Tag Archives: live in childcare new orleans

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.

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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)

 

 

Volunteering at Katrina 10

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Au pairs jumped at the opportunity to support their “home for a year” city.

Desiree from South Africa, Nadine, Johanna and Anastasia from Germany joined volunteers at Citywide Day of Service – Katrina 10: Resilient New Orleans.

They spent Saturday, August 29th (the 10th anniversary of Katrina’s strike) working hard at Gentilly Terrace Charter School. They said it was fun and rewarding experience.

 

 

 

Caring for Two or More Children

Everybody likes attention. Children particularly enjoy the attention of adults, and they often want undivided when it is least possible to receive it. The adult needs to have appropriate expectations, set reasonable limits, and problem-solve in creative ways when there is more than one child to care for.

The goal is to find activities that both children can enjoy together. When they are of different ages and abilities, their attention span and understanding of the game or project may be different as well, but still the tasks can be adjusted to suit different children. For example, if two children are involved in cooking, one may be able to carefully measure ingredients, and the other child can be in charge of pouring the ingredients into the bowl. If an older child is carefully working on a coloring project, give a younger child his own sheet of paper and crayons, making it clear that everyone is working on their own. Keep the tasks age-appropriate, and save the ‘grown up’ activities involving small pieces or sustained concentration for the younger child’s nap time.

It is important to remember that children of different ages will play with the same toys in different ways, depending on their age and ability. The adult may need to work to keep the younger child engaged with the activity longer, so as not to interfere with the older child’s efforts. For example, they could both play with blocks, but it may take adult intervention to keep a younger child from disturbing what the older child has built. The older child may be interested in creating an elaborate building or a city with cars, people or animals. Perhaps the younger child can play with it after it is built.

When playing a game with two children of different abilities, it may be necessary to change the rules to accommodate everybody. Try enlisting the understanding of the older child; remind her that she wasn’t always able to do all the things she does now. An older child can take pleasure in helping a younger brother or sister learn new skills. Have the children take turns playing “follow the leader” or “hide and seek.” Games of imagination work well, with the children taking different roles, or a scavenger hunt, with the adult giving necessary assistance to the younger child.

An older child may not always like this attention-sharing. You can give him the choice of doing the activity with you and the younger child in the way you have described, or to play by himself. Try planning ahead for the younger child’s nap time and arrange to do a special activity with the older child then, but don’t be disappointed if the older child turns you down. Children sometimes only want attention when they can’t have it.

The adult must be sure that each child does get appropriate attention, and that one child is not always being sacrificed for the other. It is easy to give a baby more attention, but babies can learn at an early age to watch and participate with others too. It may even be possible to hold a younger child on your lap while you do more grown up things with the older child. Babies can also be left to play by themselves in a playpen or a crib for short periods of time to enable the older child to have some one-on-one attention.

Remember that whatever the activity, you must be able to see both (or all) the children to be sure they are safe.

Thanks to Etta Rosen for this article.

 

Happy Labor Day!

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Happy Labor Day to all hard working au pairs!

Labor Day is a legal holiday in the USA, celebrated on the first Monday of September. It was established in 1882 to provide working people with a guaranteed free day for rest and enjoyment. Most Americans celebrate Labor Day by having picnics, parades, and cookout. Many rush to the stores to take advantage of big discounts offered by the retailers.

Occupational Collage Craft for Children
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/laborday/

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Make a great collage by cutting pictures of workers from magazines and gluing them to poster board.

Ask your host kids the names of professions in English and then tell them the names of those professions in your language.
– teacher
– policeman
– doctor
– nurse
Give them a star or thumbs up if they can remember the words at the end of the day!

Tip: Start with names that are easy to pronounce. Pielegniarka (nurse in Polish) may be too much of a challenge! 🙂
Another option may be the phrase “Good job!” – “Dobra robota!”

Most of all, remember to have FUN!

Au Pairs Participate in Color Run

Following the example of thousands upon thousands of participants across the globe, several au pairs in our cluster took part in the Color Run in City Park, New Orleans on August 26th.

The Color Run is an event series and five kilometers paint race that takes place in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The untimed event has no winners or prizes, but runners are showered with colored powder at stations along the run. (wiki)

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Back to School Check List

NOLbacktoschoolMany children in our cluster have already started school and the rest will start it shortly. To ease the transition, it’s important for host parents and au pairs to discuss changes in schedules, duties, and routines.

You may want to review the following:

  • Au pair’s schedule
  • The children’s schedule, including school and extracurricular activities
  • Breakfast routine and types of healthy food to serve
  • What to pack for lunch
  • What to do when a child is staying home sick
  • What to do when a child is late for school
  • After school routine (snacks and free time before starting homework)
  • Designated spot for school bags, lunch boxes and papers that need parent’s signature

If au pair drives children to and from school, it’s important to discuss:

  • Buckling seat belts securely
  • Lining up in a car queue
  • Making sure children get on/off on the right side of the car
  • Holding a young child’s hand in the parking lot
  • NEVER leaving a child in the car when dropping off a sibling
  • Observing 20 mph speed limit in school zones
  • Never passing a school bus when it shows a stop sign

Au Pairs Enjoy Bayou Boogaloo

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One of the more popular spring festivals is Bayou Boogaloo on the banks of Bayou St. John in mid-city. Au pairs enjoyed zydeco music, food and the art market where they spied many beautiful items to admire and a few to purchase (on au pair’s budget).

Zydeco is a musical genre evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends Cajun music, blues and rhythm and blues.

Kayaking on Bayou St. John

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After meeting at NOMA, some au pairs decided to continue to Bayou Kayaks launch pad on bayou St. John. Paddling along they didn’t spot any local alligators, but saw plenty of fish, ducks, ducklings, geese, goslings, kayakers and yolo boarders.

Kayaking was so much fun it will definitely be a repeat experience.

http://www.bayoukayaks.com/

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Kirsty Completes Two-Year Match with Her Host Family

After two years with her host family, Kirsty will be going back home to England in the middle of April. Here she reflects on her “amazing” experience.

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What made you decide to join Au Pair in America?

I have always loved to work with children, and wanted to travel! Joining Au Pair in America was my best opportunity to do both of the things I love to do!

You obviously enjoyed being with your host family because you extended for another year. What was the biggest difference between year 1 and year 2?

When I first became an au pair for my host family I worked every day taking care of my 2 year old boy whilst my older 4 year old boy was at school. Where as in my second year both boys were in school and so this was the biggest change! Having both boys in school in the mornings! I also went to the gym in my second year and not in my first year!!

What are some of the favorite activities your host children and you have enjoyed?

There have been so many activities we have enjoyed together! Some of the favorites are baking (cookies, cupcakes and decorating a gingerbread house) colouring and making Christmas decorations out of salt dough for their special tree 🙂

What’s your favorite American food?

My favorite American food would have to be the Cheese Braid Bread that my host mom has made for Christmas morning the last 2 years! It is delicious!!!
But also I tried Sushi for the first time when I got to Louisiana, and this has also become a favorite food of mine!

You traveled quite a bit in the States. Which city or area impressed you the most?

I have seen some beautiful places whilst traveling! The most breath taking sight I’ve seen so far would have to be Niagara Falls! It was amazing to see such a beautiful place! I still have a lot more places to see with my last 2 weeks traveling the West Coast which I’m very much looking forward too 🙂

What will you remember ‘forever’ about your au pair experience?

I will remember all the amazing people I’ve met on my journey! Especially my host family, my cluster counselor, and my friends from all over the world!

Also all of the beautiful places I’ve visited and all the special occasions that I have celebrated whilst being here for 2 years! 🙂 I’ve had the time of my life being an au pair in America and I am so glad that I had this amazing opportunity!