Tag Archives: friends

National Peanut Butter Day

Today is National Peanut Butter Day.  Who would have guessed you can make Peanut Butter Lover’s Day a Craft Day!

ppbday

Other Things To Do:

  • Find out more about where peanuts come from.
  • Make home-made peanut butter.
  • Talk about the color brown/tan.
  • Try one of these Open-Faced Peanut Butter Sandwiches.
  • Go on a peanut hunt (hide peanuts all around the room for someone to search for).

How to Say Goodbye Around the World

 

How to Say Goodbye

The English word “goodbye” is derived from the pharse “God be with you.”  Parting words in other languages are similar. In Spanish, it’s adios (ah-dee-ohs), in French adieu (ah-dyur).  Both words literally mean “to God”.

There are other ways to “goodbye”, however.  English children shout “Cheerio” when parting and in Switzerland. Germany and Italy they say ciao (chow) which is the informal way of saying “goodbye” in Italian.

A wave  of the hand accompanies most goodbyes, at least in the West.  In Japan, people bow when they part, and Hindus press their hands together and say “Namaste”, just as they do when greeting one another.

In some households, in India, it’s considered a bad omen to say “goodbye”.  Instead people say, “go and come back”.  If you are the one leaving , you announce, “I’m going and I will be back.”

How many languages can you teach your host kids to say “goodbye”.  Amaze your host parents at by having the kids say goodbye from around the world at the dinner table.

 

Upcoming cluster meetings for 2013

January –  Dave & Busters Game Center

February – 76ers basketball game in Philly with host families and au pairs

March – Chinatown Brunch in Philly

April – Laser Tag

May – Bowling

June 5th Wed nighy – Phillies Baseball Game with host famiilies and au pairs

July – barbecue at Diana’s house

August – education information meeting

September – Hard Rock Cafe

October – Eastern State Penitentiary Historical Tour meeting

November – International Thanksgiving Dessert Party with host families and au pairs

December  – Au Pair Christmas/ Holiday Party!

Upcoming Cluster Meetings

Please add the following dates to your calendar!

Sunday – October 21, 2012 – 2:15pm  Eastern State Penitentiary – Philadelphia

Sunday – November 4, 2012 – 4pm to 6pm – Thanksgiving Dessert Party

Sunday – December 2, 2012 – 7pm to 9pm – Holiday Party for Au Pairs

January 2013 – Snow tubing (date to be determined)

Friday – February 1, 2013 – 7:30pm – Philadelphia 76ers Basketball game

Chinatown Brunch Cluster Meeting

March Multi-Cluster Meeting

Chinatown Brunch

Date:  Sunday, March 13th 2011

Time: 12-2 (please arrive at 11:45)

Place:  Charles Plaza

234-236 North 10th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19107

(about a ten minute walk from Market East train station)

Cost:   $14 includes lunch, soda, tax and tip

Please bring exact change If possible!

Please respond by March 10th.  I need to give the restaurant an accurate count and they charge us for each reservation.

This is a fun and delicious meeting and a great way to get to know the other au pairs in the area.  We are expecting a group over 120 au pairs!!


Thanksgiving Celebration

Thanksgiving, a uniquely American holiday, dates back to the first European settlers in North America.

After much hardship, illness and hard work, the Pilgrims were finally able to celebrate a successful harvest which they shared with their Native American friends who had helped them through their difficult beginning in America.

Today this day is set aside to feast and to give thanks-something we can all share, as we too celebrate our cross-cultural friendships.

Some activities to share with the children :

Maple-Nut-Berry Popcorn Balls ( for children ages 3 and older): Add some chopped walnuts and  raspberries, blueberries or blackberries. Add enough melted butter to lightly coat popcorn. Stir. Pour maple syrup over the warm popcorn and stir until all the corn, nuts and berries are covered. Shape the sticky corn into balls and place on a plate to refrigerate until the syrup hardens.

Thanksgiving cards and place cards: Fold a piece of paper in half, place a leaf on the inside and close the card. Use a crayon to rub lightly across the front of the card in the area where the leaf is. The shape of the leaf will appear on the outside. Remove the leaf. Write a name on the front for a place card, or a message inside for a Thanksgiving card. Older children might want to make more sophisticated designs using more than one leaf.

Make a chain of paper doll (adults should do the cutting): Fold a piece of paper back and forth over and over again with a width between folds of 2-3 inches. With the paper folded cut out a shape of a person, make sure that the hands and feet touch the fold, but don’t cut through the fold. When you unfold the paper there will be a line of people holding hands. Children ages 3-10 can color the figures to look like Pilgrims(men wore big white collars, belts with buckles, and buckles on their shoes, pants to their knees; women wore white hats and aprons over solid color dresses) or Native Americans (draw feather headdresses  and brightly colored geometric patterns on their clothes).

Tree of Thanks: This Thanksgiving tree is bound to become a new holiday tradition.

Trace leaves onto autumn colored craft’s paper and cut out. Punch a hole into the stem of each paper leaf. Measure and cut a 2” length of wire or twine for each leaf. Thread it through the hole and bend the ends to make a hook for hanging. Place the tree branches in a pot or vase. Let the children or/and guests choose a leaf or two and ask them to jot down things that they are thankful for.

Thanksgiving Resources

Books

Recipes

Articles

Arts & Crafts

Lesson Plans