Tag Archives: au pair Minneapolis

Camp Au Pair – Nature Exploration

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:

easy bird feeders for kids to make #kidsactivities #kidscraft #craftsforkids #nature Twig Boat Craft - Fun nature craft for kids to make

Gone Camping Craft - Can be personalized with a photo of your child! Botanical Sun Catchers -- these look so pretty!!

Camp Au Pair – Pirate Week

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:

Pirate Party Treasure Map Pizza black balloons filled with water make a great cannon ball toss game for a pirate party

Edible Sailboats Make a Pirate Hat - wikiHow

Avast, me hearties – time to set sail!

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!

Rainy Spring Days

Image by Tilda Rice

Rainy days and Minnesota spring go together like hot dish and tater tots. You can count on cold, windy, rainy, muddy weather well into May. So it’s best to have a plan ready. Otherwise, kids can get pretty squirrelly stuck inside!

Think about the kids you are caring for when thinking up activities. You can’t expect a super active child to sit for hours doing a jigsaw puzzle. But there are a lot of different ideas out there.

Some activities to consider:
* Teach kids a new skill. Depending on the age and interests of your kids, teach kids something they haven’t tried before. Some ideas include watercolor painting, bread baking, doing a maze, or trying yoga (go to the Cosmic Yoga YouTube channel for some great kid-oriented yoga.)
* Acting in a play. Take a favorite book and adapt it to your own use. Costumes and props are fun to create. Even if it’s just for yourselves, it’s still a fun activity.
* Go on a scavenger hunt. Make a series of clues that lead from one to another, with some kind of small prize at the end. Little kids can decode easier clues, like “Look where the eggs are kept;” older kids can be given more complicated puzzles.
* Movie and popcorn time. It can be fun to recreate the experience of going to the movies at home. Make a big bowl of popcorn and pick a fun movie, and everyone can snuggle on the couch and relax.
* Get out and play in the puddles. Dress kids in waterproof jackets and boots, grab umbrellas, and splash around out there. You can learn a lot from watching how rain falls, how puddles develop, or how raindrops fall off of leaves. Obviously, you can’t go out in a thunderstorm!

Our Pinterest page has many, many more ideas. Keep the kids occupied while the rain is falling and everyone will be in a better mood when you can finally get outside into the beautiful Minnesota springtime.

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

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 and over.

But it can be stressful for kids, too. They don’t want to waste any summer, and of course they’ve already wasted a lot of it. They don’t know if their new teacher will like them, if they’ll make any friends, what if it’s too hard…

The change in schedule can also throw everyone off. Even though families try to keep routines in place over break, let’s face it, my kids were always up later in the evening and getting up later in the morning. They recommend that you make kids get up at school time for a week or so before school starts so they aren’t too groggy to learn in class. Good luck with that….

It is a good idea to discuss all the changes with the family before they happen. This especially includes your au pair, who may not be familiar with your before-school routines, packing lunches, etc. Everyone should sit down and talk about what will be different and what will be the same in September. Particularly if the au pair’s schedule will be changing – give it to her in writing so she definitely understands!

I hope everyone has a fantastic year in school!

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!

Drowning signs – what to look for

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 get in trouble in the water and this could literally help you save a life.

http://tinyurl.com/kd8mltf

Apply in April to save $600!

Apply between April 15 and 30 and save $250, plus no application fee, for a total savings of $600!

With no application fee, you can search through our database of excellent candidates and see who is available, without committing to anything. As soon as your application is received, you’ll be able to run different searches and compare au pairs. For example, you might search for candidates over 21 who like to cook, whose first language is Spanish. Or you could look for a French-speaker who has lived away from home before. Or a Thai who has driving experience and who likes to ski. The possibilities are endless!

See the details at http://www.aupairinamerica.com/fees/discounts.asp

Women's History Month

Here’s a personal story. As the mother of three daughters, it has always been important to me that they see themselves as able to do whatever they want with their lives. One way I have done that is by choosing women professionals when reasonable. So naturally, they went to a female pediatrician. One day when my youngest was about 4, we came out of the pediatrician and she said, “I thought we were going to see the doctor.”

To which I responded, “We just did. What do you mean?”

And she said, “We saw a nurse. Doctors are men.”

I blame TV. But anyway, the point is that even when we are aware of sexist perceptions, they still creep in. So Women’s History Month is a great way to keep showing our kids that men and women both contribute to society.

I have been poking around and finding a few women that might interest kids. Kid Lit, http://kidlitwhm.blogspot.com/ has a list of books by female authors that can lead to a fun afternoon at the library or snuggling on the couch. National Geographic Kids, http://tinyurl.com/4kdml66 has a page highlighting three important woman pioneers which will interest kids with more of a scientific bent. And She Knows, http://tinyurl.com/lyneb7f has a page with profile of many women in American History who are some of my personal heroes.

Au pairs can share famous women from the history of their own country. Did you know the Presidents of Brazil and Germany are both women?

Boys and girls both can gain from a better understanding of women’s historical contributions!