Posts Filed in ‘Child Care’ Category
Holiday & Vacation Reminders
May 15th, 2017by Christine Connally | Comments Off on Holiday & Vacation Reminders
“Rest and be thankful.” – William Wordsworth Holidays and vacations are a great opportunity to rest, recharge and explore the U.S. Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start of summer travel season. Here are some reminders about program rules regarding holidays and vacations. Holidays Host families are not required to give au pairs any specific holidays. Each host family […]
Helping Young Children Learn Language
March 15th, 2017by Christine Connally | Comments Off on Helping Young Children Learn Language
Being an au pair is an important role in a child’s life. When you are caring for a young child up to 45 hours per week, there are lots of opportunities to help them learn language. Many host parents are eager for their children to be exposed to foreign language. If this is true of […]
Handling Expenses
February 15th, 2017by Christine Connally | Comments Off on Handling Expenses
Host parents often ask for suggestions on how best to handle common expenses that occur as au pairs are caring for the children. Miscellaneous Expenses There are different ways to handle the little day to day expenses that come up. Things like when an au pair takes the kids out for ice cream or picks up […]
Winter Fun and Safety – Sledding!
January 9th, 2017by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on Winter Fun and Safety – Sledding!
SLEDDING SAFETY TIPS from the Minnesota Safety Council CHOOSING A SLED Look for solid construction – avoid homemade sleds, inflatable sleds that could be punctured, and equipment with sharp edges. Energy-absorbing seat pads will help cushion jolts to the spine. Examine sleds to be sure handholds are secure and steering works easily. FINDING A SAFE […]
Winter Storm Warning and what to do
January 2nd, 2017by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on Winter Storm Warning and what to do
Now is the time of year when we hear about winter storm warnings, blizzard warnings, etc. What are you supposed to do about that? A winter storm is a snowstorm that has a lot of snow and/or winds that blow the snow around so you can’t see. A winter storm watch means the conditions are […]
Back to School (cue ominous music)
August 18th, 2016by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on Back to School (cue ominous music)
August means back to school for many of us! Shopping, organizing, waiting to see what friends are in your class — it’s all a lot of kids can think about as August marches on. My kids always wanted to get their school supplies the day they hit Target so they could rearrange their backpacks over […]
APIA ongoing au pair training
August 11th, 2016by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on APIA ongoing au pair training
Au Pair in America is committed to providing the best possible childcare to your family. Au pairs get ongoing training in childcare and related topics throughout their year, both at their monthly cluster meetings and in online webinars. Webinars are scheduled roughly every week throughout the year. Recent topics have included things like: Toilet Training […]
St. Valentine’s Day
February 7th, 2016by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on St. Valentine’s Day
Hey – Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! Are you ready? In the United States, kids almost always celebrate some form of Valentine’s Day. At my school, we are calling it Friendship Day, but it will be otherwise the same as it was waaaaay back when I was in elementary school: kids will bring […]
Winter Safety – Sledding!
January 10th, 2016by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on Winter Safety – Sledding!
Kind of a theme – winter safety! SLEDDING SAFETY TIPS from the Minnesota Safety Council CHOOSING A SLED Look for solid construction – avoid homemade sleds, inflatable sleds that could be punctured, and equipment with sharp edges. Energy-absorbing seat pads will help cushion jolts to the spine. Examine sleds to be sure handholds are secure […]
Summer and Swimming Safety
June 16th, 2015by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on Summer and Swimming Safety
This link is something I shared a year ago, but it’s so important I want to share it at least once a year. We think we know what it looks like when someone is drowning and we are WRONG. Please take the time to read this. It only takes a minute for a child to […]
