Tag Archives: live in childcare

Nominations for Au Pair of the Year

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Nominate your au pair for Au Pair of the Year!

Dear Host Family,

Annually thousands of young people from all over the world embark on a special journey by becoming au pairs. Leaving behind the familiarity of their homeland, they are welcomed into another culture as part of their host family and assume the great responsibility of caring for their host family’s children. For many au pairs this is their first experience of a new country and culture. Here is your opportunity to share your own special story about your au pair.

Each year the International Au Pair Association (IAPA) awards one exceptional au pair with the title “Au Pair of the Year.” The “Au Pair of the Year” award not only celebrates one young person’s achievements as an au pair, but gives positive recognition to all au pairs and au pair programs across the world through its international media coverage.

We at Au Pair in America, a member of IAPA, urge you to nominate your au pair for “Au Pair of the Year”. Not only will you give her the opportunity to win this prestigious award, but all nominees will receive an official certificate by mail from Au Pair in America. Whether she wins the title or is simply nominated, it is an achievement she will be proud of for years to come.

If you have any questions, please contact aupairoftheyear@aifs.com.

Kind Regards,
Au Pair in America

Creative Outdoor Play

Outdoor play is more than merely supervising children – it is an interactive learning experience with endless possibilities, and is essential to a child’s development.

Researchers have found movement to be crucial to children’s development and are concerned with the amount of inactive time children spend watching television, playing video games or working with computers. An excellent resource on this topic is Jane Healy’s book Endangered Minds. It is shown that children need to have large amounts of unstructured playtime in order to develop well- rounded personalities, to build self-esteem and self-confidence, develop healthy social skills by participating in group activities, and to stimulate their intellectual development.

Playing outdoors allows children the physical freedom that is not always possible indoors. The more children move, the more they learn, and children can play outdoors year-round with appropriate clothing.

Children of all ages need to explore the outdoor environment and learn from their experiences. Children are able to learn about the four basic elements of nature — air, fire, earth and water. They can find places to pretend they are whoever they want to be, such as a firefighter a super-hero or an animal. There are places for creativity, such as drawing on the sidewalk with chalk or painting the driveway with water. Children can look for something heavy or light, something smooth or rough, something bright or dark, something man-made or natural, something huge or tiny, the possibilities are endless.

Creative outdoor play takes what is already on this earth and uses it in a way which is unique to a child: digging in the dirt or sand, making ditches and rivers where toy boats can float, or creating roads for toy trucks and cars. It means giving children the freedom for exploration and discovery. Children grow by daring, risking, failing, redoing and succeeding. Help children grow mentally and physically by playing outdoors whenever possible, giving them the opportunity to learn from the world around them.

Au Pairs Participate in Step Into School

Au pairs participated in Step Into School event at the Louisiana Children’s Museum this past Saturday.  As in the previous year, they helped children make (i.e. decorate and roll up) German Schultuten.

A schuletute is a gift tote (paper cone) that first-graders get from parents and grandparents on the first day of school. The tote is filled with candy, chocolate, and toys to make children’s first-day-of-school experience “sweeter”.

Many young artist enjoyed painting , trimming, and putting glitter on their creations.

NOLStep2013Tabea

NOLStep2013EstherMelisa

Join Au Pair in America at the Upcoming Baby and Child Expo!

NOLbabyexpo

Bring your family to Baby and Child Expo!

Saturday, July 20

10am -1pm

Lakeside Shopping Mall – Center Court

Join Au Pair in America this coming Saturday at the Baby and Child Expo.

Your children can enjoy spin art  and face painting while new and expecting parents can meet doulas, midwives, massage therapists, fitness instructors and walk away with great door prizes.

Local Community Counselor, Jolanta Tipler, will be there to talk about the nation’s most experienced live-in child care provider and to answer any questions you may have about the program.

Stop by the Au Pair in America table and enter our raffle to win $1,200 in savings from Au Pair in America.

Admission is FREE! Visit www.llljefferson.com for more information and directions.

Lakeside Shopping Mall

3301 Veterans Memorial Blvd

Metairie, La 70002

Toys, Toys, Toys!

Most American children seem to have more toys than children in any other country. Toys are in the children’s bedrooms, the family room, the garage, the basement and even in kitchen cupboards. And during the holiday season and at birthdays, most children will receive more toys as gifts. Do children really need all these toys? Are they necessary for their development? Are some toys better than other? These are a few questions to be answered.

Toys are materials that facilitate play. Toys can be store-bought or homemade, and do not need to be expensive. Children can create toys out of empty boxes, fabric pieces, masking tape, toilet paper tubes, plastic bottle caps, or whatever they choose. Years ago, there were no big stores with rows and rows of toys. Children played with toy dolls made out of corncobs and used their imagination.

Children do not need lots and lots of toys to play with. In fact, children can become overwhelmed by the amount of toys to choose from. Sometimes, it is better to sort through the toys and store some away for a a couple of weeks.

Criteria for selecting appropriate toys include: Is the toy safe? Is it fun? Can the toy be used with little adult supervision? Is the toy durable and versatile? Does it encourage large or small muscle development and eye-hand coordination? Does the toy encourage imagination, creativity or intellectual development? Is the toy developmentally appropriate for the child? Does the toy have more than one use?

The more ways a toy can be used, the better. Open-ended toys encourage creativity and stimulate intellectual development, and include blocks, and other building sets, markers and crayons, baby dolls, pots & pans, and playdough. Wind-up toys, talking dolls and coloring books are generally considered inappropriate because there is only one correct way to play with them.

Suggested toys for infants include nesting blocks, busy boards, shape sorters, balls and books. Infants learn through their senses so as they roll, reach, grasp and crawl, they need a variety of objects to see, hear and touch.

Toddlers seem to prefer pots, pans and containers in the cupboards rather than shiny new toys. Children of this age have a high energy level and are struggling to become independent. Therefore, toddlers explore and get into everything. They prefer toys that can be taken apart and put back together, dump trucks, blocks, sorting materials, toys that make sounds or movements, and toys that stimulate make-believe play. Both infants and toddlers only need a few toys to play with at one time.

Preschoolers and kindergartners enjoy dress-up clothes, blocks, manipulative toys that can be built into something, books, puzzles and wheeled vehicles for their motor development. School-age children are ready for board games, other games with rules, puppets, puppet stage, books, construction toys or toys that can be built into things, such as model kits and crafts.

The toys provided for children reflect our social and cultural issues and can influence a child’s knowledge of the world. Toys that promote violence should be limited. Some say the best toys for children are those that have been around for 30 or more years such as baby dolls and blocks.  The best toys stimulate a child’s imagination, promote self esteem, have no right or wrong uses, and are process-oriented rather than product-oriented.

Louisiana Driver’s License for Au Pairs

The Louisiana Department of Motor Vehicles has reopened its location at 100 Veterans Memorial Boulevard and closed the office at Airline Highway. In order to obtain Louisiana Driver’s License, au pairs can visit any of the DMV offices listed below.

 

2150 Westbank Expressway
Harvey, LA 70058
(225) 925-6146

419 Avenue A
Westwego, LA 70094
(225) 925-6146

1914 E. Judge Perez Drive
Chalmette, LA 70043
(225) 925-6146

100 Veterans Blvd.
Metairie, LA 70003
(225) 925-6146

 

12690 Perkins Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70810

1715 N. Causeway Blvd.
Mandeville, LA 70448
(225) 925-6146

220 Highway 51 N. Suite 2
Covington, TN 38019
(901) 476-0207

220 Highway 51 N. Suite 1
Covington, TN 38019
(901) 475-2517

To be eligible for Louisiana driver’s license au pairs must have 6 months left on their American visa. It is advised that au pairs get their Louisiana driving license within the first 3 months of their match to make sure they don’t miss eligibility deadline.

Television, Videos and Children

Television may be either an enemy or a best friend in American homes. To gain the potential value from television, it should be used carefully and intelligently with clear and consistent limits. Every family has different rules and expectations regarding the use of television, and these must be respected at any time children of any age are present.

When children watch television there are some things they are NOT doing simply because they are watching television. Most importantly, they are not getting exercise and they are not interacting. Television watching is a passive activity, it is one way, the children only receive. There are no opportunities for developing social skills. Many children enter an almost trance-like state when they are watching television; they don’t hear when they are spoken to and their eyes glaze over. If children are left to watch television for prolonged periods of time they may be cranky and misbehave when they stop watching television. This is similar to early-morning crankiness: it takes a few minutes for some children to readjust to their normal state.

Although television may offer a welcome break in the day, and keep children occupied when the adults need to tend to someone or something else, the inactivity of television watching can actually lead to irritability and boredom, and make children feel more tired. Some experts say that it can help develop language skills or teach information, but the best way of learning is by doing. Television is not a substitute for conversation, or for games and activities involving imagination and creativity.

Nonetheless, television is part of life in America in almost every home. The adult supervising the child must pay attention to the show(s) children watch to be sure that they are appropriate. Even some cartoons may be too violent or socially inappropriate for young children. When adults watch television with children it is a good idea to discuss what is being watched. Ask what and why questions about what you have seen. Is it realistic? How do the characters treat each other? Why? What would the child do in a similar situation (if it is realistic)? What did they learn from the program? If it is an educational, show such as a science or reading program, try following it up with a related activity at home. Even very young children can pickup cues from adult programs such as soap operas and MTV- these should not be on if any children are in the room. Some families prefer that children limit themselves to videos, or television shows on “public television” (PBS) where there are no commercials. Television advertising encourages children to ask for food that may not be part of a healthy diet, and toys that might appear to perform better than they actually do. For older children commercials may suggest or encourage behaviors or physical appearance that may be inappropriate or confusing for children, such as beer commercials, or advertisements with very thin models.

There is wide-spread interest in improving and monitoring the quality of programming for children, but there is still much debate about this issue.

St. Patrick's Day

“May your thoughts be as glad as shamrocks,
May your heart be as light as song,
May each day bring you bright, happy hours,
That stay with you all the year long.”

St. Patrick’s Day celebrates the Roman Catholic feast day of the patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick died on March 17, 461. He was born in Roman Britain. He was kidnapped into slavery and brought to Ireland.  He escaped to a monastery in Gaul (France) and converted to Christianity. He went back to Ireland in 432 as a missionary. While Christianity had already taken hold in the country, tradition has it that Patrick confronted the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites, making Christianity more widespread.

Patrick became a bishop and after his death was named Ireland’s patron saint. Celebrations in Ireland were understated though. When the Irish emigrated to the U.S., they created the bigger celebrations and parades known today.  Eighteenth century Irish soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War held the first St. Patrick Day parades. The celebrations became a way for the Irish to connect with their roots after they moved to America.

Fun Facts:

· The shamrock: According to legend St. Patrick used the three leaf clover (or shamrock) to explain the Trinity.

· Dyeing the river green: The practice of dyeing the river green started in Chicago in 1962, when city officials decided to dye a portion of the Chicago River green.

· Corn beef and cabbage: This is an Irish American dish. Irish Americans were so poor they could not afford certain meals. On St. Patrick’s Day, the best meal they could afford was beef and cabbage. It became a staple for the holiday.

Kids activities including crafts, printable bookmarks and coloring pages:

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/st_patricks_day.htm

Spring in City Park

It was not exactly spring, which will officially start on March 20th, but the weather last Sunday was definitely spring-like: warm, odiferous and capricious. After being rained on and blown around by heavy winds, au pairs enjoyed hiding out in the newly installed shelter in City Park… to emerge on a beautifully sunny afternoon not much later.

NOLShelter

NOLSpringCityPark

Celebrating Mad Mardi Gras

Au pairs had a “mad” experience during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

What did they like about it?

Everything!!

Extravagant floats, shiny doubloons, pounds of beads, King Cakes with babies or just cheesecake, dancing cheerleaders, stomping brass bands, flying moon-pies, eye-popping costumes, and crowds of revelers thronging the streets day and night made for unforgettable time.

Some celebrated with their host families, others with friends, but all with the like-minded Mardi Gras lovers!

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“I really enjoyed Mardi Gras in New Orleans, I think everywhere else it’s just another Tuesday in February but not in here, there are a lot of things going on, like parades for example, people come from all over the country to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans and to have fun! I had a blast! It was really crazy:) — Marta from Poland

NOLMardiMarta

I had a wonderful time during Mardi Gras, made the whole experience of being in the US amazing… — Mbali from South Africa

NOLMardiMbali

Mardi Gras 2013 is the best experience I made so far being in the United States. It is much better than the “Karneval” in Germany. But the saying should be: “Throw me something that fits.”   =) Sarah from Germany