As summer winds down, we’re going to spend a week enjoying Pirate Adventures! Kids are always fascinated by pirates: the sea, the sun, the parrots, the treasure! Here is our Pinterest board with a lot of great Pirate-themed ideas, including field trips where they can practice their Pirate lingo:
Camp Au Pair – Pirate Adventure Week
If your littles need a bit of practice with their Ahoy!s, here’s a video that explains the whole thing:
This week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Princesses and Knights.
Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to royalty, dragons, chivalry, fairies, and more, can all be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Princesses and Knights pinboard.
(Note – I recognize the inherent sexism in the title of this week, but I also know that kids really like princesses and knights. I’ll try to come up with a better title for next year.)
I chose this theme now because the Minnesota Renaissance Festival is coming up, and this will help everyone get in the mood. If you haven’t been to the Ren Fest, you’re missing out! This was the original Renaissance Festival, and even though they are found everywhere these days, I really feel this is something to experience!
Culture Sharing – Does your home country have a history of royalty? What about stories of dragons, fairies, things like that? Ancient ruins? You can share what it means with your host kids.
Online Fun – Here is a great website with lots of chivalry activities including ones for older kids.
Webcams – You can do a google search for castle websites with webcams. Here are a few to get you started:
Videos – Look for fun videos on YouTube about medieval arts, jousting, and more.
Books – Stop by your local library and look for books on chivalry, castles, dragons, knights, princesses.
Check YouTube for books on medieval topics being read aloud:
Image: teachkidsart.com
Art Experiences can mean a lot of different things, from quietly sketching in museums to running from sculpture to sculpture in a big outdoor garden, to making messy art with rubber bands, to painting bread with stripes before eating the whole creation. Our Pinterest board has all of these ideas and a ton more, as well as local art Field Trips.
You can find tons of great ideas at our Pinterest board.
Local art field trips include Walker Art Center and Sculpture Garden, MIA, the Weisman Museum on the U Of M campus, the museum of Russian Art, Caponi Art Park in Eagan, Western Art Park in St. Paul, Franconia Art Park near Taylor’s Falls, Harrison Scultpure Garden in Chaska, and more. While you’re there, spend just enough time talking about what they see without overwhelming them with fancy details. You can bring a sketchbook and pencils to most museums so kids can make a lasting record of the visit.
If you’re not sure your kiddos are ready for a visit to a real museum, you can do a virtual visit to any museum in the world – are there any you visit in your hometown?
But remember, parents love to have some kid art for the fridge, or for the office, or to wear as jewelry. You can create truly meaningful memories just splashing paint around on a piece of poster board in the back yard. Have fun! (and try to control the mess!)
This week’s theme for Camp Au Pair is Cooking with Kids. Even the littlest kids can help shake up a bag of ice cream! And with the heat coming our way, you might be happy to have ideas planned that you can do in the air conditioning. The ideas on the Pinterest board include homemade butter, fun healthy snacks, science-y ideas like the ice cream in a bag, and entire meals kids can make for their families (with a little help from you!)
Nutrition and healthy eating are important for many families. The Pinterest board includes age-appropriate activities to help kids understand how the food they eat affects how they grow and feel.
Field trip ideas include Mill City Museum, where kids can learn about the flour milling industry in Minnesota (the most EXPLOSIVE museum in the world – iykyk,) and a site where you can find farmer’s markets near you. Kids will love being able to choose the vegetables they get for lunch – plus you can always grab a few honey sticks, for kids over 12 months. The big Minneapolis farmers market by the Basilica has music and samples. My kids love it!
Here’s the link to the Pinterest board:
Next week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Summer Olympics. There aren’t any actual Olympics this summer, but we can still have some fun!
Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to the Summer Olympics can be found here on the Camp Au Pair Summer Olympics pinboard.
Culture Sharing – The Olympics bring so many opportunities for learning about other countries. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Videos – On YouTube you can find many videos for kids about the Olympics.
Books – Stop by your local library and look for books about the Olympics.
Some good ones include: Olympig!, G is for Gold Medal: An Olympic Alphabet, How to Train with a T-Rex and Win 8 Gold Medals, Wilma Unlimited, America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle, Way to Go Alex!, Touch the Sky, Pele: King of Soccer, A Picture Book of Jesse Owens & Babar’s Celestville Games.
You can also check on YouTube for videos of books being read aloud.
Fun Fact: The Olympic symbol consists of five interlaced rings of equal dimensions, used alone, in one or in five different colors, which are, from left to right, blue, yellow, black, green and red. The Olympic symbol (the Olympic rings) expresses the activity of the Olympic Movement and represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games.
Image: Project Nursery
Photo: krojotak.com
Au pairs can be the perfect childcare solution: flexible, experienced, loving, and fun, and they also open a window to the world for your kids. Hosting an au pair means no scrambling for coverage for spring break or if someone gets sick, having another adult to drive to softball practice, and more love to go around! All this and more, and the cost is less than most other options!
Families in the Twin Cities are finding that having live-in care can answer many of their childcare needs. We have au pairs from all over the world. They come on a 12 month visa, live with host families, provide up to 45 of childcare each week. They can teach the children their own language, share international cuisine, add new customs to your holiday celebrations, and help with laundry and other child-related household chores.
For more information, just fill out the info form at Au Pair in America | World’s most trusted child care
Thanks to COVID19, a lot of kids are going to miss out on day camp this year. Our au pairs can run a weekly camp for the kids that will be even more fun, since it’s designed just for them! Plus they don’t have to spend all that time on the bus going back and forth. Every week I’ll post some ideas from the Au Pair in America Pinterest, Camp Au Pair boards. But feel free to browse them on your own.
This week is all about nature. Our Pinterest board with a ton of ideas for kids of every age. Check it out and pick one or two for every day this week.
https://www.pinterest.com/aupairinamerica/camp-au-pair-nature-exploration/
Here are just a few samples of the kind of thing you’ll find:
Thanks to COVID19, a lot of kids are going to miss out on day camp this year. Our au pairs can run a weekly camp for the kids that will be even more fun, since it’s designed just for them! Plus they don’t have to spend all that time on the bus going back and forth. Every week I’ll post some ideas from the Au Pair in America Pinterest, Camp Au Pair boards. But feel free to browse them on your own.
This week is all about pirates. Imaginative play at its finest! Our Pinterest board with a ton of ideas for kids of every age. Check it out and pick one or two for every day this week.
https://www.pinterest.com/aupairinamerica/camp-au-pair-pirate-adventures/
Here are just a few samples of the kind of thing you’ll find:
Avast, me hearties – time to set sail!
Thanks to COVID19, a lot of kids are going to miss out on day camp this year. Our au pairs can run a weekly camp for the kids that will be even more fun, since it’s designed just for them! Plus they don’t have to spend all that time on the bus going back and forth. Every week I’ll post some ideas from the Au Pair in America Pinterest, Camp Au Pair boards. But feel free to browse them on your own.
This week we are going to do some amazing experiments that are sure to keep the kids engaged. Our Pinterest board with a ton of ideas for kids of every age. Check it out and pick one or two for every day this week.
https://www.pinterest.com/aupairinamerica/camp-au-pair-science-stem/
Here are just a few samples of the kind of thing you’ll find:
Mad scientists – have fun!
