Tag Archives: aupairs

INFANT SAFETY

July 15, 2016 – 12:14 am

If you must leave the baby alone for a few moments, be sure she is safely in a crib or play pen.
Check condition and sturdiness of toys. Discard any with sharp edges or that are broken or falling apart.
Check clothing for loose buttons and remove strings.
Is baby’s pacifier still in good condition? Be sure it isn’t coming apart. Never use strings to attach the pacifier to baby’s clothes or crib.
Where do you set baby’s carrier when she’s in it? Not on the counter or any high surface, please. Babies can wiggle and tip themselves over.
Stroller check. If your stroller is collapsible, be sure latches are secure before putting baby in. Always check that your child’s arms are out of the way when reversing handle directions so they won’t get pinched. Be sure to use that safety strap. Don’t hang overloaded or heavy bags on the handle of the stroller, as this may cause it to tip over.
Can you name the 12 most common choking foods for kids under five? Popcorn, hot dogs, chunks of meat, raisins, ice cubes, chunky peanut butter, peanuts (nuts of any kind), hard candy, grapes, raw carrots, potato chips and corn chips.
Don’t leave toddlers alone while eating; if they begin to choke, you need to be nearby to assist.
Never leave a child unattended in the bathtub. If the phone rings, let the machine get it, or bring a cordless phone into the bathroom with you. Wait until baby can sit alone to give baths in the tub. It’s easier in the sink until then.
Enroll in an infant/child CPR and first aid class. This will be a valuable investment of your time, and Au Pair in America will pay for it.

SUMMER HAS ARRIVED!

June 17, 2016 – 11:11 am

summer_logo1 June 21st marks the first day of summer- Long hot days make for children to need some quiet time. Relax and unwind at the end of the day with some summertime reading.Pick out a few good books at the library and make a point to go back weekly.Most libraries will have a summer reading program and a list of age appropriate books you can choose from.

Also,observe some simple safety rules when playing outside during the summer:

Apply sunscreen regularly
Stay hydrated
Never ever leave anyone-infant,child,pets- alone in a parked car. Consequences are fatal .

Watch this video and share it :http://diply.com/beinglatino/mom-leaves-child-in-car/124531

PLAYGROUND SAFETY:

Make sure metal slides are cool to prevent children’s legs from getting burned.
Do not allow children to play barefoot on the playground.
Supervise children on play equipment to make sure they are safe

POOL SAFETY:

Never leave a child alone in or near the pool or spa area.Always be within arm’s reach.

VALENTINE’S DAY

February 8, 2015 – 8:11 am

valentines-day-heart

February 14 is Valentine’s Day .

Valentine’s Day is a time of love, friendship, giving,
and caring. Americans use Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to tell friends and family
how much they care. Children usually exchange cards at school.

“Who is St. Valentine”?

Legend has it that Valentine was a priest who served during third century Rome. The Emperor at that time, Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those that were married. With this thought in mind he outlawed marriage for young men in hopes of building a stronger army. Supposedly, Valentine, decided this decree was not fair and married young couples in secret. When Emperor Claudius II found out about Valentine’s actions he had his head cut off making him a martyr of love. Another legend has it that Valentine was an imprisoned man who fell in love with his jailor’s daughter. Before he was put to death he sent the first ‘valentine’ himself when he wrote her a letter and signed it ‘Your Valentine’, words still used on cards today.

Perhaps we’ll never know the true identity and story behind the man named St. Valentine, but this much is for sure…February has been the month to celebrate love for a long time, dating clear back to the Middle Ages. In fact, Valentines ranks second only to Christmas in number of greeting cards sent.

For some fun children’s activities including crafts, coloring pages, games, puzzles and poems go to:

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/index.htm

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/valentines-day/

Also, don’t forget to check our boards on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/aupairinamerica/valentine-s-day/

THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION

November 16, 2012 – 11:30 am

Thanksgiving, a uniquely American holiday, dates back to the first European settlers in North America.

After much hardship, illness and hard work, the Pilgrims were finally able to celebrate a successful harvest which they shared with their Native American friends who had helped them through their difficult beginning in America.

Today this day is set aside to feast and to give thanks-something we can all share, as we too celebrate our cross-cultural friendships.

Some activities to share with the children :

Maple-Nut-Berry Popcorn Balls ( for children ages 3 and older): Add some chopped walnuts and raspberries, blueberries or blackberries. Add enough melted butter to lightly coat popcorn. Stir. Pour maple syrup over the warm popcorn and stir until all the corn, nuts and berries are covered. Shape the sticky corn into balls and place on a plate to refrigerate until the syrup hardens.

Thanksgiving cards and place cards: Fold a piece of paper in half, place a leaf on the inside and close the card. Use a crayon to rub lightly across the front of the card in the area where the leaf is. The shape of the leaf will appear on the outside. Remove the leaf. Write a name on the front for a place card, or a message inside for a Thanksgiving card. Older children might want to make more sophisticated designs using more than one leaf.

Make a chain of paper doll (adults should do the cutting): Fold a piece of paper back and forth over and over again with a width between folds of 2-3 inches. With the paper folded cut out a shape of a person, make sure that the hands and feet touch the fold, but don’t cut through the fold. When you unfold the paper there will be a line of people holding hands. Children ages 3-10 can color the figures to look like Pilgrims(men wore big white collars, belts with buckles, and buckles on their shoes, pants to their knees; women wore white hats and aprons over solid color dresses) or Native Americans (draw feather headdresses and brightly colored geometric patterns on their clothes).

Tree of Thanks: This Thanksgiving tree is bound to become a new holiday tradition.

Trace leaves onto autumn colored craft’s paper and cut out. Punch a hole into the stem of each paper leaf. Measure and cut a 2” length of wire or twine for each leaf. Thread it through the hole and bend the ends to make a hook for hanging. Place the tree branches in a pot or vase. Let the children or/and guests choose a leaf or two and ask them to jot down things that they are thankful for.

Thanksgiving Resources

Books

Giving Thanks: The 1621 Harvest Feast by Kate Waters
Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Jake Swamp
Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey
1,2,3 Thanksgiving by W. Nikola Lisa
Thanksgiving at the Tappletons’ by Eileen Spinelli
Gracias, the Thanksgiving Turkey by Joy Cowley
The Autumn Equinox: Celebrating the Harvest by Ellen Jackson

Recipes

Articles

Arts & Crafts

Lesson Plans

Are we feeding kids the right food?

April 11, 2012 – 2:47 pm

On Tuesday,April 10^th 2012,au pairs representing more than 10 countries came together to learn about healthy food and snack choices at their local WholeFoods store in Clarendon.

Everyone knows the importance food has on our body and for those young women who come from different parts of the world, our grocery stores can be a bit overwhelming,to say the least. So we wanted to give them an opportunity to look beyond the Mac”n’Cheese or Peanut butter and jelly sandwich many of our kids have for lunch or snack and introduce them to new ideas.

Thanks to our 2 hosts at WholeFoods in Clarendon,Brenna and Jaquie, and their community outreach program,au pairs from Au Pair in America tasted various snacks and learned some tips on how to shop smart while buying fresh and healthy products and still staying on a budget.They also left with wonderful recipes to share with their host families and the kids they are in charge of.

Brenna and Jaquie made the au pairs aware of the many possibilities they have to help kids eat better food.They pointed out the danger of too much fat and sugar in some pre-made snacks and gave them some ideas on how to replace them with “made from scratch” products. We don’t know of any parent who would object to having their child eat or at least try healthier food.

To learn more about WholeFoods and their mission,visit your local store or go on the web at www.wholefoods.com

EASTER AND PASSOVER CELEBRATIONS

April 4, 2012 – 8:41 pm

Wishing all of you who celebrate Easter and/or Passover a very happy holiday! Some lucky people get to enjoy double the festivities!

Celebrating Easter

Easter is one of the most awaited Christian festivals. It is celebrated throughout the world by the followers of Christian community. It is considered to be very auspicious as it is believed that this was the day when Christ resurrected after crucifixion. This day is of immense religious as well as social significance amongst the Christian community.

Church services and festive celebrations blend together during the Easter weekend. On Easter Sunday in New York and other cities, large Easter parades are held. Easter in USA is also very much commercialized. Easter symbols like bunnies, Easter tree, Easter Eggs and Easter lamb are found in different forms during the Easter festivities throughout the market. The popular trend of Easter symbols such as the Easter bunny and egg tree were introduced to the American folklore by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s. Gradually American people took to crafts such as egg and Easter tree decoration. Easter in US is also a time to enjoy special Easter foods such as baked ham, potatoes and vegetables. Several special recipes are made at each home. Easter parties are also organized where traditional Easter delicacies are served and people enjoy wonderful get together along with Easter games and music.

For children’s Easter games and activities go to: http://www.thekidzpage.com/easter_games/index.html

Observing Passover

Passover is an eight day celebration observed each year by the Jewish religion. It commemorates the freedom of Jewish slaves from Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II. Families celebrate Passover by having a seder. With special foods, songs, and customs, the Seder is the focal point of the Passover celebration. Seder means order, and the Passover story is read in order from a book called a haggadah.

Fearing that Jews were becoming too strong, a Pharaoh decreed that all male Jewish babies were to be killed. Jocheved and Amran, a Jewish couple, wanted to save their infant son – so they put him in a basket that floated him down the river. The infant was rescued by the Pharaoh’s daughter and she raised him as her own son. She named the baby Moses, which means “take from the water.”

When Moses grew up, he empathized with the Jewish slaves and tried to get the Pharaoh to free them. The Pharaoh refused – so there were 10 plagues sent down to Egypt: Blood, Frogs, Lice, Beasts, Cattle Disease, Boils, Hail, Locusts, Darkness, and Slaying of the Firstborn. The name Passover comes from the Plague of Slaying the Firstborn. The Angel of Death passed over the homes of the Jews who had put lambs blood on their doors.

After the 10th plague, Pharaoh agreed to let the Jewish slaves go. They gathered up their belongings quickly, and didn’t have time for their bread to rise, so they had to bake it and take it the way it was. This is why the Jewish people eat matzah during Passover. As the Jews were fleeing, Pharaoh changed his mind, and sent his army after the people to bring them back. Moses parted the Red Sea for the Jews to cross, and as soon as they were safely to the other side, the waters closed on the soldiers, drowning them all. The Jewish people were free.

For children’s activities go to: http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/passover/

ENERGIZED FOR THE NEW YEAR

January 10, 2011 – 7:53 am

AU PAIRS FROM ARLINGTON AND FALLS CHURCH MET YESTERDAY AT GOLD’S GYM FOR A FUN ZUMBA CLASS.

We sweat,danced and laughed and are now ready to face the New Year with a bright new outlook!

HAVE A SAFE BACK TO SCHOOL DAY!

September 7, 2010 – 4:04 pm

Well,it is that time of the year when our host children head back to school again!

Last Friday, au pairs from the Arlington and Falls Church APIA’s cluster met at their community counselor’s home for pizza and a discussion about School Bus Stopping Laws and how to best minimize Morning Madness as well as Homework Hassles.They all picked up information on each subject with the hope that this will help them adjust to the Back to school schedule and routine.Let’s wish them all the best for this new school year.

Earth Day

April 16, 2010 – 8:00 am

Earth Day

Earth day is celebrated on April 22nd and was organized first by environmentalists in 1970.It has become more and more popular each year.

The goal of the day is to “increase awareness, responsibility and action toward a clean, healthy future for all living things.”

Here’s a fun paper-making activity in the spirit of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This activity is appropriate for children ages 5 and up with adult supervision. It requires some advance planning to gather all the materials and will take several hours to complete and clean up.

Paper-Making Recipe
This paper-making recipe will help you recycle some of that wasted paper around your house, such as newsprint, envelopes, writing paper, left over gift wrap, or other types of paper. Note: Sort the paper by color, because it will come out that tone.

Materials

a large bowl
waste paper (about 5 sheets)
water
a mixer or food processor
two wooden frames 8″-12″ (you can buy a standard frame or make one)
a screen (nylon works well)
a stapler
a large basin (dishpan for instance)
optional: dryer lint, thread, glitter, flowers, thin leaves, pine needles, potato or carrot peel…be creative here

1. Soak It: To begin, shred the paper into small squares about 1×1 inch and put them into the bowl with hot water. Let soak for half an hour.

2. Make a Mold: While the paper is soaking, make the mold by attaching the screen to each frame using staples.

3. Turn it into Pulp: Place the soaked paper in the mixer bowl or food processor half filled with water. Mix at half speed until smooth. At this point, you can also add small quantities of vegetables or plants to the pulp. In this case, mix until the mixture is uniform. (Only a small amount should be used or you will end up with mush.) To add color to the paper, add nontoxic fabric dye or food coloring to the mixture.

4. Swish it in a Basin: Pour warm water into the basin until it is half full. Then, pour the pulp into the basin until the mixture resembles thick soup. The thicker the mixture, the thicker your paper will be. Working in the basin, place the pulp on the screen in the frame and shake it from side to side to distribute the pulp evenly until it makes a sheet of paper.

5. Drain: Take the paper pulp and frame out of the basin. Place the other framed screen on top. Hold both frames and turn them over so that the pulp is on the dry frame.

6. Let It Dry: Place the frame flat and let it drip dry.

7. Leftovers: When you are done, you can throw away the screened pulp or keep the drained, leftover pulp in the freezer, in a plastic bag, for later use. NOTE: Do not pour the pulp into the sink or toilet because the pulp could block the drain.

Remember use your imagination!
Activity from www.planetpal.com