Monthly Archives: July 2019

Camp Au Pair: Art Exploration

Camp Au Pair: Art Exploration

Roll up your sleeves for some artsy fun this week!! Art is a great way to engage with your host kids and have a great time together!

For more great art ideas, check out the Au Pair in America Pinterest board!

The National Art Gallery has a wonderful option for kids. NGAkids interactives offer an entertaining and informative introduction to art and art history. Featuring a variety of art-making tools that encourage exploration and creativity, these computer-based activities are suitable for all ages. You can learn about each program by clicking on the associated thumbnail image. Download the Art Zone or NGAkids App applications to your Macintosh or Windows-based computer, or order the free CDs. There is also an iOS version of the NGAkids App for iPad.

Field Trips:

  • How to have fun with kids in an art museum
  • Art museum scavenger hunt for kids
  • Taking kids to an art museum (tips)
  • Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center is located in scenic Solomons, Maryland, where the Patuxent River meets the Chesapeake Bay. The sculpture garden features a 1/4 mile walking path that meanders through the woods past permanent and loaned sculpture, including over thirty works on loan from the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art.   Currently, they have a Fairy House exhibit along the trails and the Fairy Lolly is a wonderful place to play! A wonderfully whimsical natural play space where kids can run, jump, climb, perform and more!  There is an art exploration room there as well in the gallery where kids can create art freely! Check with your host family to see if they are members! Admission fee.
  • Bonus: you can spot Cynthia’s photograph – Gifts from the Chesapeake on display in the Ebb & Flow exhibit until Sept. 2.

 

Virtual Field Trips:

  • #MetKids is a digital feature made for, with, and by kids. Explore The Met with our interactive map and watch behind-the-scenes videos that feature kids just like you. With fun facts and creative projects for the galleries or at home, #MetKids has been inspired, tested, and approved by real kids ages 7–12.

Art work by Sarah, age 7

Camp Au Pair – Bugs & Butterflies

Get ready to get buggy as we explore bugs and butterflies this week! Ready for some serious fun?

Activities

Check out the Au Pair in America Pinterest site for more great ideas!

Field Trips can be a great way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Here are a few places to go, that fit this theme:

  • Two local attractions offer the opportunity to surround yourself with hundreds of live butterflies from all over the world and learn about their metamorphosis and the part they play in our ecosystem.
  • Also at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, you can visit the Orkin Insect Zoo. Don’t miss the tarantula feedings daily at 11:30am and 1:30pm.
  • Goldpetal Farms has a second sunflower maze opening on July 21st. The flowers attracts bees and butterflies!

Videos – You can find many great videos of butterflies and insects on YouTube. Check out these videos for kids about bees and ants. All about Insects covers lots of tiny creatures who crawl and fly. Here is a video showing a Monarch Butterfly metamorphosis time-lapse.

Photo: Nick Goodrum {flickr} & Cynthia Chan

Camp Au Pair – Knights, Princesses, Castles & Dragons!

This week we are all about adventure! From magical castles and fire breathing dragons! Learn how to make princess paintings with your feet (really!) or a knight tunic with a pillowcase!

You’ll find even more activities on our Pinterest boards!!

USAG HumphreysFor a virtual field trip, check out Exploring Castles website. You find an amazing assortment of links to photos of castles around the world! **note, there are sharing link pop ups, just click on them to ignore**

Learn about Life in a Castle!  and how castles are designed! 

Looking for more information of castles? Visit Freeschool Castles for Kids, Medieval History on Youtube. Suitable for elementary and up.

Photo by USAG Humphreys

Going Home: New Beginnings

Most au pairs have mixed feeling about returning home. As the program end nears, there is both excitement and nerves about adjusting to life at home.

Adapting to life back home will include some of the same emotions experienced with adjusting to life in the United States, such as:

  • Homesickness (this time for your American family and friends)
  • Rejecting things that are cultural norms in your home country
  • Adapting to a new environment and routine
  • Accepting your new situation

How do you prepare for going home? While you have been away, things at home may have changed. You have certainly changed, and after adapting to the American culture, you must adapt again to your own culture. Here are some tips to consider as you prepare for the journey home:

  • Be flexible as you think about life back home, give yourself time to adjust, and don’t expect it to be easy every day.
  • Let yourself be sad and feel the loss of friends and family.
  • Reflect on your experience and acknowledge what you have gained and learned during your au pair year.
  • Focus on positive ways you have grown.
  • Make a list of the skills you have acquired or strengthened as an au pair.
  • Make your new resume!
  • You made it! Celebrate and be proud of your au pair achievements.
  • Going home is not the end of something….it’s the beginning of something new.

 

American Experiences – Goldpetal Farms Sunflower Maze

Several members of the Southern Maryland clusters had a lovely evening at Goldpetal Farms in Chaptico, MD! We braved the heat to find our way through the sunflower maze and enjoy the amazing floral display!

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 a 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 good options.
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:
Look for ideas online. Google “activities school age kids” or “activities tweens”. Below is a list of some ideas to get you started.

  • Cooking
  • Making things (check craft stores like Michael’s for kits and models that are age appropriate)
  • Going fun places (pottery painting, jewelry making, farms, museums, mini-golf, go-karts)
  • Sports (soccer, tennis, swimming, bicycling, roller skating, ice skating)
  • 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 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.

Photo: Killian77

Camp Au Pair – Dinosaurs!

This week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Dinosaurs.

Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to dinosaurs can all be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Dinosaurs pinboard.

Consider these awesome activities –

Field Trips can be a great way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Here are a few places to go, that fit this theme:

Videos – Look for fun videos on YouTube about dinosaurs. Dinosaurs for Kids is a great video that explains dinosaur history and what paleontologists do.

The Good Dinosaur, Land Before Time and Ice Age are all great family movies that fit with this theme. For older kids, consider movies like Journey to the Center of the Earth and Jurassic Park (which is rated PG-13).

Books – Stop by your local library and look for books on dinosaurs.

Photo: aaron parecki {flickr}