Category Archives: Blog

Local Fairs & Maryland Renaissance Festival

What is a Fair?

According to Wikipedia:
A fair (sometimes fayre) is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. Activities at fairs vary widely.

Fairs are also known by many different names around the world, such as agricultural show, carnival, fete or fête, county fair, exhibition or state fair, festival, market and show. Flea markets and auto shows are sometimes incorporated into a fair.

MD fairMaryland State Fair
August 25-September 11, 2020. Maryland State Fairgrounds, 2200 York Road Timonium, Maryland. (410)252-0200. The Maryland State Fair was named one of the top 50 fairs in North America. This year’s 11-day festival will feature swifty swine racing pigs, live thoroughbred horse racing, bull riding and barrell racing, concerts, agricultural fair tours, games, rides and more.

Prince George’s County Fair
September 8-11, 2020. The Showplace Arena, Water St., Upper Marlboro, Maryland. (301) 404-5566. Carnival rides, live animals displays, family circus, fireworks, live entertainment, food.

Anne Arundel County Fair
September 14-18, 2020. Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds, Generals Highway, Crownsville, Maryland. (410) 923-3400. Monster truck rides, carnival rides and games, farm animals and exhibits, pig races, antique saw mill, pie eating contest, talent show and much more.

The Montgomery County Fair took place earlier this month.

Renn FestMaryland Renaissance Festival 
August 27-October 23, 2022.
1821 Crownsville Rd, Annapolis, MD 21401. Set in a fictional 16th-century English village named Revel Grove, the festival is spread over 25 acres (100,000 m2). The second largest renaissance fair in the United States. Features costumed staff,  food, performances, glass-blowing demonstrations, jousting, crafts and much more.

World Hello Day is November 21

Mark your calendar… the 49th annual World Hello Day will be celebrated on November 21, 2021.  Anyone can participate in World Hello Day simply by greeting ten people. This demonstrates the importance of personal communication for preserving peace.
World Hello Day was begun in response to the conflict between Egypt and Israel in the Fall of 1973.  Since then, World Hello Day has been observed by people in 180 countries.
People around the world use the occasion of World Hello Day as an opportunity to express their concern for world peace.  Beginning with a simple greeting on World Hello Day, their activities send a message to leaders, encouraging them to use communication rather than force to settle conflicts.
As a global event World Hello Day joins local participation in a global expression of peace.  The World Hello Day website address is http://www.worldhelloday.org.

Where to Get Your Flu Shot

Many au pairs and host families are looking for places to get flu shots this time of year. Au Pair insurance does not cover immunizations, but there are lots of places to get flu shots for $35 or less. If the host family is urging their au pair to get the seasonal flu shot and she agrees to get it, the host family would be responsible for the expense.

If you are planning to get the seasonal flu vaccine, it is recommended that you get it as early as possible.

Anne Arundel County Health Department – Free flu shots are available by appointment and at some vaccine clinics, registration is required.

Montgomery County Health Department – Free flu shot clinics, online registration is required. will be added as they are scheduled.

Prince George’s County – Free flu shot clinics, no appointment necessary.

State of Maryland – Find a vaccine clinic search feature, this does not seem to have all of the local health department flu shot clinics listed. Check back for updates and check your specific county health department website for more options.

I have been told that Kaiser Permanente is offering free flu shots as well.

Flu shots are also available for a fee (usually $25-35) at pharmacies such as Target, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, etc.

Scavenger Hunt at National Harbor

It was a beautiful evening for a scavenger hunt!

These are the lovely au pairs who participated. This was our first in-person meeting since March 2020! For most of these au pairs it was there first in-person cluster meeting they ever attended. It was so great to finally meet people we have been communicating with online for all this time.

Here are the ladies on the winning team!

They were the first ones back and completed every item on the hunt!

Here is the scavenger hunt activity we did…

A scavenger hunt is a game where you are given a list of questions, things to look for and photographs to take. You will work together as a team to complete as many as you can in an hour.

Rules:

  • Photos need to be taken as a group selfie with all team members included.
  • Questions/photos may be completed in any order you choose.
  • Return to the starting point (outside of Del Sol store) by 7:15 pm to have your score calculated and find out who is the winning team.

Let the game begin!

  • Learn the names of all the au pairs on your team.
  • Find the first president of the United States and take a picture with him.
  • Find the U.S. president called “The Great Emancipator” and take a picture with him.
  • Find the mosaic mural called Maryland’s Bounty and take a picture in front of it.
  • Take a picture with the Capitol Wheel in the background,
  • Take a picture with a boat or picture of a boat.
  • Take a picture in front of the business with piano keys on their sign.
  • Take a picture trying to help the statue of a lady carrying her groceries.
  • Take a picture with a famous movie star from the 1960s.
  • Take a picture in front of a restaurant named for an American car.
  • Take a picture with the carousel.
  • Take a picture inside the heart statue.
  • Take a picture with “The Awakening”.
  • Take a picture of something you find beautiful.
  • Take a picture of something that looks delicious.
  • Group selfies with these famous people:

 

You probably won’t complete all of the questions/photos. That’s not a problem. Have fun and take great pictures.

 

Celebrating 18 years as an APIA Community Counselor!

Eighteen years ago I started as a community counselor with Au Pair in America! I have met so many amazing au pairs, host families and colleagues in that time and had the opportunity to learn about the world and other cultures. About 7 years ago, Lisa Maxwell made the decision to join me in the au pair world and we make a dynamic duo!

U.S. Capital

This last year has been a challenging time for cultural exchange. Hopefully things will continue to improve and we will be able to keep on Bringing the World Together. 🌍❤️🌎❤️

Holiday & Vacation Reminders

“Rest and be thankful.” – William Wordsworth

Holidays and vacations are a great opportunity to rest, recharge and explore the U.S.

Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start of summer travel season. Here are some reminders about program rules regarding holidays, vacations and international travel.

Holidays

  • Host families are not required to give au pairs off on any specific holidays.
  • Each host family will make different arrangements on holidays, some au pairs will be off and others will be required to work.
  • Au pairs should not make plans for holidays without checking with your host family first.

Vacations

  • During the pandemic, it is important that au pairs and host families discuss what travel and activities are an acceptable level of risk, before plans are made.
  • Au pairs earns 2 weeks of paid vacation during the course of her year.
  • Vacation time should be mutually agreed upon.
  • All vacation should be preplanned (at least 4 weeks in advance).
  • All au pair’s friends and/or family visits/vacations should be pre-approved prior to purchasing tickets.
  • If an au pair travels with her host family, it should be discussed in advance whether this is the au pair’s vacation or if she is working.
  • If an au pair travels with the host family to work, the host family is required to pay for her transportation, lodging and meals.

Travel Outside of the U.S.

Check out this blog post with current information on international travel.

 

Photo: Leah Kelly from Pexels

 

Positive Discipline – Rewarding Good Behavior

Years ago when my kids were younger, I had a cluster meeting at my house and a few au pairs commented on the chore and behavior charts I had posted in my family room. With four kids, I sometimes found it difficult to keep track of who had done what and who had gained or lost various privileges. So, over the years, I have used charts to keep everything on track.  I have also created charts for host families and au pairs dealing with behavior the children may be having.

I uploaded a few of these charts in case you may find them helpful.

Positive Behavior – Recognizing and rewarding positive behavior can often be a good way to reduce negative behavior. The goal behind lots of children’s actions is the same, attention seeking. Try to show them more positive attention when they do well and make less of a fuss over negative behaviors.

Explain how the chart will work and then look for times when you can call their attention to something they did that was kind or helpful. It is nice to have short term and longer term goals. For example, the thrill of putting a sticker on the chart can be exciting for toddlers and preschoolers and that along with your words of praise are instant gratification. Saying when you get 5 stickers you get a larger reward (trip to the park, extra story or video, special activity) is intended to make them want to keep up the positive behavior. Positive Behavior Chart

Tracking Privileges – For school aged children it can be helpful to tie how they are behaving to privileges they want to have. I used this chart with different colored push pins, so my children could see where they were on the ladder and I could remember who I had told they could do what. The ladder style chart is based on an idea of the Dilley Family (famous parents of sextuplets.) I figured if it worked for them with six kids, it might work for me- and it has for many years. You can tell my kids are teenagers now, because I have Gameboy and PSP listed. You can make this chart your own substituting the kinds of activities your kids enjoy.  Ladder Chart 

Chores – Having chores teaches children that they are an important part of the family and their efforts count. This teaches responsibility and promotes positive self-esteem.  Chore Chart with Basic Chores

These are just a starting point, you can make your own charts and even involve the children in the process.

#1 Tip – Be Consistent!

All adults in the house need to be on the same page. It takes time to change behavior. Don’t expect instant results.

 

Earth Day Activity: Planting Seeds with Children

In honor of Earth Day, our April cluster meeting topic was planting seeds with children. We met on Zoom with several other clusters from the DMV area and discussed different activities we can do with our kids planting seeds.

Here are some of the supplies needed to complete this activity with your host kids:

  1. Potting soil
  2. Cups for planting the seeds (biodegradable cups can be planted directly in the ground. If using small plastic cups, you’ll need to remove the plant from the cup after they sprout before you plant them in a bigger pot or in the ground). There are links below showing how to make your own biodegradable cups out of newspaper.
  3. Seeds (we planted Black-Eyed Susans – the Maryland State flower, but sunflower seeds are easy to find and grow).

Below you will find some of the resources we used during this meeting.

Information sheets on growing seeds.

Making your own biodegradable planting cups from newspaper.

This time lapse videos showing the growth process of a sunflower.

 

Surviving and Thriving in the Holiday Season

The winter holiday season is most often a time of joy and excitement. However, it can also be a time of stress and disappointment for both host families and au pairs. The pandemic will add it’s own complexities to the holiday season this year.

Here are some ideas and insights that will hopefully help you avoid the stress and disappointment and share more of the joy and excitement.

Holiday Work Schedules

Miscommunication over the schedule is the #1 issue for host families and au pairs over the holidays. As a reminder to assist with scheduling, program guidelines state an au pair can work up to 45 hours per week and no more than 10 hours per day. Hours cannot be carried from week to week. Please take the time to discuss your schedules and expectations.

The au pair program regulations do not have requirements for au pairs to be given holidays off. However, in the spirit of the program and since most parents will be at home spending time with their children, the majority of host families give au pairs some or all of the winter holidays off: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Please discuss this so that everyone is clear about the schedule when making holiday plans.

Religion

For au pairs with religious beliefs different from your own, you may choose to encourage her to share the associated traditions with your family. If you are not comfortable with this aspect of cultural exchange, your au pair may need your help as well as appropriate time off to participate in her own holiday traditions. Enabling her to do this is very important. Her holiday or her time to celebrate the holiday may not be the same as yours; try to take this into consideration if you can when you make her work schedule. You may find that there is no conflict in giving her time off if her traditions are different, and it can relieve a great deal of anxiety to take her preferences into consideration. If you do need your au pair to work during the holiday, please tell her way in advance so that it is not a surprise. Help her to see this as a positive aspect of the cultural exchange if she will be actively sharing in the holiday celebration.

Changes to Routine

The dynamics of established relationships and routines change during the holiday. The high emotions and energy of the children (compared to their more reasonable behavior during the rest of the year) may seem like craziness to the au pair. Assure her that this new set of behaviors is temporary and the household will be back to normal soon. In the meantime, suggest specific things she can do to help. Encourage her to roll with the punches and enjoy the craziness. Also, the number of gifts, food, decorations, etc., can be unfamiliar and overwhelming. Try to include the au pair in some quiet, meaningful time together when the true spirit of the holidays is shared.

These are important days ahead. This is perhaps the greatest opportunity of the year to respect and learn about cultural differences, which is, indeed, one of the basic elements of the Au Pair in America program. There will be fun-filled memories. This should be a time of love and understanding. Please do your part to make that happen.

Wishing you all every happiness of the season!

Photo: Sean Hobson

Temporary Education Changes Due to COVID-19

Due to COVID-19, Au Pair in America has temporarily given approval for online/virtual classes, with a few conditions. Classes must be offered by an accredited school and registration must take place by 3/31/21. Au pairs must still produce certificates or other acceptable documentation confirming the completion of the class.

If in doubt, ask your counselor to check if the school is accredited. All class hours must be completed by the end of your 11th month in the program if you wish to extend.

The following schools are offering online or virtual classes as of October 22, 2020.

ESL Specific Schools

Community Colleges

Other Languages

Weekend/U.S. Culture/Travel Courses

Online Class Websites – These platforms will list online courses all over the country. These courses come from a variety of sources and some are not accredited. You must be sure you are selecting a course that is from an accredited university.

*This class would be great for au pairs who have already taken or plan to take a PGCC Transition ESL class when things go back to normal. Those classes usually earn 50-60 hours, so this could be enough to complete your education requirement, in combination with one of those classes.

All Things American 

Click HERE for a great list of online courses on a variety of topics related to American culture and history. They are available through Coursera and are being taught by accredited colleges and universities. They range from 9-80 hours towards your education requirement and the cost is typically $49.

Photo: Nenad Stojkovic