Monthly Archives: June 2019

Smithsonian Folklife Festival

The Folklife Festival will take place on June 29 and 30.

The annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage. Attracting more than one million visitors yearly. This year they are celebrating the power of music to entertain, educate, inspire, preserve history, strengthen identity, and build community. This celebration is the largest annual cultural event in the United States.

The Festival is held outdoors on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between the Smithsonian museums. There is no admission charge. Visitors should dress for hot and humid weather. Parking around the Mall is extremely limited, so visitors are advised to use public transportation. L’Enfant Plaza is the closest Metro station to the Festival site. National Archives, Smithsonian, and Federal Center stations are within a half-mile. For assistance planning how to get around, visit www.goDCgo.com. For general Smithsonian visitor information, http://www.si.edu/Visit or call 202.633.1000 (voice).

Festival hours are Saturday 12:00pm to 10:00pm and Sunday 10:30am to 6:30pm. View the schedule here.

I highly recommend that you visit their website to plan your visit http://www.festival.si.edu/

Happy Summer


Now that school is out (or almost out), please sit down with your au pair and discuss what her hours will be for the Summer.  The best thing about hosting an au pair is the flexibility of the schedule.  Try to give your au pair as much time as possible when the schedule will be changing to avoid any conflicts with school or vacations, keeping in mind the government requirement that the au pair work NO MORE THAN 10 hours in one day and 45 hours per week.  A work week for the au pair is 7 days and during those 7 days, she must have one FULL day off and one day where she does not work more than 5 hours, with no split schedule on the 5 hour day.

Each month, your au pair must have a weekend off.  This means a Friday when she would normally get off work until Monday morning when she would normally go back to work, she must be off.  This is essential to the happiness of the girls and gives them the ability to go away with friends for the weekend, or take a weekend class if their work week does not allow time to take a class.

The au pairs are not permitted to work hours over and above the 45 hours each week, even for extra pay.  We don’t want the girls to “burn out”.  It’s not safe, and the safety of our children is the most important.  If you find you are at or above 45 hours each week, perhaps a part time day camp or a baby sitter for the extra hours is needed.  Your au pair should only be caring for your children.

Taking a class while the au pairs are here is a program requirement.  It’s not an option.  The au pairs come on a J-1 visa that requires the au pairs to achieve 6 credits or it’s equivalent (72 class hours) during their year here.  This requirement must be completed to meet the terms of the visa.  Please work with your au pair and the schedule to ensure she has time to attend class.  Make sure you are not waiting until the last few months to cram in classes.  That never works.   While there are very few summer classes, the fall schedule is online and I suggest registering for a class as soon as possible in the event it is canceled and you have to make another choice.  A list of schools the au pairs may attend is on our cluster blog.

One final note, if you are going to be traveling away from Northern Virginia with your au pair for more than 4 days, please let me know.  Especially if you will be leaving the country, ie, Mexico, Caribbean, cruise, etc.   There are forms that must be filled out so there are no issues with the au pair reentering the country.

I hope you have a safe and fun summer!

Summer Safety Tips

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During the summer months we need to take some added precautions to keep children safe in the sun and by the water.  Here are some good tips.

  • Avoid long periods of sun exposure especially between 10.00am and 4.00pm
  • Apply sunscreen of at least  15 SPF that protects against both UVA and UVB rays should be worn on sunny and cloudy days.
  • Infants should be dressed in lightweight clothing covering as much skin as possible and brimmed hats to shade the face
  • Stay hydrated, drink water throughout the day
  • Intense activities and sports should be reduced whenever high heat and humidity reach critical levels
  • Never leave children or animals in a car unattended.

 

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  • Actively supervise children in and around the water, giving them your undivided attention. Appoint a designated “water watcher,” taking turns with other adults. Be very clear who is in charge.
  • When in the water there should be an adult at arms length from young children at all times
  • Children who cannot swim or who are not strong swimmers should wear water wings or life jackets when in the water
  • Swim in designated areas supervised by lifeguards.
  • Always swim with a buddy; do not allow anyone to swim alone. Even at a public pool or a lifeguarded beach, use the buddy system!
  • If you go boating, wear a life jacket! Most boating fatalities occur from drowning.
  • Avoid alcohol use. Alcohol impairs judgment, balance and coordination; affects swimming and diving skills; and reduces the body’s ability to stay warm.

As well as the host parents numbers, au pairs should have the phone number of the community counselor and the Au Pair in America 800 number saved to their phones.  This way if they need assistance they can quickly and easily dial the number.  Remind you au pairs to call immediately if there is any issue with a child in their care.  Host families should make sure that au pairs know what to do if there is an emergency situation while they are in charge of the children,  this is a good time of year to review any family rules that apply to summer activities especially by the pool and while at the beach.

Enjoy the summer and be safe!