Tag Archives: water and summer safety

Summer & Water Safety is Important for Au Pairs on Eastern Long Island!

On Sunday, June 10th the Suffolk County APIA au pairs met at their Community Counselor’s home for their annual Water & Summer Safety Cluster Meeting.

  When the au pairs first arrived they painted beach rocks to symbolize their country flags.  June 14th is Flag Day and Cindy Garruba, the Community Counselor, thought this would be a good opening activity to give au pairs an opportunity to interact with one another and be creative.

Though the weather was cloudy, some of the au pairs did spend a little time on the beach before the safety lesson.

The lesson included summer safety tips on using sunscreen, warnings on sunburn, sunstroke, poison ivy, ticks and Lyme disease, mosquitos, and basic first aid for cuts & scrapes. 

Every au pair on Long Island is near a beach, many have host families with pools in their backyard.  Cindy, a former lifeguard and swim instructor, discussed safety around pools and on beaches.  The biggest emphasis was on preventing accidents from happening! 

After all of the important information was shared and discussed, Cindy served strawberries and cream.  It is Strawberry season on Long Island and many of the farms will have festivals this month.  The biggest festival is in Mattituck from June 14 – 17. 

The Suffolk County Cluster of Au Pair in America is ready for a fun and safe summer!

 

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.

Water & Summer Safety Cluster Meeting

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20160612_144409_resizedThis Sunday, June 12th the Suffolk County Au Pair in America Cluster learned about Water & Summer Safety.  The meeting was held on a deck overlooking the beautiful Long Island Sound.  It was a very windy day, the water was too rough to swim, but the au pairs learned about being safe around the water from their Community Counselor, Cindy Garruba, who was a swim instructor and lifeguard.

20160612_145345_resizedThey also learned about prevention and treatment of sunburn by how to use sunscreen and when to avoid the sun.  Also covered was identifying poison ivy, preventing exposure and what to do if a rash occurs.  We discussed ticks and Lyme disease.  We also discussed playground safety, and basic first aid.

20160612_145356_resizedA former au pair, Nikoleta Todtova, from Slovakia, talked about her time as an au pair, returning home and then returning to the USA with a student visa several years later.  She is currently attending a local college with a 4.0 average!

20160612_154839_resizedCindy presented Alessia  Agistri with a good bye gift and education completion certificate because she is finishing her 2 years as an Au Pair with APIA!

We finished the meeting with local strawberries on shortcake with cream.  Everyone had time to socialize before heading home.

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Summer & Water Safety Meeting for Au Pairs

Cindy Garruba’s Suffolk County Au Pairs learned about WATER & SUMMER SAFETY to prepare for childcare this summer with their host children on Long Island!  Though it was a bit cloudy and cool, the au pairs enjoyed the Northville beach and the heated pool. 

006Cindy taught the au pairs to recognize poison ivy to prevent exposure, and what to do if unfortunately a child or the au pair develop the rash. Everyone agreed sunscreen and avoiding the peak sun is very important.  We discussed prevention tips and what to do if someone gets a sunburn.  We even discussed deer ticks, lymes disease, splinters, and basic first aid.

We reviewed the ways to keep children safe around pools and on the beach.  EVERY AU PAIR IN SUFFOLK COUNTY WILL BE ON THE BEACH OR IN A POOL THIS SUMMER.  Water safety is essential for good childcare this summer.  Josi and Kristina really enjoyed the pool and know the importance of water safety!!

  • 007The most important lesson for the day was that everyone must learn how to swim. 
  •  Never take your eyes off the kids around water
  • At the beach, swim near the lifeguard, but still keep your eyes on the kids, the lifeguard is there for emergencies!
  • Keep a phone outside near the pool for emergencies.
  • Learn Red Cross CPR – Au Pair in America gives scholarships for Red Cross classes!
  • Keep access to pools locked when not in use this includes doors from the house and gates to the back yard.
  •  No running around pools!
  • No diving in shallow water
  • Keep life saving equipment in pool area – poles & flotation devices
  • Tubes and lifejackets on children are not substitues for adult supervision
  • Keep toys out of and away from the pool when not in use, children might follow them into the water!
  • If a child is missing, check the pool first!!!!

008The au pairs had time to socialize with each other.  We talked about some upcoming summer activities including going to a see Mary Poppins on Broadway in July and to a Long Island Ducks Baseball game in August.  It is Strawberry Season on Long Island and Cindy served some strawberry shortcake and the au pairs loved it.  She encouraged them to visit the farms this season to pick your own berries or just go to the farm stands to buy fresh fruit and vegetables this summer.  There are some Strawberry Festivals in Suffolk County.  Cindy’s favorite is the Mattituck Strawberry Festival.  This year it is June 17, 18 & 19.  http://mattituckstrawberryfestival.org/

         HAVE A SAFE AND FUN SUMMER EVERYONE!

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