Rhode Island au pairs celebrated all of their birthdays on September 29, at an annual birthday party/gift exchange. After the celebration, many au pairs spent the rest of the evening exploring the festivities at Waterfire Providence.
Category Archives: Blog
Wishing all of our Jewish host families, au pairs and friends a peaceful Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur also known as the Day of Atonement is the most solemn and important of the Jewish holidays. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jewish people traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services.
Yom Kippur is considered one of the holiest of Jewish holidays and it is observed by many secular Jews who may not observe other holidays. Many secular Jews fast and attend synagogue on Yom Kippur, where the number of worshippers attending is often double or triple the normal attendance.
This year Yom Kippur begins at sundown on Tuesday evening, September 25, and ends on Wednesday evening.
Here are a couple of links with more information:
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/yom-kippur
http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/yomkippur.htm
and for children http://www.akhlah.com/holidays/yomkippur/yomkippur.php
Happy New Year!
Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish Holiday commonly referred to as the Jewish New Year. It is observed on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. Rosh Hashanah is the first of the high Holidays specifically set aside to focus on repentance that concludes with the holiday of Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah is the start of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar. It is the New Year for people, animals, and legal contracts. Jewish people believe Rosh Hashanah represents either analogically or literally the creation of the World, or Universe.
On Rosh Hashanah, Jewish people all over the world gather in synagogues to celebrate the day. The holiday is celebrated with sweet foods, like apples dipped in honey and honey cake and round Challot made with honey and raisins as a wish for a sweet year.
Here is a link to children’s games and activities to celebrate the holiday. It includes information, art projects, crafts, stories and recipes:
http://www.chabad.org/kids/article_cdo/aid/354744/jewish/Rosh-Hashanah.htm
Rosh Hashanah is celebrated for two days, Monday September 17th and Tuesday September 18th. The two day holiday will begin at sundown on Sunday evening.
We wish all of our Jewish host families, au pairs, and friends a very Happy Holiday.
Commemorating the 11th Anniversary of 9/11
Many of our au pairs may be too young to remember this event, but it has become part of our American Culture. Here is a letter written by 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels commemorating the 11th Anniversary of 9/11:
September 11, 2012
Today, we honor the thousands of innocent men, women, and children who were taken from us too soon eleven years ago. Here at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, we will read their names aloud. We will stand together in silence at six moments, marking when the Twin Towers were struck, the buildings fell, the Pentagon was attacked, and Flight 93 crashed in a Pennsylvania field. Together, we will remember the devastating loss and reflect on the preciousness of life.
How you choose to observe the 9/11 anniversary is personal. Whether through quiet reflection or prayer, acts of service, or sharing a message of remembrance through social media, please join me in memorializing those who were killed and the sacrifices made on this day eleven years ago.
Despite the unimaginable tragedy of 9/11 itself, this day is also about the spirit of unity that came in the aftermath. It showed us that the best of humanity can overcome the worst hate. It gave us hope for the future.
We now see hope every day at the 9/11 Memorial. We find hope in the Callery pear tree that survived the destruction of the World Trade Center and is now known around the world as the Survivor Tree, standing tall among the Memorial trees. The children who visit give us hope for the future. And we find undeniable strength in the fact that over 4.6 million people from all 50 states and 170 countries have come here to pay their respects since we opened the Memorial one year ago.
We will also see hope at the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Thanks to an agreement forged by the 9/11 Memorial and our Chairman, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, along with Governor Andrew Cuomo, Governor Chris Christie, and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, the construction of the Museum will move forward. When it opens, the Museum will be a place for education and inspiration. It will commemorate the lives lost, preserve the history of what happened on that terrible day and tell the stories of courage and compassion that were so much a part of the response to 9/11.
On this eleventh anniversary of the September 11 attacks, please join me in remembering those who were lost and how we came together to honor them in the aftermath. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families. The memories of their loved ones live on in our hearts and in the Memorial that bears their names. They will never be forgotten.
Warm regards,
Joe Daniels
President & CEO
Independence Day in the U.S.
Known as the Fourth of July and Independence Day, July 4th has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution (1775-83). In June 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies then fighting in the revolutionary struggle weighed a resolution that would declare their independence from Great Britain. On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later its delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 until the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with typical festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues.
"Au Pair and Me" Yoga
You’ve heard of “Mommy and Me” yoga —
This class has been designed to give caregivers and the children that they care for an opportunity to practice yoga together in a relaxed and playful atmosphere. The class was created for au pairs with Au Pair in America by their local counselor, who is also a yoga instructor; however it is free and open to moms, dads and caregivers in the area, along with their babies or toddlers. The class is geared toward the caregiver; the child may participate or just free play alongside. Bring a yoga mat or towel, and you may want to bring a sheet or blanket for final relaxation.
Event: Yoga for Caregivers and Children
Where: India Point Park, Fox Point, Providence, RI
When: Wednesdays from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
July 11– August 15, 2012 (weather permitting)
Open to caregivers and their children. All children must be accompanied by an adult. This class is FREE, but a reservation is required.
Call 401-949-2427, e-mail BarbaraFetta@gmail.com or visit www.TheYogaWorkshop.com
Rhode Island Au Pairs Give Back to Their Communities Once Again
Rhode Island au pairs have volunteered for a "Classroom Makeover Project" which will involve cleaning, repairing and repainting a classroom in an older urban public school in the Providence area. On Saturday, June 30, au pairs will dedicate about 5 hours to the project; and when they are through, they will have been responsible for a complete classroom makeover which will benefit many children. The entire classroom makeover project is made possible by volunteers – those who are physically involved in the makeover (our group of au pairs), and others who donate the necessary equipment (paint, supplies, etc). These classroom makeovers are coordinated through "Serve Rhode Island”.
This is the second volunteer activity that Au Pair in America’s Rhode Island au pairs have participated in during the month of June. On June 2, au pairs spent much of their day volunteering as house guides for Providence Preservation Society’s 33rd annual Festival of Historic Houses. It is encouraging to see au pairs so willing to give back to the communities in which they are living while they are here, and hopefully will inspire other young Rhode Islanders to become more inolved in such community activites!
Au Pair in America May Cluster Meeting – Waterfire, Providence
Au pairs met at Waterplace Park on Monday evening, May 21, for the first Waterfire of the season. It was a partial lighting in the Basin area. The “official” season will begin Memorial Day weekend, with a full lighting scheduled on Saturday evening, May 26. The full Waterfire schedule, which takes place from the end of May through the end of September, can be found here: http://www.waterfire.org/season-schedule
Au Pair in America to Participate in 2012 Providence Preservation Society Festival of Historic Houses
Au Pairs will volunteer once again this year for the Providence Preservation Society’s Festival of Historic Houses, their annual fundraising event, now in its 33rd year. This year’s festival will be held on Friday, June 1; Saturday, June 2; and Sunday, June 3. Friday evening, June 1, will feature a candlelight tour between 6-9 p.m. Saturday, June 2, will be the “traditional” tour of private houses from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., focusing on Elmgrove Avenue on the East Side of Providence. On Sunday, June 3, the focus shifts to the Jewelry District, between 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Rhode Island au pairs from Colombia, Czech Rebublic, Germany, Turkey and the Ukraine will be working together as house guides. They will be welcoming and providing information to tour guests, and will answer any questions that guests may have about the history and architecture of the houses. For more information about the PPS Festival of Historic Homes, click here: http://www.ppsri.org/events/view/90
April Cluster Meeting at the Cheesecake Factory, Providence Place Mall
Au Pair in America’s April Cluster Meeting was held at the Cheesecake Factory — always a fun place to gather to chat and have a bite to eat.
