Yearly Archives: 2015

Holiday Tips for Au Pairs and Host Families

FLEXIBILITY

Holidays are a lot of fun but they also require much planning, communicating, visiting, and accommodating other family members’ schedules, all of which may cause quite a bit of stress for your host parents. Try to be as helpful and flexible as possible to help your host family have a truly enjoyable time.

 

Childcare

More childcare duties will be required when children are out of school. Have a plan for the time when they put aside their Xmas toys and look for other amusement. Check out APIA website http://www.aupairinamerica.com/resources/activities/index.asp to get ideas on how to keep your host kids happily occupied.

 

Driving

Traffic tends to be heavier around the holidays.  My best advice is to leave earlier than normal and take your time.  Be the “bigger person” and allow that one last car to slip in ahead of you.  It may avoid an accident.  Remember au pairs can be asked to pay up to $500 of the deductible for an accident.

 

Healthy eating

Is your house filled with treats, and goodies that are tempting you? It is the season, and you are here for a cultural exchange, so try some of the traditional sweets your host family is offering, but it is a good idea to downsize your portions – how much you eat is as important as what you eat.

 

 

Tips for Host Families

 

Scheduling

Letting your au pair know her schedule in advance is important at any time but especially during holidays. For most au pairs these will be the only Xmas & New Year holidays in the States. Host families are asked to make an effort to follow the spirit of APIA program, which is cultural exchange, and both include AP in their celebrations and also give AP some time to experience and enjoy them with her friends.

 

Childcare

Please let your au pair know exactly what your expectations are regarding childcare. Is she supposed to let the kids be so they can enjoy unstructured time with visiting family members? Or is she supposed to keep them occupied so you can enjoy a quiet conversation with your brother and sister-in-law? Will grandparents take an active role in caring for the kids or should au pair get them ready for bedtime and read them a good night story?

 

Safety

If there is an alarm system for the house, be sure that the au pair is listed with the alarm company as a legitimate user of the alarm. Also, the au pair must know the appropriate security code in case of a false alarm.

 

TLC

If holidays can be stressful for host families, they can be doubly so for au pairs. Please keep in mind that your au pair is in a foreign country, away from her family, friends, and familiar circumstances at the time when we all celebrate family and togetherness! Please make sure to give your au pair some Tender Loving Care that you’d like your daughter to receive were she to be an au pair far away from home.

 

 

Holiday Celebrations

NOLHolidayparty2015As usual in December, au pairs got together for a big holiday party. After sharing stories about different celebrations in their respective countries, au pairs decided to follow one of the American customs and played Dirty Santa Game, a Christmas gift exchange that calls for participants to “steal gifts” from each other.

Another fun game involved drawing a Christmas scene on a paper plate placed on au pair’s head.

Fortified with hot chocolate and an array of cookies and snacks, au pairs set out to continue the fun evening at Celebration in the Oaks in City Park.

NOLHolidays2015DSC00107DSC00126NOLXmas2015

 

 

 

Easy Craft Ideas for Children

NOLkidcraftDoing crafts with host children is one of the most fun things that au pair’s job entails. Here are a few ideas that will help children develop their creativity.
Play dough
Combine 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of salt. Add 1 cup of water and 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil. Mix and knead well. If too stiff, add more water, if too sticky add more flour. For colored play dough, add food coloring to the water before combining it with the other ingredients. STORE IN AN AIR TIGHT CONTAINER. If left out in the air the dough will harden.

Texture Coloring
Put different textures under drawing paper (scrap paper or the back of junk mail works just fine, you don’t need fancy drawing paper) and then color with a crayon. Try a comb, corrugated cardboard (that’s the bumpy cardboard from heavy boxes), sandpaper or different kinds of fabric. Or cut shapes out of light weight cardboard (old cereal or cracker boxes), put them under the drawing paper and rub the crayon over the top to make designs.
 
Crayon Etching
Completely cover the paper with heavy crayon markings of different colors. Then color over all the colors with one other color (black works best). Make a picture or a design with a toothpick or other pointed but not sharp object, it will scrape away the top color to show the colors underneath.
 
Paper bag masks
Use a large brown paper grocery bag for a mask by cutting out holes for the eyes (try it on the child to get them in the right place) and then coloring the face in fun ways with crayons. You can make different characters – a monster, a king or queen, animals etc. Cutting holes for the shoulders can also be helpful.
 
Space helmet
Cut an empty plastic gallon milk container into a helmet shape. Pretend you are on a trip into space.

Halloween Safety Tips for Au Pairs

NOLSafetyHalloween

Adult supervision is essential. Always accompany the children if they are going door to door to trick or treat

Try tick-or-treat-friendly homes. Ensure the children only visit houses with lights on. And, you might also suggest the houses they visit have some sort of Halloween decoration on the porch.

Stay outside. Make sure the children don’t go inside someone’s house. They can trick or treat on the porch.

Remain visible. Dress the children in bright costumes or have them wear reflective strips or carry a glow stick or flashlight.

Quality-check treats. Check the candy before they eat it. Throw out any candy that is not in its original wrapper or looks like it has been tampered with.

Say “no” to strangers. Remind the children to never accept a ride or go anywhere with a stranger.

Have a great time! Finally, make sure your kids have tons of fun and enjoy the night.

 

Happy Halloween

NOLHappyHalloweenHello dear au pairs,

I hope the pumpkins are carved, the costumes are ready and you’re looking forward to going trick and treating with your host children.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween, what is it all about?

Halloween is celebrated across the United States on October 31st.  Not all,  but most families will participate in some aspect of the Halloween holiday traditions.  This may be a new experience for you so It is a good idea to talk to your host family ahead of time and find out how they celebrate. 

Like many other holidays, Halloween has changed throughout history. Over 2,000 years ago people called the Celts lived in what is now Ireland, the UK, and parts of Northern France. November 1 was their New Year’s Day. They believed that the night before the New Year (October 31) was a time when the living and the dead came together.

More than a thousand years ago the Christian church named November 1st All Saints Day.  This was a special holy day to honor the saints and other people who died for their religion. The night before All Hallows was called Hallows Eve. Later the name was changed to Halloween.

Like the Celts, the Europeans of that time also believed that the spirits of the dead would visit the earth on Halloween. They worried that evil spirits would cause problems or hurt them. So on that night people wore costumes that looked like ghosts or other evil creatures. They thought if they dressed like that, the spirits would think they were also dead and not harm them.

The tradition of Halloween was carried to America by the immigrating Europeans. Some of the traditions changed a little, though. For example, on Halloween in Europe some people would carry lanterns made from turnips. In America, pumpkins were more common. So people began putting candles inside them and using them as lanterns. That is why you see Jack ‘o lanterns today.

These days Halloween is not usually considered a religious holiday. It is primarily a fun day for children. Children dress up in costumes like people did a thousand years ago. But instead of worrying about evil spirits, they go from house to house. They knock on doors and say “trick or treat.” The owner of each house gives candy or something special to each trick or treater.

 

 

 

Welcoming Au Pair to Your Home

After you match with your new au pair and arrange her travel from orientation to your community, it’s very important to keep in touch with her prior to her arrival. Please keep in mind that you have opened your home to someone else’s daughter. There are many things you can do that will help her to feel welcome in your home. An email to check in every so often is reassuring and builds the bonds you started to form when you offered her a home for a year. Sending photos of the children or pictures they have drawn is also a welcome form of connection.

Once your au pair arrives at orientation, please call her to welcome her. It makes the au pair feel much more comfortable to hear from you while she is at orientation.

Some families send flowers or small packages with personalized stationery or homemade cookies. Ask your counselor for other suggestions if you want to send something, but keep in mind that your au pair will have to transport whatever it is to your house. Faxes can be received by the hotel and are also a nice way to say hello.

Before she travels to your home, prepare a welcome sign made by the children. You can display it at home or use it at the airport or train station. Make sure her room is clean and ready for her. Mark the au pair’s birthday on the family calendar.

When she arrives at your home, she will be tired, excited and probably anxious. Keep in mind the fatigue that being in a new culture causes, particularly if your au pair is not a native English speaker. The au pair needs time to recover from jet lag.

It’s important to give her a few days to unpack, rest and become acclimated to the host family’s home, family and neighborhood before expecting her to assume full child care responsibilities. She should be allowed to find ways to make her space her own; mounting a bulletin board on the wall is one easy way to do this.

According to Department of State regulations, au pairs are not allowed to assume sole responsibility for the children until after she has been in the home three days. Giving her the opportunity to bond with the children one at a time is helpful in building relationships. Those first few days can be used to complete the child care questionnaire for each of your children, to conduct a tour of the neighborhood, to go to the grocery store to determine her food preferences and for her to see the variety of foods available in the US, and to share information about the house and her chores. Many families also use this time to have the au pair drive for the first time.

The Community Counselor will call and/or visit within the first forty-eight hours after the au pair’s arrival.

Some other adjustment issues to keep in mind:

  • The au pair may be confused by directions with so many new things to learn, especially as she works to adapt to a new language and surroundings.
  • She may be homesick, possibly suffering from stomach indigestion as she tries to adapt to new foods, diet and a different time zone.
  • Children may be both excited and apprehensive about the au pair’s arrival, and their behavior patterns may be different from how they generally behave. With patience they will weather the transition.
  • Host parents may need to adapt to sharing living space with a young adult.

Putting time and effort into a positive welcome experience and being prepared for what typically happens in the first few days will give your match a strong foundation to build on.

http://www.aupairinamerica.com/resources/host_family_tips/welcome.asp

 

Anne Lise arrived from France recently and was very happy with the welcome by her host family. She was touched to see that her host children drew not one but a whole gallery of pictures to decorate her room.

Processed with Moldiv

Processed with Moldiv

“I was very well received by the family! I arrived at night and in the morning the girls came to see how I was. After when I went to say hello, they all made me a kiss and a hug.” (Anne Lise)

 

 

Getting School Age Host Children To Talk About Their Day

1.

Allow the child some time to wind down from his/her day. You

may be tempted to ask your host child about their day as soon

as you see them. Children may need some time to pass before

they want to open up about their day. They may be more willing

to share stories if you give them some time to get out of school

mode.

2.

Ask your host child specific questions. If you ask “how was your

day” you may find you get the same response every day. Here are

some examples of questions to stimulate conversation:

“Who did you eat lunch with?”

“What did you play at recess?”

“Tell me one new thing your teacher taught you today?”

“What was the best thing that happened at school today?”

3.

Tell your host child about your day. Talking about what you did

may start conversation and encourage your host child to share.

4.

Be silly. If you have young host children do not be afraid to act a

little silly. You can start a conversation by telling them how you

think their day went and mentioning silly things. For example,

“Let me guess something fun that happened today. Did a hot air

balloon land at recess and everyone took a hot air balloon ride?”

5.

Be patient. All children are different and some are more willing to

share stories. If you are consistent with your communication, your

host child will follow your cues and open up