Category Archives: Blogs

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s day is celebrated in the United States every year on February 14th. There are many stories and legends behind who the real St. Valentine was, but most scholars agree that he was a martyr who was killed by Roman soldiers because he was marrying people in secret at a time when marriage was outlawed.  Later in the Middle Ages, a great writer named Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a poem as a present to King Richard II, who was going to be married soon. In it, he mentioned St. Valentine, and over time, the idea of Valentine’s Day became associated with the idea of love.

During the Victorian times (in the 1800s), Valentine’s Day became extremely popular! Men and women spent a lot of time making beautiful Valentine’s cards with ribbon, fancy paper and even lace. In those days, people were very reserved and they did not often say what they were feeling. Valentine’s day gave them a way to express their feelings to someone they were in love with anonymously.  The sender would remain a mystery until they could speak more freely.

In the last few decades, Valentine’s day has changed a lot! Today we still exchange cards, but many people buy ready-made cards instead. We also give flowers or chocolates as a gift to remind people of our friendship and love for them. Most Valentine’s gifts and cards make use of the colors red and pink, and are decorated with images of hearts or roses. Another common symbol of love on this day is Cupid, the Roman god of love. He is usually shown as a little angel with a bow and arrow. According to legend, anyone who is struck by his arrows will fall in love.

Here are some links with ideas about how you can celebrate and have fun with the children you care for over the next couple of weeks!

Click here for Valentine’s Day Cards, coloring pages, recipes, crafts, games and puzzles: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/

Check out our Au Pair in America Pinterest page for Valentine’s Day for more ideas: https://www.pinterest.com/aupairinamerica/valentines-day/

The Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the world.  It’s a popular time for family and friends to gather in front of the TV. 

This year’s game features the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles.

Each year millions of people watch the game, the half-time show – or just the commercials (people will be talking about the commercials for days!).  This year, country singer Chris Stapleton will sing the National Anthem while Rihanna will take to the world’s biggest stage for the half time show.

The 57th Super Bowl will take place at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday February 12th, 2023. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30PM ET on Fox.

To learn more about football visit the “Life in the US” section of Au Pair in America website.

Avoid Falling Victim to Scammers

There are always people out there who are looking for ways to trick people out of their money and personal information. There have been several new scams recently, so we are going to explain ways to identify scams and how to protect yourself.

SCAM #1 – A caller says they are a contact tracer and you may have been exposed to COVID-19 and asks you to pay for a test kit.

  • Contact tracers will not ask you for payment.

What to do? Do not give any payment information to someone who calls you on the phone.

SCAM #2 – Calls asking for your PIN, password, personal information or a payment.

  • Your bank will not call you and ask you for your PIN number or password.
  • IRS and Social Security Administration will not ask you for payment or personal info over the phone. Government agencies usually handle issues like this by sending a letter.
  • The number shown on caller ID can be manipulated, don’t take that as a sign that a call is legitimate.

What to do? Whenever you are in doubt, hang up and call the bank (or company) directly using a number you already have for them.

SCAM #3 – Email asking you to click a link to verify your personal information or share your password or PIN.

  • Be very suspicious of emails asking you to click links.
  • Scammers are very good at creating official looking emails and webpages.

What to do? Whenever you are in doubt, go directly to the website (not using the link in the email).

SCAM #4 – You see an offer online telling you to send them some money and they will double it or a pop-up ad says that you have won a great prize and just need to give them your information.

  • When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

What to do? Do not give your personal information or any money to people you don’t know.

SCAM #5 – You receive a call and you are told to stay on the phone while you go transfer or withdraw money from the bank and if you don’t you will be arrested or your bank account seized.

  • They are using the idea that this is an urgent situation to make you act quickly without thinking to avoid the consequence they have told you.

What to do? Do not follow their instructions.

Whenever you are in doubt, do not do as the caller or email asks. Check with your host parents or community counselor.

One other note: It is very important to keep your social security number private. There are very few situations where you will need to share this (bank, IRS, motor vehicles). Those are times you are taking an action and need to provide it. There is not a legitimate time where someone would be calling you on the phone or emailing you asking for that number.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
– Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream Quote

Martin Luther King Jr. was the most important voice of the American civil rights movement, which worked for equal rights for all. He was famous for using nonviolent resistance to overcome injustice.  He also did all he could to make people realize that “all men are created equal.” Because of his great work, in 1964 King received the Nobel Peace Prize — the youngest person ever to receive this high honor. King was also a Baptist minister. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, when he was just 39 years old. His birthday is now observed as a national holiday on the third Monday in January. Congressman John Conyers first introduced legislation for a commemorative holiday four days after King was assassinated in 1968. Petitions endorsing the holiday containing six million names were submitted to Congress.  Public pressure for the holiday mounted during the 1982 and 1983 civil rights marches in Washington.  Congress passed the holiday legislation in 1983, which was then signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.

If you want to visit the MLK Memorial, it’s located in downtown Washington D.C. along the Tidal Basin.

Here are some links about the history of this holiday including a biography of Dr. King, a quiz for kids and a junior crossword.  Maybe you can do something special with the kids to acknowledge the day.

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/mlkbiospot.html

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/mlkjrday1.html

To read the full I Have a dream Speech go to:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

Fire Prevention Tips

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Here are some Fire Safety Tips from http://www.usfa.fema.gov/

Control Kids’ Access to Fire

  • Keep all matches and lighters out of the hands of children. If possible, keep these sources of fire in locked drawers. Consider buying only “child-proof” lighters—but be aware that no product is completely child-proof.
  • Children as young as two years old can strike matches and start fires.
  • Never leave children unattended near operating stoves or burning candles, even for a short time.
  • Teach children not to pick up matches or lighters they may find. Instead, they should tell an adult immediately.

Fire Safety at Home

  • Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of the home, especially near sleeping areas.
  • Smoke alarms should be kept clean of dust by regularly vacuuming over and around them.
  • Replace batteries in smoke alarms at least once a year. And replace the entire unit after ten years of service, or as the manufacturer recommends.
  • Families should plan and practice two escape routes from each room of their home.

Register to Receive Updates for School Closures and Delays

SnowDayIt is important to know when schools close or have delayed openings because of weather or other emergencies. You may sign up to receive alerts via email, texts and other messages. To register, please check the link below for Fairfax County Public Schools. If your children go to a private school, check with your host family to find out if they follow the county closings or not.

Fairfax County Public Schools

It’s Cold Outside

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Here are some ideas to keep you busy during the Winter months:

A is for Art – try drawing, painting or gluing
B is for Baking – bake a dessert together for dinner
C is for Clay – Use non-hardening clay or play dough to shape and mold
D is for Dance – put on a lively tape
E is for Exercise – be sure to get some everyday
F is for Friends – invite some over
G is for Greenhouse – find a local greenhouse to visit to enjoy the sights and smells
H is for House – make a playhouse from a large appliance box
I is for Ice skating – take the children to a local rink
J is for Jigsaw puzzle – be sure to pick one that isn’t too difficult
K is for Kitchen science – try a safe experiment
L is for Library – borrow some new books
M is for Movie – make one with a video camera, or watch one
N is for Necklace – make one out of cereal or macaroni
O is for Origami – learn to make simple paper creations
P is for Puppets – socks make easy and fun puppets – put on a show!
Q is for Quiet Time – everyone needs some of this
R is for Reading aloud – choose a good book and a comfortable place to sit
S is for Seeds and Suet – put out food for the birds and watch them eat
T is for Tent – make one from old blankets and chairs
U is for Unplugged – do a day with no TV
V is for Variety – try something new everyday
W is for Walk – take one in any weather (be sure to dress appropriately)
X is for Xylophone – make your own with glasses, water and a metal spoon
Y is for Year – make a calendar or scrapbook to remember the year
Z is for Zoo – visit the animals

Avoiding Homesickness this Holiday Season

Homesickness can be a problem during the holidays, even if it hasn’t been at any other time of the year. Au pairs often miss their friends and family, familiar places and their own traditions and customs. The holiday activities in the United States seem, and may actually be, different just at a time when an au pair would welcome something familiar.

It is common for au pairs’ emotions to be close to the surface during the holidays. Her highs are higher, her lows are lower. The enormity of what she has done–actually living in another country (which is an amazing thing when you think about it!)–hits her and throws her into a self-protective mode.

Host parents can help her through this unfamiliar territory by talking to her about what your specific family activities will be (gifts, meals, visitors, religious services, in-home traditions, or none of these, as the case may be.) In the spirit of cultural exchange, ask her if she has any favorite holiday traditions or foods that you might be able to incorporate into your family’s celebration of the season. Let her know what you will be doing, when you will be doing it, and what she can expect. Talk to her about what has to be accomplished and get her involved and interested. Don’t expect her to just “know” what needs to be done. Give her some clear, agreed upon assignments. Make her feel a part of things. And, let her know her contribution is needed and appreciated.

By Christine Connolly – Counselor in MD.

Tips for Preparing for the Holidays

  1. School breaks during holidays; ask your host family how your schedule will change during the break to make sure you and they are ready.
  2. Talk to your host family about how they celebrate the holidays.
  3. Share some holiday traditions from your country with your host family.
  4. Ask your host family which activities they really want you to join in; dinner with relatives, holiday gatherings, baking, decorating, and religious services.
  5. Discuss your plans for the holidays; parties or events you wish time off for well in advance, so your host family can plan.
  6. Be careful, accidents happen when children are very excited.  Know when to calm them down, so you can avoid accidents before they happen.
  7. Try to keep the kids on as much of a regular schedule as possible.  Kids will get over tired and cranky if there are too many activities in one day or several days in a row.  Try to help limit the activities to a few a day or week.
  8. Give kids downtime with quiet activities, like reading a holiday story or watching a holiday DVD.
  9. Make sure you and the kids get plenty of sleep.
  10. Remember to prepare some gifts for your host family, especially for the kids.  I recommend books, crafts, or games.  You can read the books, do the crafts, play the games with them.
  11. Take some time for yourself; to shop, to spend with friends, to call home.  Remember it is a stressful time, even if it is fun and exciting.  You are far from home and you may feel a bit homesick.
  12.  Don’t make promises to the kids that you can’t keep.  Don’t promise to go to an event and then cancel because you would rather be out with your friends.
  13. Go to your host children’s school holiday activities, the class party, the winter concert, etc.
  14. Offer to talk to their class about how you celebrate holidays in your country.  Do a craft with the class.  Earn a Global Awareness letter or certificate.  Ask me for help.
  15. Participate in family holiday traditions whenever possible.  Be available to help the parents watch the kids while they decorate the house, prepare holiday foods, or attend holiday parties.
  16. Come to our cluster Holiday Party!

Au Pair Bucket List

1. Travel to NYC

2. Attend an outdoor concert

3. Travel to California

4. Carve a pumpkin

5. Travel to Niagara Falls

6. Attend a baseball game

7.  Eat a banana split

8. Travel to Philadelphia

9.  Go camping

10. Travel to Boston

11. Go on a cruise

12. Go to Disneyland or Disney World

13. Travel to Chicago

14. Attend a football game

15. Attend a live concert

16. Travel to New Orleans

17. Get an American driver’s license

18. Attend an American college

19. Make American friends

20. Shop at Target

21. Go to an American mall

22. Try American BBQ

23. Eat crabs!

24. Halloween

25. Thanksgiving

26. Christmas

27. Try classic American foods

28.  Visit a county or state Fair

29.  Try a root beer float

30. Try pumpkin pie

31. See historical places

32. Visit all the museums and monuments in Washington DC

33. Shop on Black Friday

34. Eat peanut butter

35. See the Atlantic Ocean

36. Watch the fireworks on the 4th of July

37. Travel to Hawaii

38. Go thru a corn maze

39. Travel to Florida

40. Try American pizza

41. Travel to the Grand Canyon

42. See the Fall leaves

43. See the Pacific Ocean

44. Attend a Broadway (or off Broadway) show

45. Learn about colonial history/visit site

46. Learn about the civil war/visit sites

47. Tour great museums and galleries

48. Attend school at a local college

49. Go to a diner or a drive in diner

50. Explore your local community

51. Take a train ride

52. Get to know your host family