St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner! Are you looking for creative ideas to share with your kids or host kids? Check out some of these great ideas!! Oh, and don’t forget to wear GREEN on March 17th so you don’t get pinched!!
St. Patrick’s Day Science – Walking Rainbow
Photo: Walter {Flickr}
Cooking with children can help with many skills and encourage them to become an adventurous eater! It engages the senses, builds mathematics and critical thinking skills, explores science, build language skills, you can share your culture or learn about a new one together through food.
Check out these great tips for kitchen safety!
Ready to cook up a bit of fun in the kitchen? Check out these great ideas! Consider making animal pancakes for breakfast or a fun snack! Or a birdhouse sandwich for lunch!
How about a tropical fruit snack plate? Or a fun popcorn mix? Or try some PB&J faux sushi? Create a fruit filled rainbow!
Make your own granola bars! Or jellyfish sandwiches!
Photo: Melissa {flickr}
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.
Note: Always get permission from your host parents before taking the kids places.
Photo: Killian77
Looking for some fun ideas for Easter celebrations and spring break activities? Check out the Au Pair in America Pinterest board for lots of great ideas!
Bake and decorate chick cupcakes
Make a foosball game out of a shoebox
Go on a scavenger hunt at the park
Photo by Michael
Mickey Mouse was created in 1928! Celebrate his birthday with Mickey Mouse pancakes: Follow the directions for mixing on the package. Heat a griddle or frying pan. For each pancake pour batter into pan in a large circle with two smaller circles at the top to make the ears. Cook until pancake is puffy and bubbles. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown. Use chocolate chips for the eyes.
Halloween is fast approaching! There are many ways that you can make this time fun and interesting for both you and the children you care for!
Au Pair in America has captured a wonderful array of projects you can work on together. You can find them on our Halloween Fun Pinterest board! Try making a collection of glowing pumpkins using jars from the host family’s recycling! You’ll need clean jars, liquid glue, orange tissue paper, some paint, black construction paper or cardstock and a strand of lights or battery operated tea lights.
If you have a collection of plastic pumpkins for trick or treating, place them on a shelf or table and dress them up! baseball hats, party hats, tiaras, fire fighter hats, pirate hats and more will help you create a fun display! Dig through the dress up collection for some great options or make some of your own with craft supplies!
Check out the Pinterest board for some other great ideas like ghost bowling using toilet paper! How about adding some fun to lunchboxes by slipping a Halloween joke in? Try making some glowing cups – Frankenstein, ghost and pumpkin! Try transforming some acorns into pumpkins using paint!
Photos by Philip James and Mootsie
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Toddlers are a bundle of inquisitive energy! So much to explore! Lets look at some engaging activities, inside and out, that we can plan for our days together!!
How about some outdoor hopscotch? Grab some chalk and get creative!
Practice cause and effect with this easy craft project. Bonus points – it travels well for entertaining small hands in waiting rooms, restaurants, etc.
Try playing with muffin tin sorting! Easy to find items in the home become useful tools of play as your and your child sort, place in, take out, etc.
Try your artistic hand at making a rainbow salt tray to explore! Completely reusable, this activity has long staying power!
Use recyclable water bottles and some miscellaneous items to create a Discovery Bottle.
Try creating a rainbow sand box! This compact box is perfect for small spaces, indoors, etc. Just grab another shallow container with a lid, add in the colored rice after it dries and some digging and sifting equipment! 
Photo credits to – Ilya Haykinson – Flickr; Emma Craig – Flickr; Kidz Activities – Flickr
As with any activity, please use your own judgement about what your particular child can do or try.
The Olympics are in full swing!! We have put together some great ideas to correlate with the Summer Games! How about creating your own Olympic Rings Ball Toss or Olympic pictographs? Learn about the culture of Rio or do an Olympic word search! Make a pom pom soccer field, a laurel wreath or your own gold medal! When it’s snack time, learn how to make grapes in a canoe, ring cupcakes or an edible Olympic torch! You can also learn how to chart the medals won by your country and the US! Whatever activities you chose to do, there will be lots of fun going on! Check out all of these ideas and more here!
Photo by Vincent Angler – Flickr
Ahoy! Save yourself from walking the plank of summertime boredom but checking out Au Pair in America’s summer fun theme PIRATES!
Find great books to grab from the library, make edible boats, or even a telescope! How about some coloring pages, playing Pirate Bingo or searching for buried treasure? Create a treasure map, have a Cannon Ball toss and create a Pirate name! Join us for some swashbuckling fun!
Photo by: Leonid Mamchenkov
Challenge yourself this upcoming week with some fun and exciting experiments! Create a catapult or a lemon volcano! How about a exploring buoyancy or what melts in the sun? Learn how to make a cloud in a jar or try some gross experiments like growing mold! Turn pennies green, learn about the water cycle and try some seed science!! So many fun and exciting opportunities! Read more about them here!
Photo by Michele
