Posts Tagged ‘Twin Cities’
Drowning signs – what to look for
June 9th, 2014by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on 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 […]
Father's Day!
June 9th, 2014by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on Father's Day!
Father’s Day is this coming Sunday. It is unfortunate that it falls after school gets out, because most schools help kids (at least little kids) come up with a nice gift for Mother’s Day but Father’s Day is pretty much left for the kids to do on their own. Father’s Day is important, though, and […]
Raising Children with Values
June 9th, 2014by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on Raising Children with Values
Having an au pair is one way families put their values into practice, teaching their children about the value of diversity and acceptance, about how to relate to different cultures in their futures, and about how the meaning of the word ‘family’ can include people who live far away. There is an organization in the […]
Winter solstice
December 16th, 2013by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on Winter solstice
A fun way to introduce kids to the idea of diverse holidays is to teach them about the solstice. The days have been getting shorter and shorter, and we all should celebrate having a little more sunshine soon. There is a great website for kids and crafts, www.craftycrow.net, that has a bunch of great ideas […]
Au pairs and Minnesota winters
December 11th, 2013by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on Au pairs and Minnesota winters
Almost all the families I interview express concerns about how au pairs will adapt to our lovely winters. I can honestly say that not one of the hundreds of au pairs I have worked with has left Minnesota because of the winter. In fact, I would say that the highest percentage of au pairs who […]
Back to school
August 28th, 2013by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on Back to school
School is coming for most children. In Minnesota, school generally starts the day after Labor Day, although Minneapolis, and a few other places, start the week before. With a few breaks, the school year will run until around the first week of June. School-day mornings can be a hectic time, with kids running around trying […]
State Fair Time
August 14th, 2013by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on State Fair Time
The Great Minnesota Get-Together is coming up fast! Minnesota has the absolute greatest state fair of any state! (That may be subjective…) But we do have 12 days to celebrating everything that’s special about Minnesota, especially our agricultural roots. There is an entire section dedicated to farm machinery! There is also a Midway with rides […]
Winter Weight Control
December 27th, 2012by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on Winter Weight Control
Many au pairs (probably most!) put on some extra weight over the winter. Americans eat more than most au pairs are used to eating, and it’s way to easy to stay inside instead of going out for exercise. Luckily, we live in the Twin Cities, where there are all kinds of awesome things to do […]
Beat the winter blues!
January 1st, 2012by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on Beat the winter blues!
This was originally posted by Cindy Garruba, the Long Island CC After the decorations are put away, the celebrations are over, the New Year has begun: and the post holiday winter blues are starting to hit you and your host family. What can you do to get through the long cold winter months happily? 1. […]
Peace Day Competition
October 21st, 2011by Jennifer Harriss | Comments Off on Peace Day Competition
I know it’s kind of a contradiction, but Au Pair in America held a Peace Day competition for our au pairs to submit art or poetry on the subject of the International Day of Peace. You can see all submissions on our Global Awareness page at http://www.globalawareness.com/ Global Awareness is our educational program, where au […]
