Mother’s Day is coming. Check out the APIA Pintrest board for some creative ideas to help your kids prepare to celebrate! You can read all about the history of Mother’s Day by checking out the US Federal Holidays website.
Photo by Donnie Ray Jones
Yearly Archives: 2014
Springtime FUN!!
Are you looking for some fun ideas for SPRING? Check out the APIA Pintrest boards for some great ideas like flower crafts, painting projects, boredom busters, and making stained glass kites!
Photo: Towne Post Network
Scenes from the Cherry Blossoms in Washington, D.C.
We spent a wonderful afternoon enjoying the beautiful Cherry Blossoms. The crowds were plentiful but it was breathtakingly beautiful to be there and take part of such a wonderful experience!
Easter Fun!!
Looking for some great ideas to have some Easter fun with the kids? Check out the Au Pair in America pintrest boards – Hop in to Easter fun!
Taxes – Due April 15th
Here are some of the basic questions:
Who is supposed to file taxes? – All au pairs who made $3900 or more in the calendar year (Jan 1 – Dec 31.) Au pairs who made less than $3900, are not required to file a tax return for 2013.
Will all au pairs have to pay something? – No, it depends on when you arrived and how much money you earned last year.
When are 2013 taxes due? – April 15, 2014
Where can I get the tax form? – 1040NR-EZ Form
Where can I get the instruction booklet? – 1040NR-EZ Booklet
Where can I get detailed information and see a sample au pair tax form? – APIA Tax Info for Au Pairs
Where should I mail my tax return form?
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 1303
Charlotte, NC 28201-1303
How do I write a check or money order? – Check here
Celebrate the start of spring with a free Italian Ice at Rita's!!
Photo by Robert Neff
Thursday, March 20th, Rita’s will be dishing up FREE Italian ice for customers! Italian ice is the PERFECT treat for the start of spring!
There are several locations in tri-county area check out the following links for one close to you and make it a point to celebrate!
St. Mary’s 21719 Great Mills Road 12-8p.m.
Calvert (Solomons) 13450 H.G. Truman Rd. 12-9p.m.
Calvert (Prince Frederick) 738 North Prince Frederick Blvd. 12-9p.m.
St. Patricks Day – March 17th
St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner! Looking for some fun ideas to celebrate with your family? Check out the APIA Pintrest board for some great ideas!
In my home, the leprechauns visit and create all kinds of mischief! A few drops of green food coloring in the cereal bowls, pour some dry cereal on top to hide the food coloring. When the kids pour milk into their bowl the milk will turn green! Chairs might be turned away from the table while we are sleeping. Once we even discovered the Wii on when we got home from school, snacks strewn about and a new character had been playing the Wii, Sean was his name. A very suspicious Irish leprechaun perhaps? Paper shamrocks have been discovered around the house and gold coin chocolates have been left behind as well.
For our family meal on St. Patrick’s Day, you will find us having corned beef as the main dish. Often accompanied by mashed potatoes with a sprinkling of chives, a tossed salad full of spinach, silvered mushrooms, and shredded carrots. All of the colors of the Irish flag! We might even have a special green beverage to drink. Mint chocolate chip ice cream is always a hit!
Whatever you do, don’t be caught without something green on and visible. I wouldn’t want to see you get pinched!
The Au Pair Educational Requirement Explained
Au pairs are required to complete 6 credits or 8 CEUs or 72 or more hours.
EduCare Companions are required to complete 12 credits or 16 CEUs or 144 or more hours.
You may take credit or non-credit classes from an accredited college. Look on the right side of this page under “Education Options” for accredited schools in our cluster area. If you want to take a class at a school not listed here on my blog, please check with me first to make sure it is accredited. Otherwise, it would not count toward your education requirement. 
Your host family will pay an education allowance to assist you in completing your education requirement. They will also ensure your transportation o class (access to a car and gas expense will be covered). Au Pairs education allowance – $500, EduCare education allowance – $1000
There are ways to get your credits for just your education allowance, but it will not give you a lot of choices. Normally au pairs will contribute some of their own money ($200+) towards their education. I can help you plan out your year of classes to make it fun, interesting and educational!
The APIA Advantage UCLA Course is the only State Dept. approved class with an online component. No other online classes are accepted.
Note: Au pairs should only take one weekend course for their education requirement. Using only weekend courses to meet your education requirement could result in the denial of your extension application (should you decide to extend.)
Big Kids Need Interaction Too!
Just because a child is old enough to occupy themselves, doesn’t mean that they should be expected to do so the majority of the time. Host families have a certain expectation of activity and involvement for their children. Get the kids engaged and active. You can be more fun than the TV or video game.
Problem: But, my kids don’t want to do anything but watch TV or play video games.
Solution: Instead of saying – “Would you like to (fill in the blank with any activity)? The answer will often be, “No.” Try this – “Now we are going to (fill in the blank with any activity.) or “Would you rather do ___ or ____?” (Make sure both the choices are things you approve of.) Your chances of co-operation are greatly increased. Even kids who are reluctant to try new things will usually get in the spirit of things and have fun, if you pick a good activity.
Problem: I don’t know what to do with school age kids?
Solution: Here are a few easy ideas to start with. Look for more on the internet and the library. Google “activities school age kids” or “activities tweens”
-Cooking -Making things (check craft stores like Michael’s for kits and models that are age appropriate)
-Going fun places
-Sports (soccer, tennis, swimming, bicycling, roller skating, and more)
-Visit places in the area like the library, museums and attractions in DC, mini-golf and go-karts.
-Let them teach you to do something they enjoy. Kids this age love being the expert.
-Get outdoors and visit local parks. You can even make a project of reviewing all the local parks (what kind of equipment they have, is there shade, water fountain?) They can write this up and keep, so they remember which ones they want to go to again and which ones to skip in the future.
-Let them help you search and plan some activities.
-Check on the APIA Pinterest page and here on our cluster blog for ideas.
-If your host children are in scouts, find out if there are things that they need to complete that you can work on with them. Even if they are not in scouts, I suggest you check your local library for Cub Scout Handbooks (Tiger, Wolf, Bear & Webelos.) They are full of activities appropriate for boys (and girls) from age 7-11.
-If you have a GPS, try taking them geocaching. Here is a website with all the details. Note: Always get permission from your host parents before taking the kids places.
Contest: The first au pair in my cluster to send me a message (email or Facebook) telling me their favorite activity to do with school age kids will win a prize!
Article credit: CConnally
SuperBowl Sunday – Are YOU ready for the big game?
Every year there is a lot of hype leading up to the game and the day itself brings parties, barbecues, funny TV commercials and the half time show. The game is the most watched television program of the year. Although it is not a national American holiday there is a “holiday” type atmosphere across the country on Super Bowl Sunday. Families and friends gather together, consume food and enjoy watching the game on tv, in sports bars or other public venues.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6:25 Eastern Time on Feb. 2 from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Average list price for a ticket is $3,449 ~ much more cost effective to watch at home!
Typically people eat buffet style on Super Bowl Sunday and enjoy such snacks as pizza, buffalo wings, chili, potato chips and dips.
The Broncos’ seventh Super Bowl appearance ties the New England Patriots for third most all-time (the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers have the most at 8). A loss would be record fifth for the Broncos.
The Seahawks are making their second Super Bowl appearance. They lost Super Bowl XL after the 2005 season to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Many Seahawks fans still think the refs gifted the game to the Steelers.
Stores are usually extremely quiet during the game and water usage across the country increases at half time when fans head to the restroom!
The George Washington Bridge in New York is lit up in both team colors
Players on the winning team earn $92,000. The losers make do with $46,000.
One 30 second commercial cost between over 3 million dollars
Bruno Mars is the featured artist for the halftime show. He has sold 10 million records in just three years and he had the two biggest hits of 2011 as both “Just The Way You Are” and “Grenade” were the only singles of the year with more than 10 million digital downloads. He was nominated for four Grammy Awards this year and picked up one trophy for Best Pop Vocal Album.
Betting is one of the engines that makes the NFL go, and the Super Bowl is the most bet on sporting event annually in Nevada. Last year, a record $99 million was bet legally. Of course millions more are bet illegally.