Our December cluster meeting took place at the theme park Six Flags Fiesta Texas, located by The Shops at La Cantera. The au pairs got to experience the magic of Holiday in the Park (the park had been transformed into a winter wonderland with thousands of twinkling lights, thrilling rides, good food, and spectacular shows).
Countries represented: South Africa, Austria, Colombia, France, Czech Republic, and Thailand
Hanukkah began at sundown last night. Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight days and nights. It starts on the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev, which coincides with late November-late December on the secular calendar. In Hebrew, the word “hanukkah” means “dedication.” The name reminds us that this holiday commemorates the re-dedication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E. Hanukkah commemorates the Jewish people’s successful rebellion against the Greeks in the Maccabean War in 162 BCE. A ritual re-dedication of the Temple occurred after the Jewish people’s victory. It is believed that there was only enough oil to keep the lamps burning for one day but the small bottle of oil miraculously lasted for eight days. Hanukkah, also known as Chanukah, is referred as the Feast of Lights or Festival of Lights for this reason.
For fun and educational activities for children go to http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/hanukkah/
Directions to play the Dreidel game. Play for Hershey kisses, a great way to have fun with the kids when they are home from school! http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/hanukkah/dreidel-game.html
Wishing all of our Jewish friends, host families and au pairs a very Happy Hanukkah!
For our Thanksgiving cluster meeting, we ate lots of good food (thank you so much to everybody who participated), shared different holiday traditions and experiences, and watched “Three Wishes for Cinderella” (Tři oříšky pro Popelku), which is a Czech/German fairy-tale film from 1973. The film has become a holiday classic in several European countries and is shown on TV around Christmas time every year in the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, Norway, and sometimes Russia. It was wonderful to catch up with everybody!! 🙂
Countries represented: Czech Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Austria 🙂
Elena from Costa Rica and Hana from Czech Republic received their Education Certificate after fulfilling the educational component of the program (6 credits or approx. 72 classroom hours at an accredited Post-secondary institution).
