Category Archives: Blog

Camp Au Pair – Art Experiences Week!

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?

Seeking inspiration? Here are museums you can visit virtually. (list courtesy of the Minnetonka Center for the Arts)

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!)

Camp Au Pair – Cooking with Kids

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:

https://www.pinterest.com/?boardId=95279417055562239

Welcome to Camp Au Pair in America!

When kids are out of school for the summer, it doesn’t take long for them to become bored and sometimes that leads to sibling squabbles and mischief. Even though they don’t realize it, they are usually missing routine and predictability in their daily schedule. One solution is to make fun plans to keep them busy! 

Each week this summer we will share a different Camp Au Pair theme. These weekly themes are designed to give you ideas to keep your host kids occupied and engaged all summer long. They will also be learning. (But shhhh, don’t tell them that part.) Check back each Friday, for the next week’s theme. This gives you a chance to make plans and gather materials for the next week. For each theme there will be crafts, games, snacks and activities. You can just use these ideas or add your own and customize the themes to fit the ages and interests of your host children.

Here are the themes you can look forward to:

  • Nature Exploration
  • Art Experiences
  • Under the Sea
  • Science (STEM)
  • Bugs & Butterflies
  • Cars and Trucks
  • Backyard Safari
  • Dinosaurs
  • Explore the World
  • Outer Space
  • Pirate Adventures
  • Princesses & Knights

Check out Summer Fun & Summer Holidays pin boards for even more ideas.

If you get some great pictures doing these activities with your host kids, please send those to your community counselor. We love to share your accomplishments and inspire other au pairs!

Let’s make this an amazing summer!