.

After the 10th plague, Pharaoh agreed to let the Jewish slaves go. They gathered up their belongings quickly, and didn’t have time for their bread to rise, so they had to bake it and take it the way it was. This is why the Jewish people eat matzah during Passover.   As the Jews were fleeing, Pharaoh changed his mind, and sent his army after the people to bring them back. Moses parted the Red Sea for the Jews to cross, and as soon as they were safely to the other side, the waters closed on the soldiers, drowning them all. The Jewish people were free.

For children’s activities go to:  http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/passover/

APIA a Winner!

Stony Brook Village has a great safe Halloween celebration for children every year.  All October there are scarecrows decorating the village for the annual Scarecrow contest.  Visitors to the shops throughout the month can vote for their favorite scarecrow.

The Suffolk County Cluster of Au Pair in America has been entering the contest for several years.  This year, Community Counselor Cindy Garruba, accepted the 2nd prize for the cluster’s entry “Au Pair Annie and her Host Kids.”  The prize will be spent on a party for the au pairs in her cluster!

The contest is run by the Ward Melville Heritage Organization and they provide wonderful events throughout the year for the community.  Soon APIA will be decorating a Holiday Tree in the Promenade of Trees.  The trees will be on view throughout December!

Au Pair in America Scarecrow

Stony Brook Village Annual Scarecrow competition has begun.  Au Pair in America put up a scarecrow near the Post Office, in front of Chicos. 

Our Scarecrow is named Au Pair Annie and if taking care of her three host scarecrow kids! 

Go down and visit her and the other scarecrows.  They will be set up through Halloween.  You can vote for our scarecrow, too!

Thanks so much to Juliana from Colombia for her help setting up the scarecrow!

 

Au Pairs learn Water & Summer Safety

The Suffolk County Au Pair in America cluster of Au Pairs gathered at Community Counselor, Cindy Garruba’s home to learn about Water & Summer Safety.

Every quarter the au pairs learn safety or childcare.  This time it was about being safe with their host children around water.  The main conversation was about preventing drowning.  Living on Long Island, every au pair will be at the beach or a pool this summer.  Learning to swim is the first step in water safety.  Most of the au pairs in the group are experienced swimmers.

Au pairs also learned about identifying poison ivy, how to avoid it and what to do if their host child or they come in contact with it or develop the rash.  We discussed ticks and the diseases they carry.  Using sunscreen, when to apply, how to avoid sunburn and ways to treat it were also covered. 

We celebrated the au pairs who are nearing the end of their year.  They earned education certificates for completing the education requirement of the program.

2 German Au Pairs also earned Global Awareness certificates for teaching lessons on their country in their host children’s classrooms.  They both volunteered regularly during their year and were awarded with volunteer certificates.  Vanessa volunteered in her host child’s classroom teaching German board games at lunch time.  Kristina volunteered in a local animal shelter.

After lessons and awards, each au pair shared something about themselves, including their plans for when they return home.  Cindy served local strawberries since it is strawberry season here on the North Fork of Long Island.  The au pairs loved the strawberries and cream shortcake.

They had fun on the beach and visiting with each other on the beautiful sunny Sunday.

Sunset & Pizza Cluster Meeting

The Suffolk County Cluster of Au Pair in America gathered on May 10th to enjoy each other’s company while watching the sunset on the Long Island Sound.  West Meadow Beach in Setauket is a beautiful spot with picnic tables and playgrounds.  Many of the au pairs take their host kids there to play on the playgrounds. 

Community Counselor, Cindy Garruba, treated the group to pizza and everyone had fun on the beautiful evening.  We even saw the spectacular full moon rising. 

 

 

 

 

Everyone shared a little about themselves, their country, their time here in the USA.  Every month the au pairs have a cluster activity organized by their Community Counselor.  Sometimes the activity is an event, like a Broadway Show or a baseball game.  Other times, it is a chance to get together and talk.  Often there is information learned about childcare and safety.  The meetings always provide an opportunity for the au pairs to make more friends.

Big Snow Coming Tomorrow!

60 degrees and feels like Spring is coming, but a major snow storm is expected to start during the night.  Here is the predicted snow map:

SLOT1_LIPlease be prepared to stay home and do activities with the kids inside.  Click here for some great ideas to keep everyone happy and busy!

When it stops snowing, get outside and build a snowman!