Tag Archives: twin cities child care

Severe Weather Awareness Month in Minnesota

April is Severe Weather Awareness Month and it’s important to be ready. Late spring is when we see a large number of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, so here’s how to handle that.

A severe thunderstorm is one which may include any or all of the following: frequent lightning strikes (which can be extremely dangerous,) high winds, hail, and heavy rain with street flooding.

A tornado is a specific kind of storm where winds and air pressure combine to create a funnel cloud. This spins around in a circle and creates crazy wind speed. Depending on the severity, trees can be knocked into houses, houses can be blown down, windows can shatter and strew broken glass everywhere.

If a severe thunderstorm watch or a tornado watch is announced, that means  that conditions are right for bad weather to develop, but nothing is happening yet. Mainly, just be aware of what’s going on outside at this point – maybe don’t get too far from shelter. I would turn the TV on or listen to the radio to see if there is anything near me.

If a severe thunderstorm warning or a tornado warning are announced, that means they have identified an actual storm in your area. Sirens will go off and they will definitely break into programming to give you information. If the warning is for a thunderstorm, keep everyone inside and away from windows – sometimes hail can break a window, or lightning can strike right through it.

If the warning is for a tornado, DROP EVERYTHING, Grab the kids and go to a safe part of the basement – away from windows, and also in a sturdy place – under the staircase can be perfect. Stay there until you hear that things are all clear – sometimes tornadoes can come in waves, so just because one has gone by doesn’t mean the danger is over. Try to keep the kids calm by singing or reading to them.

Families probably want to have things like a battery-powered radio, flashlights, and maybe a blanket ready in the basement in case of severe weather.

I’ll be going over all this with the au pairs at our April cluster meeting.

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!

Winter Olympics

The Olympics are almost here! When they changed it so the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics would be staggered, so there would be one every two years instead of both every four, I didn’t like it, but now I really do. And with so many Minnesotans participating in the Sochi Olympics, it’s going to more exciting than ever.

My au pairs always go to a Gopher Women’s Hockey game every year, so they should recognize some of the names.

My aupairs at a U of M hockey game

My aupairs at a U of M hockey game

If you are looking for ways to make the Olympics more meaningful for your kids, Activity Village has some cool ideas: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/winter-olympics

One of the reasons people get au pairs is to introduce their kids to other cultures, and this is a ready-made way to expand on that. Do they ice skate in Brazil? Ski in South Africa? Play hockey in Thailand? Now is the time to find out. You can have an atlas or a globe handy so you can show kids where the different countries are. You can devise your own ‘games’ and have each kid pick a country to represent (the au pair should probably represent her own country to avoid conflict.) Or you could explore Russian culture and cuisine, in keeping with the host country.

Whatever you do, you won’t be able to escape the Olympics this month, so you may as well enjoy it!