For our May Cluster Meeting, we met at Greenbelt Park. Au pairs got a chance to socialize and try the American campfire favorite, s’mores. We also discussed summer childcare safety and how to spot ticks.
And we celebrated a birthday.
Tag Archives: cluster meeting
Au Pairs Were the Stars of Our Cultural Fair!
Our May au pair cluster meeting was a cultural fair. It was also our host family workshop for this year. The au pairs who participated did an amazing job representing their countries. The host families, au pairs and guests who attended enjoyed learning more about the various countries. Photos and information were displayed for each of the countries. Some played videos, provided snacks and sweets, or played music. Others had activities like crafts or seeing your name written in Japanese writing systems of hiragana, katakana and kanji.
Kayaking Cluster Meeting
On Sunday, we had nice, sunny weather for our first ever Kayaking and Picnic Cluster Meeting at Bladensburg Waterfront Park. Many au pairs went kayaking and canoeing on the scenic Anacostia River. Some stayed back to enjoy the views and conversations with other au pairs.
Bladensburg Waterfront Park offers some of the most reasonably priced kayak and canoe rentals in the DC area. I would definitely recommend it, if you want to try kayaking or canoeing.
Birthday Party Cluster Meeting & Service Project
We had a cluster birthday party for our March meeting. We played birthday party games, sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed cupcakes. We also completed a service project. Everyone brought supplies to create birthday bags to donate to the local food pantry. Each bag contained a cake mix, frosting, candles, and other birthday party supplies.
Volunteering at Capital Area Food Bank
Last weekend, we volunteered at the Capital Area Food Bank in DC. We were tasked with filling boxes that will be distributed to families in need. Our group made up more than half of the afternoon volunteer shift that filled 900 boxes!
The boxes go around on a conveyor belt and each pair of volunteers adds it’s designated food can or package. The boxes sped up as the group gets better at filling them. We never quite got to I Love Lucy speed, but there were a few intense moments. It was a great experience and several of the au pairs said that they would be interested in going back and volunteering on their own. If you are interested in helping the Capital Area Food Bank, check out their Volunteer Information Page.
Galentine’s Day Cluster Meeting
What is Galentine’s Day? This “girlfriend holiday” dates back to 2010 when it was created by a fictional character named Leslie on a show called Parks and Recreation. During an episode (called “Galentine’s Day”), Leslie gathers a group of her closest gal pals for a brunch full of waffles and love and proclaimed “Every February 13, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home and we just come and kick it, breakfast style.” Thus, this holiday of “ladies celebrating ladies” was born.
For our February cluster meeting, we had our own Galentine’s Day celebration with sweet treats, an art project, bingo with prizes, and of course an opportunity to make friends.
Beautiful Day for a Tour of the Washington Monument!
For our May cluster meeting we did a tour inside of the Washington Monument. This was our first Washington Monument tour since before the pandemic! We were very happy to have a great turnout and gorgeous weather.
Beautiful Day at the US Botanic Garden
We had a beautiful day for our April cluster meeting at the U.S. Botanic Garden.
Established by Congress in 1820, the U.S. Botanic Garden is the oldest continuously operating botanic garden in the United States. Admission is free and it is located in view of the U.S. Capitol. For more information visit their website here: https://www.usbg.gov.
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.
Amazing Cluster Meeting at U.S. Capitol
More than 700 au pairs from 30 DC/MD/VA area Au Pair in America clusters came together on Saturday, March 9 to tour the U.S. Capitol. We were joined by Au Pair in America director, Ruth Ferry. We had a wonderful time and got some great photos.
Au pairs from the DC/MD/VA area, their community counselors and APIA director, Ruth Ferry
If you have never toured the U.S. Capitol, I highly recommend it. The Visitor Center offers free online tickets and a limited number of same day tickets. The tour starts off with a brief yet engaging video with some history on the Capitol Building and the U.S. in general. The tour guides are knowledgeable and you get to some very iconic places in the building. The view looking up at the Capitol dome is breathtaking.
Our cluster in front of the U.S. Capitol
Our cluster being silly on our way to the Capitol Visitor Center