Yearly Archives: 2025

Camp Au Pair – Nature Exploration

This week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Nature Exploration.

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

Field Trips can be a great way for kids to learn and have new experiences. You can start observing nature at any local park or in your own backyard. If you want to take it a step further,  Below is a list of other local places to go explore nature. Get permission from your host parents before any outings and check websites before you go for hours and information.

Safety note: When coming inside after you have been outside exploring nature, it’s always a good idea to check the children and yourself for ticks. For more information, take a look at this post.

  • Aviary
  • Farms
  • Nature Preserve
  • Parks
  • Consider joining the Free Forest School to find outings near you.

Virtual Field Trips:

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

Videos – Look for fun videos on YouTube about nature.

Books – Check your bookshelves and/or stop by your local library and look for books on nature.  You can also find many read aloud book videos on YouTube. Here are a few to get you started.

Image: toddleratplay.com

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

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – NOAA has a lot of fun, interactive and educational activities on their website. They focus on whales, sharks, sea turtles, sea lions and more.

  • Virtual Underwater Dive
  • Online Games
  • Puzzle, Activity & Coloring Sheets

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
  • Moana 2
  • 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 coming up on July 20. 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

Welcome to Camp Au Pair in America!

When kids are out of school for the summer, it doesn’t take long for them to become bored and sometimes that leads to sibling squabbles and mischief. Even though they don’t realize it, they are usually missing routine and predictability in their daily schedule. One solution is to make fun plans to keep them busy! 

Each week this summer we will share a different Camp Au Pair theme. These weekly themes are designed to give you ideas to keep your host kids occupied and engaged all summer long. They will also be learning. (But shhhh, don’t tell them that part.) Check back each Friday, for the next week’s theme. This gives you a chance to make plans and gather materials for the next week. For each theme there will be crafts, games, snacks and activities. You can just use these ideas or add your own and customize the themes to fit the ages and interests of your host children.

Here are the themes you can look forward to:

  • Under the Sea
  • Outer Space
  • Nature Exploration
  • Dinosaurs
  • Cars and Trucks
  • Bugs & Butterflies
  • Science (STEM)
  • Backyard Safari
  • Art Experiences
  • Explore the World
  • Pirate Adventures

Check out Summer Fun & Summer Holidays pin boards for even more ideas.

If you get some great pictures doing these activities with your host kids, please send those to your community counselor. We love to share your accomplishments and inspire other au pairs!

Let’s make this an amazing summer!

Take Us Out to the Ballgame – June 2025

Nearly 75 au pairs from around the globe now living in the Greater Seattle area came together to witness another Mariner’s victory. Our game had a home run, a salmon race, fly balls and sunshine! It was great to gather the areas Community Counselors and their clusters to kick off summer together. New friends were made and an American pastime experienced!

More Life Savers in the World – May 2025

A group of au pairs spent their hard earned free time on a weekend to learn life-saving skills they will carry with them forever and wherever. Together with our Red Cross partnership, APIA Au pairs received hands on instruction in CPR, wound care, and emergency preparedness. So proud of those who earned the certificate and happy Au Pair in America can provide these scholarships to hard-working and dedicated au pairs. The beat of “Pink Pony Club” takes on all new and important meaning for this amazing group.

Bowling with Buds – April 2025

Please excuse the springtime pun in the title, but it’s gorgeous out with budding trees and we had a wonderful night as a global community of buds. We practiced English and made new friends while trying out a new sport for some of us. A great Friday night learning an American tradition.

Going Global with Gates (Foundation) – March 2025

We learned where the funds of the foundation are spent in keeping people safe and healthy around the world. From vaccines to sanitary water, the innovations create equity in an inequitable world. Inspiration is contagious and au pairs discussed volunteering in the community after our museum tour. We are all in this together!

Love Looks like Women’s Basketball – Feb 2025

Our joint cluster meeting with nearly 100 au pair participants around WA was a lovely success. The UW women’s basketball game fell on the Superbowl, but that only meant that those who came kept the festivities going at a second location to watch more sports together! It was a great basketball game and community day.

Power Positions – January 2025

Au pairs from Mexico, Sweden, South Africa, Brazil, South Korea, Colombia, Bolivia, Germany, Turkey, and Spain came together to show their strength and learn from the Bellevue Police in their self defense, community class. They learned the importance of leveraging angles and moves to ensure the attacker has their own weight used against them in a struggle. We learned that setting boundaries will reveal the intention of another person; turning and facing someone is generally better than not (unless you can just leave); and if you are on the ground, stand up (in base) if you can. If you cannot stand up, position your feet between yourself and the perpetrator. And most importantly, they learned what was in their power from the start – the situation/environment itself. Staying in pairs and in lighted areas will be job one. Thank you again to the Bellevue Police for protecting and serving our global community in a very proactive way. We are grateful.