Category Archives: Kids

Winter Fun and Safety – Sledding!

Tubing au pairs

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 SLEDDING LOCATION
Look for an area that has been designated as a safe place to sled. Injuries are most likely to occur on poorly lit, unsupervised hills with obstacles such as rocks, tree trunks, etc. Check for signs posted by local police or parks and recreation departments.
Check that the sledding area has adequate space at the bottom to allow the sled to come to a complete stop. It should be far from traffic and water, and free of obstacles such as rocks and trees.
Be alert to hidden hazards under mounds of snow.
Don’t let children sled on ice.

Provide adult supervision as appropriate for children’s age and abilities.
Before sledding, remind children of the basics: Encourage them to sit up with feet forward (lying flat on the sled increases the chance of head and abdominal injuries), and to roll off the sled if they’re about to collide with a tree or other large or hard object.

Dress children appropriately for the temperature and in multiple layers. Outerwear should be water- and wind-resistant and free of drawstrings, which could pose a strangulation hazard.

It is recommended that kids wear helmets when they sled. Although a helmet has not yet been designed specifically for sledding, until such a helmet exists, wearing a bicycle, skateboard or ski helmet may be preferable to wearing no helmet at all.
Source: Safe Kids Worldwide

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 right for a storm, and a winter storm warning means there is a storm on the way. A blizzard warning means that there will be a BAD winter storm. An ice warning means that there will be ice on the roads, on the cars, everywhere.

Many people try to stock up so they can just stay in the house for a few days – watch the weather reports and grab a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread before the storm is supposed to hit. People can get lost in falling, blowing snow. Even just going to the mailbox! The storms never last that long, so most likely you will be able to wait until it’s over before going outside.

Driving in the snow is a lot like any winter driving – take everything, every single thing, slower than normal. Start slower, give yourself more time to stop, slow way down before you turn. Don’t panic if you slide or even spin – try to steer where you want to go because eventually you will be able to control the car again. Watch out for other drivers! Even if your light has turned green, make sure the cross traffic is able to stop before you go out in front of them.

Carry things like gloves or mittens, blankets, ice scrapers, and windshield washer fluid in the car. I always stick a pair of those $1.00 stretchy gloves in the pocket of any coat I might want to wear in case I forget my real gloves – they are way better than nothing. (But try not to get them wet.)

Dress in layers and dress kids in several layers. That way if they get too warm, they can take off their hoodie and still wear their coat. Au pairs need to get instructions from host parents on exactly how to dress the kids for winter, and they need to follow those instructions!

Winter in Minnesota is something everyone here has to deal with. Most of the time it can be fun! But when there’s a storm coming, please take care of yourself and your kids.

 

Cultural Calendar

APIA offers many services to our families. One that I haven’t yet mentioned is our Cultural Calendar. This handy calendar shows the special days and times of year in a easy-to-read visual calendar. It will help your au pair better understand seasons and celebrations in America as well as provide a calendar for possible fun activities. We try to include activities that families an au pairs can use with all different ages of kids. For example, the October calendar includes everything from recipes to celebrate Cookie Month, to Le Courbusier’s birthday.

Take a minute every month, or just when you’re looking for things to do with kids, to check out our Cultural Calendar!

http://www.aupairinamerica.com/resources/calendars/index.asp

St. Patrick’s Day in the US

St. Patrick’s Day is a pretty popular holiday here in the US. It’s not much like St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland, which I understand is a pretty typical religious minor holiday. Here, it’s mainly an excuse to have fun.

Many Americans wear green on March 17th, and at some schools the other kids will pinch you if you don’t. There will be parades and parties, where people eat corned beef and cabbage and soda bread. In Chicago they dye the river green.  Here in the Twin Cities, we kind of go nuts. I’ve been told that more people claim to be Irish in St. Paul than in Ireland, although I don’t know if that’s true. Both Minneapolis and St. Paul have parades.

Kids enjoy the fun too, learning about leprechauns and four leafed clovers and that kind of thing. You can also plan an Irish lunch or dinner for the whole family. Here’s a link to a page with craft ideas and recipes: http://spoonful.com/st-patricks-day.

St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are much more American than Irish, so don’t expect too much green food if you ever do spend it on the Emerald Isle. Just sayin’….

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 little cards for each other, and they will be exchanged at a party toward the end of the day when most serious learning is done. Generally, children are expected to bring something for everyone if they bring anything, so no one gets hurt feelings. Even in preschools, this ritual is carried out.

You may have seen the boxes of Valentine’s cards in Target or Cub recently. They are inexpensive and easy, and they are what almost everyone will give out. Some of the kids will tape a mini-candy bar to the envelope to add that special touch. But if you have time, or if you don’t need 32 cards by Friday, think about handmade valentines. They can be so much more meaningful. You could work with your kids to make a card that represents your own culture. If you feel like doing something personal but not for dozens of kids, think about making something special for the teacher.

Our Pinterest Valentine’s Day page http://www.pinterest.com/aupairinamerica/valentine-s-day/ has a TON of ideas on how to make this a truly special day.

Some background about Valentine’s Day: Valentine was a 3rd century Roman saint who died on February 14th. That is all that we know for sure. There have been many legends built up supporting him as the saint of courtly love, but none of them appear to be in any way factual. Feb. 14th is a feast day for Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, and Eastern Orthodox religions. However, in the US Valentine’s Day has very little to do with religion. It is a day for giving flowers and chocolate, and going out to a fancy dinner with the one you love. Lots of people get engaged on this day. But for kids, it’s usually about giving and getting cards and maybe some candy.

Try to inject the spirit of love and kindness into everything you do, every day, but particularly on Valentine’s Day!

Winter Safety – Sledding!

Tubing au pairs

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 and steering works easily.

FINDING A SAFE SLEDDING LOCATION
Look for an area that has been designated as a safe place to sled. Injuries are most likely to occur on poorly lit, unsupervised hills with obstacles such as rocks, tree trunks, etc. Check for signs posted by local police or parks and recreation departments.
Check that the sledding area has adequate space at the bottom to allow the sled to come to a complete stop. It should be far from traffic and water, and free of obstacles such as rocks and trees.
Be alert to hidden hazards under mounds of snow.
Don’t let children sled on ice.

Provide adult supervision as appropriate for children’s age and abilities.
Before sledding, remind children of the basics: Encourage them to sit up with feet forward (lying flat on the sled increases the chance of head and abdominal injuries), and to roll off the sled if they’re about to collide with a tree or other large or hard object.

Dress children appropriately for the temperature and in multiple layers. Outerwear should be water- and wind-resistant and free of drawstrings, which could pose a strangulation hazard.

It is recommended that kids wear helmets when they sled. Although a helmet has not yet been designed specifically for sledding, until such a helmet exists, wearing a bicycle, skateboard or ski helmet may be preferable to wearing no helmet at all.
Source: Safe Kids Worldwide

Au Pairs and Early Childhood Education

One reason people consider an au pair for their childcare needs is the opportunity for their kids to be exposed to a foreign language, and this is a great idea. Research has shown that children who are exposed to a second language early in life (before age 9) develop into adults who use even their first language with more skill. Having a caregiver who speaks a different language than the parents is enough to give children immense educational benefits. Children who study a second language do better in school and beyond. I’ll let the Minnesota Department of Education tell you:
“Studies show that language learning improves cognitive development, develops transferable reading skills, reinforces other subjects, and develops cultural literacy and appreciation and understanding for diversity. Studies have also shown that students who learn a second language are better problems solvers and score higher on state standardized assessments, SAT and ACT tests.”
I know most of the people reading this are thinking more about kindergarten readiness than the SAT test. Parents often consider cognitive aspects as the most important parts of being ready for formal schooling, but kindergarten teachers consider communication and social skills equally important, and again, having an au pair can help children develop all of these important skills. Many au pairs include academic learning in their daily interactions, from reading to children in their own language to using measuring cups to bake a treat from home. In-home childcare is naturally built around each child’s specific interests and needs, so children are more engaged in what’s going on.
Having an au pair can be a wonderful childcare solution for many families for many reasons, from flexibility and affordability to school readiness. With our experience as the nation’s oldest au pair agency, we strive to provide each family with the care they need. If you are interested, please go to our website, www.aupairinamerica.com, for more information. We are currently running a promotion for new host families. If you apply before October 15th, you will save $250 on the match fee and also have the application fee waived, so now is a great time to check us out!

I love to read month

Well, for the shortest month, February has a LOT of things going on for families., and I Love to Read Month is actually one of my favorites. There are few things I enjoy more than reading to kids and giving them some of my love for the written word.

Scholastic, the school book fair people, have a great website with all kinds of ideas of things to do to give your child a love of reading. Go to http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2013/02/celebrate-joy-reading-all-month-long for the list.

Spending time together reading a book is time well spent. It not only helps the child learn to read, it conveys to them that reading is important, and that they themselves are important, because you are doing it with them. You can’t really read a book to a kids while checking emails or reading the paper (or reading blogs, even ones as valuable as this.) It expands their imagination, and increases their attention span. It creates a bond between the two of you, and by sharing books from your own childhood, or from another culture, it opens windows on all kinds of wonderful things.

What are you waiting for?

Black History Month

February has been known as Black History Month in the US since 1976, when it was recognized nationally for the first time as part of the US Bicentennial. The contributions of African-Americans are often left out of history books, and this is one way to focus more attention on them.

Children can learn about Black History Month at their own level. Little kids might just want to color a picture of Harriet Tubman or Frederick Douglass, or listen to someone read The Sneeches by Dr. Seuss, while older ones would gain a lot by learning about Jackie Robinson or the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. There have been movies made about certain aspects that would be great for the right ages, including 42, the Jackie Robinson Story (it does have some swearing in it,) or The Help. Even Hairspray can be educational for older kids.

The great website Family Education, http://tinyurl.com/2s5eu4, has a page with all kinds of activities for families to do together to learn more about Black Americans and Black History Month.

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 little cards for each other, and they will be exchanged at a party toward the end of the day when most serious learning is done. Generally, children are expected to bring something for everyone if they bring anything, so no one gets hurt feelings. Even in preschools, this ritual is carried out.

You may have seen the boxes of Valentine’s cards in Target or Cub recently. They are inexpensive and easy, and they are what almost everyone will give out. Some of the kids will tape a mini-candy bar to the envelope to add that special touch. But if you have time, or if you don’t need 32 cards by Friday, think about handmade valentines. They can be so much more meaningful. If you feel like doing something personal but not for dozens of kids, think about making something special for the teacher.

Our Pinterest Valentine’s Day page http://www.pinterest.com/aupairinamerica/valentine-s-day/ has a TON of ideas on how to make this a truly special day.

Some background about Valentine’s Day: Valentine was a 3rd century Roman saint who died on February 14th. That is all that we know for sure. There have been many legends built up supporting him as the saint of courtly love, but none of them appear to be in any way factual. Feb. 14th is a feast day for Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, and Eastern Orthodox religions. However, in the US Valentine’s Day has very little to do with religion. It is a day for giving flowers and chocolate, and going out to a fancy dinner with the one you love. Lots of people get engaged on this day. But for kids, it’s usually about giving and getting cards and maybe some candy.

Try to inject the spirit of love and kindness into everything you do, every day, but particularly on Valentine’s Day!