Yearly Archives: 2023

Camp Au Pair – Cars & Trucks

Next week’s Camp Au Pair theme will be Cars & Trucks.

Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to all kinds of vehicles can all be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Cars & Trucks pinboard.

Field Trips can be an excellent way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Get permission from your host parents before any outings. Here are a few field trips that go with this theme:

  • Go kart track (even if they aren’t old enough to drive, watching the cars is fun)
  • Look for construction areas where the kids can observe big machines in action. Kids should observe from the car or a safe area.
  • Keep an eye out for the trash truck and let them watch the truck in action.
  • Go to a drive-through car wash or let the kids make their own car wash at home.

Videos – Mighty Machines & Amazing Big Trucks are kid-friendly video channels showing machinery and big trucks in action. Look for fun videos on YouTube about cars and trucks.

Movies – Here are some movies that fit the cars and trucks theme.

  • Bumble Bee
  • Bob the Builder Mega Machines
  • Cars, Cars 2 & 3
  • Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
  • Go Karts
  • Speed Racer
  • The Love Bug
  • Turbo

Books – Check your kids’ bookshelf for books on cars & trucks. You can also find many read aloud book videos on YouTube. Cool Cars , Little Blue Truck, Trash Trucks, and With Any Luck, I’ll Drive a Truck  are a few fun ones to get you started.

Image: funlearningforkids.com

Camp Au Pair – Bugs & Butterflies

Next week’s Camp Au Pair theme will be Bugs & Butterflies.

More than 100 crafts, recipes, and activities related to all kinds of bugs, insects, butterflies, and spiders can be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Bugs & Butterflies  pinboard.

Field Trips can be an excellent way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Get permission from your host parents before any outings. Check the websites before you go to be sure you understand the hours, costs, and whether advance tickets/reservations are required. Search online to see if your area has any of the following:

  • Butterfly Garden or Exhibit
  • Nature Center
  • Parks with Nature Areas
  • Wildlife Refuge
  • Zoo

Outdoors – Kids today do not spend enough time outdoors. Take the kids in the backyard or another nature area (approved by your host parents) and do some activities related to this theme:

  • Allow them to search for bugs and butterflies.
  • Observe lightning bugs (also known as fireflies) in the evening. Here is a map showing what people call these little guys in different parts of the country.
  • After it rains, look for earthworms. Not bugs or butterflies, but very interesting creatures you can find in your own backyard.

NOTE: If you are outdoors with the children, be sure to check for ticks when you come back inside. Here is a blog post explaining the health risk ticks can pose and how to find and remove them safely.

Webcams – You can do a Google search for websites with webcams that allow you to observe bugs. Here are some to get you started.

Books – Make a trip to the library and/or check your kids’ bookshelf for books on bugs and butterflies. You may find some classics like The Very Hungry Caterpillar or The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle. You can also find books being read aloud on YouTube videos like this one.

Movies – There are lots of movies with insect themes.

  • The Ant Bully
  • Antz
  • A Bugs Life
  • The Bee Movie
  • Charlotte’s Web
  • James & the Giant Peach
  • Maya the Bee
  • Miniscule: Valley of the Lost Ants
  • Wings of Life (documentary)

Videos – You can find many great videos of butterflies and insects on YouTube. Check out these videos for kids about bees and ants. All about Insects covers lots of tiny creatures who crawl and fly. Here are a few videos to get you started.

Image: minieco.co.uk

Camp Au Pair – Backyard Safari

Next week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Backyard Safari  These activities focus on animals you might find in the a variety of environments: jungles, savannahs, safari parks and zoos.

Crafts, recipes, activities, and games can all be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Backyard Safari pinboard. 

Field Trips can be an excellent way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Get permission from your host parents before any outings. Check the websites before you go to be sure you understand the hours, costs, and whether advance tickets/reservations are required. Search online to see if your area has any of the following:

  • Local Zoo
  • Animal Rescue Park
  • Drive Thru Safari

Webcams – You can do a Google search for websites with webcams that allow you to observe nature.

Books – Stop by your local library and look for books on animals you might find on a safari or in the zoo. You can also check YouTube for some books on this subject being read aloud.

Movies – There are lots of movies with animal themes.

  • Back to the Outback 
  • Madagascar 1, 2 & 3
  • The Jungle Book
  • The Lion King
  • The Wild
  • Zootopia

Videos – Look for fun videos about animals on YouTube. Here are some to get you started.

Image: Jumble Tree

Camp Au Pair – Under the Sea

Next week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Under the Sea.

Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to creatures who live under the sea can all be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Under the Sea pinboard.

 

Field Trips can be a great way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Get permission from your host parents before any outings. Check the websites before you go to be sure you understand the hours, costs, and whether advance tickets/reservations are required. Search online to see if your area has any of the following:

  • Pet or outdoor store (Bass Pro Shop) with fish tanks
  • Aquarium
  • Zoo
  • Nature Center

Online Games – NOAA has fun interactive games that help kids learn about sea turtle survival.

Webcams – You can do a google search for aquariums and zoos across the country (and the world) with webcams that allow you to observe sea creatures. Here are a few to get you started.

 

Videos – Look for fun videos on YouTube about sea creatures. There’s more to see than Baby Shark. Movies like Finding Nemo, Dolphin Tale, and the Little Mermaid also go well with this theme.

Books – Stop by your local library and look for books on sea creatures. The Rainbow Fish is a classic children’s book, your kids may already own. If not, you can find videos like this of it being read aloud.

Movies – There are lots of movies with under the sea themes.

  • A Dolphin Tale
  • Finding Dory
  • Finding Nemo
  • Little Mermaid
  • Moana
  • Shark Tale 
  • Song of the Sea

Television – There are some episodes of children’s television shows that talk about life under the sea.

The Magic School Bus is a television series that follows Ms. Frizzle and her class as they set off on field trips. Most episodes can be found on YouTube. Here are some episodes that fit this week’s theme.

Bill Nye the Science Guy has episodes on Fish, Marine Animals and more on YouTube.

The Discovery Channel has an annual Shark Week. Check out 15 JAW-some Activities for Shark Week with lots of fun ideas for kids in grades 5 and up, but a few for younger kids too.

Photo: mimisdollhouse.com

Camp Au Pair: Art Experiences

Next week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Art Experiences.

Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to art can all be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Art Experiences pinboard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Culture Sharing – Share any specific forms of art that are popular in your home country (mosaics, origami, murals, fabric dying, etc.) Are there any famous artists from your country that you could share their works with your host kids?

Field Trips can be a great way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Get permission from your host parents before any outings. Check the websites before you go to be sure you understand the hours, costs, and whether advance tickets/reservations are required.

Online Art Fun – Here is a great website with lots of art activities including ones for older kids.

Webcams – You can do a google search for art websites with webcams. Here are a few to get you started:

Videos – Look for fun videos on YouTube about drawing and all kinds of art.

Books – Stop by your local library and look for books on famous artists and art.

Check YouTube for books on art being read aloud:

Image: teachkidsart.com

Prizes and pizzas in a park – June 2023

What a nice day!  The weather was warm and the company warmer.  We played some get to know you, speed dating and trivia games and had, well, pizza in a park.  Gasworks is iconic Seattle and our community enjoyed one another and the day we were given.

Seattle Touring in our own Town – May 2023

A small but mighty group went touring in our own town.  We tried a new tour company and hit the streets to hear about what we didn’t yet know.  They told us great stories of Seattle octopus, revealed the real “first Starbucks” location, talked through the Seattle fire and the newly built city and told tales of a man named Ivar and his eccentric ways (leading him to start the first fish and chips chain in the city.).

Camp Au Pair – Science (STEM)

Next week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Science (STEM). This includes science, technology, engineering, and math.

Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to all things science, technology, engineering, and math can be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Science (STEM) pinboard.

Field Trips can be a great way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Get permission from your host parents before any outings. Here are a few places to go, that fit this theme:

  • Airport Observation Area
  • Aquarium
  • Factory Tour
  • Farm
  • Krispy Kreme Doughnuts*
  • Museum
  • Nature Center
  • Planetarium
  • Science Center
  • Zoo

*Some but not all locations have a viewing area where you can watch the machines used to make them.

Virtual Field Trips

Videos – On YouTube, you can find many great videos of science experiments to do with kids.

The Magic School Bus is a cartoon series with episodes on lots of great science topics. You can find some episodes on YouTube and the full series on Paramount Plus.

Bill Nye the Science Guy is science TV series for kids. There is an episode guide on his website with clips and explanations on a wide variety of science topics.

Movies – The Lego Movie, Big Hero 6, Wall-E, Hidden Figures, Robots, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Flubber, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and Meet the Robinsons all fit the STEM theme.

Webcams – You can do a Google search for science websites with webcams. Here is a collection of 22 science webcams from around the world.

Books – Stop by your local library and look for books on science, technology, engineering, and math.

Remember… Science is learning about how things work through observation and experimentation. Every day is full of opportunities to encourage children’s natural curiosity about the world!

Image: sweetpaulmag.com

The Future is Female – Gates Foundation and Au Pair In America – April 2023

Au pairs from China, Luxembourg, Guatemala, Thailand, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Poland, Germany, and South Africa gathered at Gates Foundation to learn about the work they are doing around the globe.  Our gracious tour guides expertly talked through the data on world hunger, equity, pollution, parental leave, sanitation and disease.  The young women of Au Pair In America (who will soon be adding their voices and efforts to the good fight for justice)  learned about birthing methods and patient treatment around the globe, as well as water free toilets ready soon for market to combat ringworm.  It was a great learning morning and wonderful part of this group’s journey while here in Seattle.  They had smart insights and intelligent responses.  The future is in good hands.

Serving and Protecting Global Visitors – March 2023

The World Health Organization estimates that 1 in every 3 women in the world experience violence and these stats have not improved over the past decade. Women living overseas are an especially vulnerable population, in that they are learners of a new language, surrounded by different values and behaviors. Those who have lived overseas know day-to-day interactions can feel foreign and understanding threats can get lost in cultural misinterpretations.  Step in Officer Craig of the Bellevue, WA (the largest majority-minority city in the US) police department.

Officer Craig has been teaching women’s self defense classes to his local community for just a few months now.  What the Bellevue Police are doing is fairly unique according to Officer Craig, and last Sunday, our au pair population was able to be a part of his teachings first-hand.  Officer Craig slowed down what transpires in the “mechanics” of an unequal struggle, describing how women can use the space between and their own bodies as leverage if it is not their own physical strength that will serve in the moment.  He talked through body positioning for finding the best balance, defensive tactics, illegal in boxing since they don’t serve the goal of being able to strike an opponent.  He later shared links to reinforce the moves:

 

Officer Craig demonstrated with care and precision these defensive moves to 30 au pairs from 12 different countries.  The women then practiced how to guard against an assailant, lessons they can take with them to their own home countries.  

 

Conversations around law enforcement between citizens from various parts of the globe are always interesting and what it means to “serve and protect” has taken on various interpretations, both at home and abroad, depending on the experiences or the traumas we each hold.   Officer Craig learned everyone’s names in the short amount of time we spent with him, he created a space of trust with the local police for a woman far from home, and with humility, he left us offering future support, saying that he was,  “grateful to be in a position to help in a small way.”  At the Bellevue, WA police station in a closed City Hall office on a Sunday, we found a person who was “serving and protecting” in a very proactive and caring way.