Yearly Archives: 2019

Making Thanksgiving Memories Together

Thanksgiving is a public holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November every year in the United States. It started as a harvest festival and has been celebrated nationally on and off since 1789.  The most important part of Thanksgiving for American families is to spend family time together.

Martin Cathrae

 “My favorite holiday was Thanksgiving. Firstly, it was my first holiday with the whole family in America. Secondly, the whole family came together. All aunts and uncles and their kids came to grandma’s. We played football with all of them, including grandma and grandpa. It was the first time I played it and it was so much fun for all. We had a great dinner with all the typical things you can imagine … it was deeeelicious! It was so great to be with such a big family and I really enjoyed that day. I will remember it my whole life, I hope.” – Swantje from Germany

Here are a few tips to help you have a terrific Thanksgiving experience.

Host Parents
Please plan to include your au pair in your Thanksgiving celebration, if at all possible. If you are traveling or will not be able to invite your au pair to join you for Thanksgiving, give her plenty of notice and help her make alternate plans. You don’t want to leave your au pair alone over the holiday.

Au Pairs
If you are invited to attend dinner, please let your family know within 5 days of the invitation, whether you are planning to attend, so they may make plans. If your host family is unable to include you in their Thanksgiving plans, please let me know if you have trouble making other plans, so I can assist.

Make sure to discuss time off during this holiday weekend. Many host families work the Friday after Thanksgiving so do not assume you have this day off or the entire weekend. Talk to your host family, BEFORE you make any plans.

Bonus Tip for the Kids
If you are looking for a fun recipe to make with your au pair, check out these turkey cookies. Find more fun activities and recipes on the Au Pair in America Fall Holidays pinboard.

 

Three Ways for Au Pairs to Stay Red Cross Ready

Being knowledgeable in basic first aid and CPR is important for au pairs (and anyone else caring for children). Au Pair in America’s commitment to infant/child safety begins before au pairs arrive to the U.S., with pre-arrival training and continue throughout the au pair year.

#1 Training At Orientation

Our orientation includes seminars by American Red Cross instructors who provide hands-on demonstrations in infant/child CPR and safety. Printed materials are provided that reinforce the safety information and can be used to review from time to time.

#2 Enroll in a Red Cross Certification Class

After settling into their host community, all au pairs are encouraged to complete an Infant/Child CPR and First Aid certification program. Au Pair in America will pay for this training through the American Red Cross.

Classes are available through the Red Cross. Au Pair in America will pay for the cost of a class providing an au pair has at least six months left on her visa and is taking one of several approved childcare/child safety-related classes, such as Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED. Au pairs should check with their community counselor and host family before signing up. Au Pair in America will register the au pair directly.

To locate a class, visit www.redcross.org/takeaclass. For step-by-step instructions on how to locate a class and have Au Pair in America complete enrollment, click here.

#3 Stay Current on Safety Information

The Official American Red Cross First Aid app puts expert advice for everyday emergencies in your hand. Available for iPhone and Android devices, this app gives you instant access to the information you need to know to handle the most common first aid emergencies. With videos, interactive quizzes and simple step-by-step advice, it’s never been easier to know first aid. Download the app for free from the American Red Cross website or in your app store.

Photos: Robin Leon

Top 5 Tips for Overcoming Homesickness

Almost everyone experiences culture shock when they come to a completely new environment. Everything is different: the language, the food, and the people.

When everything feels so unfamiliar, it is natural to long for the security of home. However, you don’t want to let that feeling of longing for home, make you too sad or prevent you from finding happiness in your new home.

Here are my Top 5 Tips for Dealing with Homesickness

1. Make Friends – Don’t wait for other au pairs to reach out to you, reach out to them. There are other lots of new au pairs who are feeling the same way you are right now. Set a goal to reach out to a few of them each day. Some will respond and some will not. Don’t let that discourage you. No one will ever be mad at you for sending them a message to say hello or ask if they want to do something together. Make friends from various countries and you will also get a chance to practice your English skills together.

2. Stay in touch with your home country, but not too much. Skyping or talking on the phone every day with your family and/or friends back home often makes homesickness worse. Try texting instead and reduce the Skype and phone calls to once a week, until you feel stronger. It’s much harder seeing the faces and hearing the voices of those you miss.

3. Get out of the house (or your room specifically) – Go to cluster meetings, have coffee or go to movies with other au pairs, join a gym, go to the library, go for a walk, visit the mall, get a manicure, visit a museum. If someone invites you out, say “yes.” Also, don’t be afraid to do the inviting. If your host family invites you to do things with them, say “yes.” This will help you get to know each other and contribute to your overall happiness.

4. Realize that it definitely gets better – All au pairs experience homesickness and nearly all of them stay and have a successful year (some stay for two years). So, it must get better, right? Once you get past the initial homesickness, most au pairs report how quickly the year goes by.

5. Make Plans – Create your own Au Pair Bucket List (places you want to go, new foods to try, new things to experience during your year in the U.S.) and start doing them now. Post on our cluster group to find others who may want to join you on your adventures.

Photo by: Hernán Piñera (Flickr)

Back to School Planning

Back to school time is here. This can mean changes to the au pair schedule and possibly to the duties.  It is very important to communicate these changes to avoid problems.

Here is a list of topics to consider discussing:

  • Au pair’s work schedule
  • The children’s school and activity schedules
  • Where the children get dropped off and picked up and who will be doing this
  • What to do if a child is staying home sick, late to school, does not get off the bus (if they are supposed to)
  • Driving laws regarding stopping for school buses
  • How to tell if school has been canceled or delayed for bad weather
  • Add the au pair to your list of people allowed to pick up the kids from school and explain the process
  • What to pack for lunch
  • The routine after school (do they have free time before starting homework, what to give for a snack, any chores, where do they put their backpacks & lunchboxes)
  • How to communicate about what’s going on at school. Your Kids in Care logbook from Au Pair in America can be a great two-way communication tool for keeping track of schedules, afterschool activities and day to day info that needs to be transferred between host parents and au pair.
  • If your au pair will be the one going through the children’s backpack and helping with homework, consider designating an area for putting things that need to be read and/or signed by parents.

Here are some Printable Fill-in-the-Blank School Notes for parents. You can print these out and have them ready for times when the kids are absent, late, have an early dismissal or you need to give permission for something.

Check out Au Pair in America’s Pinterest School Tips and Ideas pinboard for things like organization ideas, back to school traditions, printable lunch box notes, and fun lunch recipes.

 

Camp Au Pair

APIA has Pinterest boards with many, many different ideas of things to do with kids. My favorites are the Camp Au Pair boards. These are themed activities, so kids can have a “Space” week or an “Under the Sea” week with their au pair. the activities include science, art, math, and cultural projects, with some for every age level.

Here’s a link to the “Under the Sea” week board: https://www.pinterest.com/aupairinamerica/camp-au-pair-under-the-sea/ and here’s one of the projects:

Fish Kids Craft out of Cupcake Liners #crafts #underthesea #kids

As you will see, these are great ideas for amusing kids during a hot Minnesota summer.

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

St. Patrick’s Day in St. Paul

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, which is this coming Sunday. Americans tend to go a little nuts over this. From what I’ve heard, Irish people are more than a little bemused by our antics – in Chicago, they DYE A RIVER GREEN!

Nevertheless, it’s a fun holiday. Bruegger’s Bagels will have green bagels, McDonald’s has Shamrock Shakes, bars will sell green adult beverages, etc.

St. Paul has a huge St. Patrick’s Day parade, which is on Saturday the 16th this year. It starts at Mears Park at noon and goes along 5th Street to Rice Park. in 2018 about 50,000 people enjoyed this event. Highly recommended! There are too many other activities to list but it’s an easy Google search.

If you’re more about the food, lots of people make corned beef and cabbage. Again, this is an American thing, but it’s pretty tasty. Grab a brisket at any grocery store and just follow the directions. Make a loaf of soda bread to go with it! You can get an easy recipe at https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/16947/amazingly-easy-irish-soda-bread/
It’s a fun and easy way to get kids learning about baking!

Have a happy St. Patty’s day! Don’t forget to wear green or someone might pinch you!

Au Pairs and American Diets

As we all know, American diets can be a big change for au pairs. Many au pairs are afraid they will gain weight while they are here. Here are some tips from a host mother, who runs the realfoodrn blog (https://realfoodrn.com/)

In order to maintain a healthy weight while in the United States:

– don’t eat the sugary foods we have here – there is hidden sugar in almost everything we eat. Read the nutrition label on the packaging of any food to see how many grams of sugar it contains.

– don’t eat late at night – try to keep from eating for a couple of hours before bedtime, to give your body time to use the energy in what you’ve already eaten.

– don’t eat fast food – McDonald’s or Burger King may be convenient, but they put all kinds of extra, unnecessary additives in the food. Plus, it’s largely empty calories and unhealthly fat. Look at the calorie counts posted on the menu before you order.

– drink tons of water – the more water you drink, the better you will feel. Water helps you flush unneeded things out of your system.

– remain active – even if it’s cold outside, find a way to get some exercise. The Mall of America is about half a mile around, so if you go two times around each level, you just walked 3 miles. Edinborough Park in Edina is an indoor park with a big playground for kids. There are lots of other choices. Plus when it’s nice out, you can easily rent a bike and ride around the chain of lakes in Minneapolis, or you can go swimming in one of the many lakes around here.

– whenever possible structure meals like this: healthy meat, lots of veggies, healthy fat, spices (no breads, sugars, sauces, rice, etc) – try to make your meals as healthful as you can.

And this is from Jennifer: don’t worry so much about your weight as about your health. If you eat healthy food and keep active, you will feel great!

Privacy & Personal Information Online

We live in a time of constant sharing through social media. We often share pictures, plans of somewhere we are going or rants about problems, without thinking much about who will see it and what could be the consequences.

Before clicking “post”, stop to think:

  • Am I violating someone’s privacy?
  • Am I sharing personal info. that could put me in danger?
  • Would I want my current or a future employer to see this?

This will help protect your privacy and safety as well as that of your host family. It is important to respect your host family’s privacy and not share personal details and information.  This applies to all kinds of situations, including: personal conversations, email and social websites.

For your own safety, it is a good idea to be careful what personal information you share about yourself as well. You should not give out information like your telephone number and address to people you don’t know. Safer to meet a new friend in a public place, than to give them your address before knowing them.

Once you post something on the internet (even if you later delete it), it can show up elsewhere.  Unless you have specific permission from your host family, you should never post pictures of them, their children or their home on the internet.

If you have a blog or website where you post in your native language, remember there is translation software. So, even if you say it in your native language, be sure it is not something that might be misinterpreted in translation or something you will regret saying.

20 Things To Do in Minnesota in Winter from the Sierra Club

I found this and though it sounded like something helpful at this time of year – all the fun holidays of winter are past, and we have a lot of time left to look at the snow.

I’m not sure about ho to credit this, so here’s the original link: https://www.sierraclub.org/minnesota/blog/2015/02/20-things-do-minnesota-winter

Get out there and do something (when it’s not toooo cold!)

20 Things to Do in Minnesota in Winter

February 15, 2015

Photo Credit: Jack Davis (pixures.tumblr.com)

Photo Credit: Jack Davis (pixures.tumblr.com)

It’s February – the holidays are well behind us, but winter is far from releasing its grip. This is the time of year in which the luster of cold-weather activities begins to wear off, winter carnivals and events wind down, and you find yourself dreaming about warm spring afternoons. Though you may be tempted to spend the rest of the season in bed, here are our top 20 snow-compatible activities to help you beat the cold and stay positive in the closing weeks of winter.

1. Spend the day ice skating

You can’t move in Minnesota without tripping over a frozen lake – they’re our greatest treasures! Strap on your skates and enjoy your local watering hole in its solid form. If you don’t have your own blades, many rinks offer rental skates. Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis, Minnesota rents them for free in all sizes.

2. Visit the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory

If the only green thing you’ve seen in months is your Christmas tree, consider visiting the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in Como Park, St Paul and immersing yourself in lush foliage from around the world. Step into the Tropical Encounters exhibit and feel your skin react with joy to the long-forgotten sensation of humidity. The Fern Room, the Bonsai exhibit, and the North Garden – with its collection of plants that have changed human history – are beautiful, educational, and guaranteed to be over 70° Fahrenheit. There are no entrance fees, only small suggested donations ($3 for adults, $2 for children).

Snowshoer

Photo Credit: Jack Davis (pixures.tumblr.com)

3. Explore Minnesota’s parks on snowshoe

If you’ve always wished you could glide buoyantly across the snow and explore places inaccessible to hiking, snowshoeing might be for you. Whitewater State Park outside of Rochester, Minnesota hosts guided Snowshoe Saturdays twice a month. But if you prefer solo adventuring dozens of Minnesotan parks provide snowshoe rentals to the public. Afterwards you’ll want to warm up your extremities with some fancy hot chocolate.

4. Visit an art museum

There’s nothing better than exploring an art museum on a gray, sleety day, and we have two excellent ones here in the Twin Cities. The Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts both have extensive collections, the latter of which is largely free to the public. Of particular interest is the ongoing “Nature of Nature” exhibition at the MIA’s Target Wing. The Walker Sculpture Garden takes on a completely different aspect in winter, and is worth a look on a sunny day.

5. Indoor or ice climbing

If you’re not ready to commit to a gym membership, your local rock gym should offer climbing day passes, which are fun ways to stay active even on the coldest days. Midwest Mountaineering in St. Paul has a free bouldering cave for customers, and is definitely worth a look when you’re outfitting your next expedition. If your passion for climbing outdoors can’t be contained by the cold, Vertical Endeavors offers monthly Ice Climbing courses in Sandstone, Minnesota. Then, get your crampons over to Casket Quarry in Duluth (don’t let the name deter you) and practice your newfound skills!

6. Build a bonfire and roast s’moresbonfire

Turn a weeknight into a camping trip by roasting s’mores over a fire pit or grill. If you don’t have a space for a bonfire, you can still make s’mores over a gas-lit stove!

7. Go ice fishing

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I like to fish, but I sure hate standing in the cold,” ice fishing is still the sport for you. You can rent a shanty on Lake Mille Lacs (yes, that does mean Lake “One Thousand Lakes”) near Brainerd for the day and plumb the frozen depths for trout. Some of these “shanties” come equipped with central heating and WiFi, but you can adjust the modern convenience level to your comfort.

8. Treat yourself to some maple taffy

This sticky snow day treat had a cameo in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s book about pioneer life in Minnesota, Little House in the Big Woods. It’s made by pouring boiled maple syrup over fresh snow and it couldn’t be yummier (see recipe here).

9. Cross-country ski

Minnesota may not have as many downhill skiing opportunities as other northern states, but our cross-country scene is on point. The leisurely pace of cross-country skiing facilitates wildlife encounters, conversation and photo opportunities, and most of our parks have well-groomed trails waiting to be explored. For a romantic twist, try a candlelit ski trip with your significant other (BYOB).

Sierra Clubbers on an outing at Lebanon Hills. Photo Credit: Joyce Icardo

Sierra Clubbers on an outing at Lebanon Hills. Photo Credit: Joyce Icardo

10. Tour a brewery

Learn about how beer is made, taste some delicious (and free!) local brews, and support your neighborhood businesses by registering for a brewery tour near you (make sure you have a designated driver or public transportation plan in place). Check out this list of breweries across the state that are open for tours. Afterwards, take what you learned and try crafting your own brew at home – you can buy all the supplies you need at any of these stores.

11. Grow indoor vegetables

The earth outside is frozen, but you don’t have to give up on your fresh vegetable game completely. Some veggies that do well in partial sunlight can be grown indoors in the winter without a UV lamp. You can find instructions and a list of good plant candidates for windowsills here. For beginner gardeners, sprouts are easy to grow in even the smallest kitchen!

12. Dash through the snow on a dog sled

You don’t have to own 12 purebred huskies to enjoy the thrill of dog sledding. Plenty of lodges near Duluth, Ely and the Boundary Waters offer guided day trips and longer camping trips. If you’re not quite ready to take charge of your own wolf pack, there are plenty of opportunities to watch dogsled races around the state, such as Mush for a Cure on Gunflint Lake, Minnesota or Wolftrack Classic in Ely, Minnesota.

Tom Roos Dog Sledding

Minnesota musher, Tom Roos, and his dogs on the Data Trail in Alexandria, MN

13. Rock an evening at a roller derby

With all the grace of an ice dancing show and all the violence of a monster truck rally, roller derby is a sport unlike any other. Ladies, the waitlist to join a beginner’s league can be over a year long, but in the meantime you can catch bouts every month at the Roy Wilkins auditorium.

14. Ride the Alpine Roller Coaster at Spirit Mountain

If you can’t wait until Valley Fair opens up again in May, check out the Midwest’s only alpine roller coaster, located on Spirit Mountain in Duluth, Minnesota. Spirit Mountain hosts a variety of wintery analogs to typical summer activities, like fat tire mountain biking and snow tubing, so it’s definitely worth a visit!

15. Check out the Minneapolis Home and Garden Show

The Home and Garden Show at the Minneapolis Convention Center runs from February 25th to March 1st and will include an assortment of domestic exhibits, including models of sustainable living and design, “upcycled” furniture, cooking demonstrations and indoor feature gardens to get you in the mood for planting season.

Lynx running in Snow

Photo Credit: Michael Shoop

16. Explore winter wildlife watching

Not everything hibernates or flies south in the winter – some species (particularly overwintering birds) are especially active in the colder months. This is a great time to practice identifying animal tracks in the snow, and the wintry landscape can be a beautiful setting for wildlife photography. The DNR has compiled some useful winter wildlife viewing tips and events here.

17. Steam up in an Urban Sauna

Originally a Finnish winter tradition, the sauna lifestyle is currently blowing up in the Twin Cities and beyond. Sauna advocates tout their health benefits, and sitting in a hot, steamy room for hours certainly makes you appreciate the icy breezes outside. Although we still lack a public sauna, groups such as the 612 Sauna Society are dedicated to improving access with mobile and pop-up saunas around the twin cities. Not comfortable using someone else’s sauna, and you’re good with your hands, considerbuilding your own this winter!

18. Join a broomball league

Broomball is an exciting sport that requires minimal equipment and offers the chance to see your friends and coworkers fall down a lot, so what’s not to love? You can start your own league or join an existing one here.

19. Go to a concert

The music won’t stop just because it’s below freezing out – check out this list of upcoming concerts in the state.

20. Fantasize about Spring

Okay, so you’ve done everything on this list and… it’s still cold outside. There’s nothing left to do but plan your summer vegetable garden, draft invites to grilling parties, imagine trips to the lake, and gaze at your collection of jorts in despair. As much as we love Minnesota winters, they do tend to overstay their welcome – but how could we appreciate summer without them?

Spring Calm