Yearly Archives: 2010

FLU SEASON

CHECK OUT THIS WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FLU VACCINE,SYMPTOMS AND CLINICS IN YOUR AREA:WWW.FLU.GOV

Healthy Living For The Fall And Winter Seasons:


A few simple tips for au pairs to avoid the flu this season:

Keeping a healthy body, mind and spirit = balance

  • Get enough sleep
  • Eat healthily
  • Exercise regularly
  • Take some time each day to relax
  • Rest or slow down when you feel tired
  • Maintain a balance between work, rest, relaxation and your social life

Stay healthy and avoid spreading germs

  • Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol based hand sanitizer
  • Shower regularly
  • Try not to touch your eyes, nose or mouth.  Germs often spread this way.
  • Cover your cough or sneeze with the crook of your elbow or a tissue – not your hand
  • Put used tissues in a wastepaper basket
  • Avoid close contact with people who have cold or flu symptoms

Keep a clean and healthy home environment

  • Keep frequently touched surfaces clean.   These may include:

Ø     Kitchen counters

Ø     Computer keyboards and computer areas

Ø    Telephones

Ø    Doorknobs

  • Keep the children’s play area and toys clean.
  • Keep your bedroom as dust free as possible.  Vacuum regularly and empty your waste paper basket daily.

The Public Health Division is offering FREE flu vaccine at special clinics in the main DHS building from December 14 – 17.Please take time to go.It is better to prevent the flu than spending the Holidays sick and in bed!

FREE Flu Vaccine

WHEN:

Tuesday December 14 9 am – 12 pm

Wednesday, December 15 9 am – 12 pm

Thursday, December 16 9 am – 12 pm

Friday, December 17 12 pm – 3 pm

WHERE: Sequoia Plaza
2100 Washington Blvd.,  2nd floor
Look for signs to Arlington County Human Services

  • Vaccine will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • Vaccine available for those 3 years of age and older.
  • Flu “shot” and nasal spray available.
  • Please wear a shirt or blouse with short sleeves that may be rolled up easily. The flu “shot” is given in the upper arm.
  • Free parking available on site.
  • For more information call the Arlington County Public Health Division 703-228-1621.
  • Vaccine will also be available in our Open Immunization Clinic, same location, Tuesdays 3:00 pm – 6:30 pm and Fridays 7:30 – 11:00 am.

* Vaccine Provided by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

Snacks for D.C Central Kitchen

On November 12, our cluster of Arlington and Falls Church got together in the parish hall of the Resurrection Evangelical Lutheran Church to prepare snacks for D.C Central Kitchen.

For a couple of hours,we mixed up a whole bunch of cherios,pretzels,M&Ms,chocolate chips,raisins ,marshmallows and peanuts and ended up with 512 individual servings of snack mix.We stopped as we run out of cherios and pretzels,so I bought a few more boxes and finished everything on Monday with the help of Fernanda, au pair from Chile,Amanda and Lilian ,aupairs from Brazil!

Everyone participating enjoyed the interaction and felt good about being able to GIVE!

A big thank you to our host families,host children,au pairs for participating and to Resurrection Evangelical Lutheran Church for providing us with the space.

Here are a few pictures:-1-2-3-4

WELCOMING THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER

A few dates to remember:

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Day of the Dead

This is a Mexican holiday marked by celebrations, special foods, reunions and visits to cemeteries. For more information visit www.mexconnect.com/mex_/muertos.html.

1102Election Day

Would you like to know more about the American political system? Check out http://bensguide.gpo.gov/ for a simple presentation of information about the US government including elections. Talk to the children about what you learned and create an Election Day theme at home: decorate in red, white and blue (how about colored napkins on the table?) Put out an American flag, and serve red, white and blue snacks. Blue and white corn chips with red salsa, vanilla ice cream with strawberries and blueberries or layers of colored Jell-o served with whipped cream.

1107Daylight Savings Time Ends

Move your clocks back one hour before going to bed on Saturday night and enjoy the extra hour of sleep…

1111-1Veteran’s Day

A day to honor American veterans of all wars, Veteran’s Day is a federal holiday. You can find some suggestions of activities to do with children at www.va.gov/KIDS/.

Calendar DayMickey Mouse’s Birthday

Mickey Mouse was created in 1928! Celebrate his birthday with Mickey Mouse pancakes:

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat all ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Grease a griddle or frying pan. For each pancake pour batter into one large circle and two smaller circles at the top to make a Mickey Mouse. Cook until pancake is puffed and dry around the edges. Turn and cook the other side until golden brown. Use chocolate chips for eyes if you want.

1125Thanksgiving

More information on this very special American holiday will be posted on November 15th,so come back and check!

Halloween Safety for Kids

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The Trick-or-Treater Checklist

by Skye Schulte, MS, MPH

Remind your children that it’s important to:

  • Use a flashlight so they can see and be seen by others.
  • Stay in a group and communicate where they will be going.
  • Only go to homes with a porch light on.
  • Remain on well-lit streets and always use the sidewalk.
  • If no sidewalk is available, walk at the farthest edge of the roadway facing traffic.
  • Never cut across yards or use alleys.
  • Never enter a stranger’s home or car for a treat.
  • Obey all traffic and pedestrian regulations.
  • Always walk across a street—never run.
  • Only cross the street as a group in established crosswalks.
  • Remove any mask or item that will limit eyesight before crossing a street, driveway, or alley.
  • Follow the planned route and return home at the agreed upon time.
  • Don’t assume the right of way. Motorists may have trouble seeing trick-or-treaters. Just because one car stops doesn’t mean others will.
  • Never eat or drink unwrapped food items that may be offered.
  • Notify police or other law enforcement authorities if you see any suspicious or unlawful activities.

RESOURCES:

American Academy of Pediatrics
http://www.aap.org/

HAVE A SAFE HALLOWEEN!

PUMPKIN CARVING

Pumpkin CarvingIMG_2647

Carve the pumpkin just a few days before Halloween if you want it to be nice on Halloween, as pumpkins rot quickly. Work with the children to plan the design on paper and then draw it onto the pumpkin before you begin cutting. Cut off a lid to clean out the inside of the pumpkin and design holes large enough to let light shine out when you’re done. With a special safe knife designed for pumpkin carving, the children can help carve the pumpkin. Check with your family to see if they have one of the special knives – they sell them in supermarkets if you need one. Always cut away from yourself using slow steady cuts. Scoop out the seeds and stringy flesh (this is a messy but fun job!). See the seasonal calendar for October for recipes using the seeds and the pumpkin you have cut away.

Pumpkin Carving and Decorating Safety Tips:

  • Don’t allow small children to carve pumpkins. Children can draw a face with markers and then an adult or older sibling can do the carving.
  • Supervise children ages 5-10 and have them carve with pumpkin cutters equipped with safety bars.
  • Use small votive candles for candle-lit pumpkins.
  • Place lighted pumpkins on a sturdy table, away from curtains and other flammable objects.
  • Never leave lit pumpkins unattended.

You can also follow this slide show on how to carve a pumpkin like a pro:

http://crafts.slides.kaboose.com/317-halloween-pumpkin-crafts

HAPPY CARVING!

HALLOWEEN GUIDE FOR AU PAIRS….

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Halloween is the day children dress up in costumes and, in many communities, go door-to-door to ask for candy.It is celebrated every year on October 31st.

Here are some interesting facts about Halloween:

How did trick-or-treating begin?
The modern practice of trick-or-treating appears to have originated from a combination of the Celtic new year celebration called Samhain celebrated on October 31st and the early Christian ritual related to All Saints Day, celebrated on November 2nd.

The Celts believed that on Samhain, spirits of the dead would come back and try to posses the bodies of the living. So to avoid being possessed by a ghost, living Celts would dress up in scary costumes and parade around the town making a lot of noise, so as to scare the spirits away. This is where the modern tradition of wearing costumes seems to have derived from.

As for the collection of treats, most scholars credit early Christians’ ritual of “souling” to the development of this festive activity. In connection with their All Saints Day celebration, Christians would walk door to door collecting square pieces of currant bread called “soul cakes”. The person who collected the cakes would say prayers on behalf of a deceased relative. The more cakes collected, the more prayers were said and the quicker the soul of the deceased would find heaven.
The combination of these two early activities has evolved into the modern practice of trick-or-treating.


How did “bobbing for apples” become a popular Halloween activity?
The apple has historically been associated with immortality and fertility because when cut down its center it has a five point star. This five pointed star was a common goddess symbol in many ancient religions and believed to help determine marriages, especially during the magical, spiritual season of Samhain. During early celebrations, apples would be hung either from a string or placed in a tub of water and young, unmarried people would try to take a bite. The first one to successfully bite the apple was believed to be the next one married.

Why are bats associated with Halloween?
In early Halloween celebrations, people often gathered around giant bonfires to ward off evil spirits. Night-flying insects were attracted to the flames, which made bonfires the perfect feeding ground for bats. Thus, bats became quickly synonymous with Halloween celebrations. Additionally, during the Middle Ages, people began to link bats to witches because the both seemed to mystically fly throughout the dark night and disappear during the day.

Have people always carved pumpkins for Halloween?
Jack-o-lanterns are an Irish tradition brought to America by early Irish immigrants. But early jack-o-lanterns were not pumpkins, they were turnips, rutabagas or gourds that were hollowed out. Lights were placed in them to ward off evil spirits and to keep “Stingy Jack” (the legendary Irish drunkard and prankster, believed to have made a deal with the devil and condemned to walk the earth upon death, whose namesake has been given to modern day, carved pumpkins) away. It was not until the 1800’s when Irish immigrants came to America and found pumpkins to be so plentiful and easier to carve, that the tradition was altered.

And now, are you ready for some Hallloween crafts and costume ideas?

This link will help you find some fun things to do with the kids:

http://crafts.slides.kaboose.com/316-halloween-crafts

http://crafts.slides.kaboose.com/254-homemade-halloween-costumes

FALL is in the air…

FALL IS FINALLY HERE AND WITH IT, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE MANY EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES TO DO IN YOUR AREA .images-2

HERE ARE A FEW IDEAS FOR YOU:

When a crisp fall air invites you outside for a walk, gather some brightly colored leaves. Press them in sheets of newspaper under heavy books for a few weeks. When they have dried they will still have their bright colors and can be glued onto paper.

Make leaf prints by painting one side of a leaf with tempera paint and then pressing it down gently into paper to form the leaf pattern. Make designs for fun, or use large sheets of paper (like tissue paper, brown paper or even newspaper) and save the painted paper to use as gift-wrap.

Place some leaves between pieces of wax paper and iron. This will keep them from crumbling and give the leaves a glossy sheen. You can then glue them onto paper- try adding bits of bark or seeds too.

Try putting leaves between pieces of clear contact paper. You can hang them in the window or use them as place mats.

Fall is apple season. Apples come in many varieties, colors, shapes and sizes. Some are wonderful to munch on, others best when cooked. Regardless of the variety, apple-picking is a fun activity. Please check your local newspaper, especially the Week-end section, to find out about local farms that offer apple-picking and hay rides.

Recipe for applesauce:

Remove the core and quarter the apples. If you leave the peel on during cooking it will give the applesauce a pink color. When the apples are very soft, remove any peel that is left, mash the pulp or put it through a sieve. Add sugar if needed.

Recipe for dried apple rings:

Peel, core and slice as many apples as you like into 1/8 inch rings; Macintosh or golden delicious apples work best. Dip each ring into a mixture of lemon juice and water to help the apples keep their color. Pull a piece of string through the center of each ring and hang in a dry, warm place. They take 1-2 weeks to dry and become chewy.

This makes an easy and nutritious snack!

Fall is also pumpkin season .You can find some at the market,the grocery store or at the farm. To find a pumpkin patch near you,click  here .

HAVE FUN !

 

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AMERICAN FOOTBALL SEASON KICKS OFF THIS MONTH

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Visit http://aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/football.asp for the full rules of American Football and http://www.redskins.com/gen/index.jsp for Washington Redskins team schedule.

American Football Simplified:
A football field is 100 yards long. There is a Goal Post at each end of the field, in the End Zone, one for each team. A Football Game is made up of 60 minutes of play time. The 60 minutes is divided into four Quarters of 15 minutes each. At the end of two Quarters, there is a break called Half Time. On the Scoreboard you can see the minutes and seconds running out. The team with the most points at the end of four Quarters wins.
Each team has an Offense and a Defense. If the Offense has the ball and tries to score by getting it across the Goal Line – the line where the playing field and the End Zone meet. The Defense tries to stop them.
The Offense gets four tries to move the ball 10 yards toward their own goal post. These are called Downs. If they make the 10 yards or more, they get another four tries to move the ball another 10 yards. If they don’t move the ball 10 yards in four tries, the ball goes to the other team, or the team “loses the ball.”
The Super Bowl is the final game of the Football season when two teams play each other for the championship. The game takes place in late January or early February. For some people the TV commercials are the best part of the Super Bowl.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

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Today,many families accross the globe celebrate Rosh Hashannah!

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.

Rosh Hashanah is observed today and tomorrow.  We wish all of our Jewish host families, au pairs and friends a very Happy Holiday.