Tag Archives: au pair in america

Win a Trek America tour for free!!

Learn how a lucky Au Pair can win a free trip with Trek America!! 

Global Awareness is developing a new section on its site: Learning about the U.S. This will highlight different areas and cultures in our country.  You (Au Pairs) will be asked to write about your travels for the site.

For a fantastic kick-off, Trek America has designed a scavenger hunt on their website and the winner will receive a free trip!!

Please visit the Global Awareness website (http://www.globalawareness.com/ ) to learn more about this opportunity and to participate in the scavenger hunt!

 

Fun ideas!!

 

Our APIA website is packed with ideas for fun things to do with your children or host children.  You can search for activities by age group, season of the year, and indoor or outdoor activities. 

http://www.aupairinamerica.com/resources/activities/index.asp

 

 

For those of you in the midst of winter weather and snow days, here are some creative winter activities  from our Au Pair in America Pinterest page! 

https://www.pinterest.com/aupairinamerica/winter-fun/

 

With Valentine’s Day coming up, making cards, pizza hearts, Valentines cookies or handmade gifts are great ways to keep yourself and your children entertained next week!

https://www.pinterest.com/aupairinamerica/valentine-s-day/

 

 

 

 

Trampoline Fun

This month’s cluster meeting took place at Amazing Jump Trampoline Park. The indoor trampoline hall features 10 gigantic trampolines, 2 dodgeball courts, 3 trampolines for children, trampoline basketball courts, birthday party rooms, a village for toddlers, inflatables, and more!! We had lots of fun jumping and somersaulting the morning away.

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Left to right: Zuzana and Hana from Czech Republic, Elena from Costa Rica, Nut from Thailand, and Johanna from Colombia

 

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For more information about Amazing Jump, please visit their website at http://sanantoniojump.com/ 

 

 

Pistachio Pudding and Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie

Pistachio Pudding 

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20 oz. can crushed pineapple
¼ cup pineapple juice 
3.5 oz. package pistachio pudding and pie filling
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup chopped pecans – toasted
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
2 cups frozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip), thawed (8 oz)

Preparation:
1.  Drain the pineapple, reserving 1/4 cup of the juice.
2. Place the pineapple and reserved juice in a large bowl.
3. Add the pudding mixes, miniature marshmallows, pecans and coconut. Stir well.
4. Gently fold in the whipped topping until the mixture is well-combined, but not soupy. Refrigerate until ready

Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie

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Crust:
1 refrigerated pie crust
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar
1 egg, beaten

Pie:
7 – 8 cups apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (I used Granny Smith and Honeycrisp.)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Crumb topping:
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated (or coarse) sugar

Icing:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon good vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 teaspoons milk

 

Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F.

Unroll your crust on a lightly floured surface. Then, brush the crust with melted butter and evenly sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll the crust up tightly and slice into 1/2-inch rounds.
Press these rounds, cut side down, into a clear glass 9-inch pie plate. Press until flat, covering the entire pan. Make sure there are no spaces between the rolls; then brush lightly with the beaten egg.

In a large bowl, toss the apple slices with the cinnamon and sugar until evenly coated. Then, pour the apples into the crust. It will mound up and almost seem to be overflowing. This is good.

Then, in a medium bowl, combine the butter, flour, and brown sugar with your fingers or a pastry blender until crumbly. Sprinkle the crumble over the heaped apples. Finally, sprinkle the whole pie with the sugar.

Bake the pie until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly (about 50 – 60 minutes). (My oven tends to brown things easily, so I very lightly covered the top of my pie with tin foil for most of the baking process.) Once baked, remove form the oven and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.

When the pie is cool, you can prepare the icing. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and milk. If your mixture seems too thick, add a bit more milk. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar. Transfer the icing to a pastry bag or a plastic bag with the corner cut off. Then, pipe the icing in a swirl (to resemble a cinnamon roll) on top of the crumble.

For more instructions with pictures, see http://www.inspiredbycharm.com/2014/11/year-pie-cinnamon-roll-apple-pie.html 

Texas State Bobcats Football Game

Last Saturday we went to the Texas State Football Game (Bobcats vs. Georgia Southern Eagles), and, although the Bobcats did end up losing (final score 28-25), we still managed to have a great time 🙂

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Left to right: Annerien from South Africa, Johanna from Colombia, and Elena from Costa Rica.

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This was Elena’s first football game.

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Countries represented: France, Germany, UK, Colombia, South Africa, Costa Rica, and Brazil 🙂

After the game, we all drove back to San Antonio together (and then decided to order pizza for dinner as we weren’t done catching up yet). All in all, a very successful day 🙂

 

And the winner is….

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M & S posing next to their pumpkin 🙂

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Jack O’Lantern peppers!! What a great idea 🙂

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Johanna from Colombia showing off her finished product!      
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How creative!! 🙂  

 

Thanks to all of you who contributed responses (pictures) to our pumpkin contest! We had a really hard time choosing the winning entry. In the end, we went with: 

AGNES from Austria (as well as her two helpers) and her pumpkin + Jack O’Lantern peppers! Well done!! 🙂

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Halloween Safety Tips

 

Halloween can be a lot of fun but it is also a time when safety should come first. Here are some tips for next week:

  • Adult supervision is essential. Always accompany the children if they are going door to door to trick or treat
  • Try trick-or-treat-friendly homes. Ensure the children only visit houses with lights on. And, you might also suggest the houses they visit have some sort of Halloween decoration on the porch.
  • Stay outside. Make sure the children don’t go inside someone’s house. They can trick or treat on the porch.
  • Remain visible. Dress the children in bright costumes or have them wear reflective strips or carry a glow stick or flashlight.
  • Quality-check treats. Check the candy before they eat it. Throw out any candy that is not in its original wrapper or looks like it has been tampered with.
  • Say “no” to strangers. Remind the children to never accept a ride or go anywhere with a stranger.

Become a Global Awareness Volunteer

What is a Global Awareness Presentation?

Global Awareness presentations are meant to introduce young children to people from other
countries and cultures. We want them to start forming positive first impressions of someone
from a different part of the world. We want them to go home at the end of the day and say, “I
met a lady from ______, and she was really cool!”
Each Global Awareness presentation is unique. Presentations vary depending on the ages of the children, the grade, and length of time available. A presentation for a pre-school class will be very different from one for a 5th grade class!

Here are some suggestions for presentations. Please feel free to use your own ideas, creativity and materials to create a presentation that is age-appropriate, meaningful and enjoyable for all. You can create a display board if you like filled with photos of your country. Or you can teach the children a song, a game, or a craft. There are so many things you can do, but remember, the most important part of Global Awareness is to HAVE FUN!!

Geography
Stand in front of the classroom map and show where your country is. Provide basic information such as:
· How long it took you to fly from your country to the U.S.
· Tell the children if the seasons are the same as those in the U.S. or opposite
· You may want to give them a map of your country to color.
Many children will want to tell you where they have been and where their ancestors are from.

Flag
Show the children the flag of the country and if age-appropriate, explain what the colors and
design represent.
· You can sing your national anthem.
· You can give the children a flag of your country to color
Most schools will be happy to make copies of the materials you want to hand out to the children.

Language
· Teach a mini-language lesson. The children enjoy learning basic vocabulary such as
counting, animals, foods, greetings and school-related words. How do you say,
‘school,’ ‘teacher,’ ‘class,’ ‘computer,’ backpack,’ ‘book?’

Animals– Bring in pictures of animals from your country.

Currency -Bring in money from your country. The children enjoy seeing and handling this.

Folk tales/nursery rhymes-share stories from your country.

Food/recipes-bring food from your country. But be sure to ask the teacher for permission to
bring food to the classroom. Beware of allergies!

Holidays/celebrations/customs– share holiday traditions with the children. Most teachers
enjoy a presentation with this information during the U.S. Dec. holiday season.

Native costume/dress-the children love to see what your native costume looks like. Bring it to class to show them.

Games/activities – play a game that is popular with children in your country

Music-teach the children a song or dance from your country.

Sports– What sports are popular in your country? Who are the sports heroes? What sports do
children in your country enjoy?

Remember, these are only a few ideas. Feel free to create your own presentation.
We will also send you materials to give to the children.
The children will be very excited for you to visit their classroom! 🙂
Please contact me for more information!

Glow in the Dark Mini Golf

For this month’s cluster meeting we visited Monster Mini Golf (a themed glow in the dark 18 hole miniature golf course off NW Military Hwy). For many of the Au Pairs, this was their first time playing mini golf (they all did great!!) and it was a wonderful day of golf, conversation, and fun!

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From left to right: Johanna from Colombia, Nut from Thailand, Caroline from Sweden, Annerien from South Africa, Elena from Costa Rica (in pink), and then Zuzana and Hana from Czech Republic.

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Ivet & Hana, Elena & Zuzana, and Saaynaam & Nut

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The girls showing of their Painted Plate projects 🙂

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IMG_4832We stopped for some Subway after the game

Simple Ways to Shake Up Snack Time!!

Whether it is your week for share-a-snack at school, or you are looking to tide over tiny tummies until dinner—snack attacks can leave you starved for ideas. If your crew craves something more creative than a bag of goldfish, satisfy small stomachs with a playful presentation. Here are eight simple solutions that take snacks from drab to fab—and might even introduce some new flavors to the mix.

Stick It To ‘Em

To view recipes, please visit:

http://redtri.com/eat-up-simple-ways-to-shake-up-snack-time/?utm_source=LB&utm_medium=morestoriesmissed&utm_campaign=inboundMorestoriesmissed