Spring is finally here! The sun is coming out, flowers are blooming, and birds are singing
Check out Au Pair In America’s Spring Has Sprung Pinboard on Pinterest for fun activities to share with your family!
Photo: Anatakti (Flickr)
Spring is finally here! The sun is coming out, flowers are blooming, and birds are singing
Check out Au Pair In America’s Spring Has Sprung Pinboard on Pinterest for fun activities to share with your family!
Photo: Anatakti (Flickr)
Thousands of young women arrive in the U.S. every year to participate in the Au Pair in America program. For many of these women, there are many “firsts” that they experience while they’re in the United States.
We asked our au pairs to submit videos of memorable “firsts,” and we’ve had so many wonderful submissions. Special thank you gifts will be sent out to all who participated! Many thanks to our wonderful APIA au pairs!
From http://www.aupairconfessions.net/agency-reviews/:
Here are the results of our agency survey in March 2014:
1,020 Au Pairs participated and ranked their agencies in four categories from 1 (worst) to 5 (best). The results below present the average ranking in each section.
The majority of Au Pairs, 39 percent, was with Cultural Care, followed by Au Pair in America (APIA) with 29 percent and Au Pair Care with 28 percent.
Only one percent each of the participating Au Pairs were with Interexchange or Expert Au Pair. Two percent were with Euraupair. Please take the low percentage of rankings for these agencies into account, which influences the accuracy of ratings!
APIA is the winner of our survey with the best ratings in every category. Most Au Pairs were very satisfied with their local coordinators and the information provided by the agency about the program. The majority of Au Pairs with APIA gave an overall rating of four to five.
“As soon as I signed up I got a good support from the agency and i got a lot of good and helpful information during the match period. My community counselor is great, she gives me good advises and supports us all in hard times. Without her I couldn’t have made it! ”
“I had a problem and they were very good to me.”
“They were really super professional and helpful. They make sure all references are checked and all childcare hours are actually real. The price was about the same as Au Pair Care, but APIA seems to have a worse insurance so you’d have to buy the extra one to get the same coverage. APIA also only pays the flight back home from NYC so you will have to pay for your ticket to get there. APIA is the only one of the three big agencies that keeps the pictures and videos and applications private.”
“I was never disappointed! Everything worked out for me! If I have to choose again I would always pick Au Pair in America.”
Cultural Care was the agency with the most diverse ratings. Even though the majority was satisfied with the program information the agency provided, most Au Pairs agreed that the program cost was too expensive compared to other agencies. The ratings for LCC and overall satisfaction didn’t draw a clear tendency; ratings from one to five were equally distributed.
“A lot of extra fees. Communication only worked well if it was in the agency’s favor. They also could have been more honest about the Au Pair workday, it’s a job not a dream come true like pretended before.”
“I had a great year with no problems. Therefore, there was little I had to do with my LCC. She was great all the times I saw her, but that was only 12 times in 1 year.”
“Cultural care is not flawless, but I guess, the best. But therefore the most expensive one.”
“I stayed 2 years with Cultural Care. My first year was great with a really supportive LCC. My extension year was super terrible! Really bad LCC with no support at all from the agency.”
“The matching process sucks and if they don’t feel like working, they just don’t do anything. That ruined the Au Pair experience for a lot of girls, because they had to go home earlier.”
Even though Au Pair Care’s local coordinators were rated the lowest of all other agencies, the overall rating for this agency turned out to be better than Cultural Care’s. Au Pairs rated the agency as informative and the cost as pricey but not too expensive.
“AuPairCare has been a good agency. A little costly at times when it cost around $300 for the extension application. However overall I would recommend the agency to others as the area directors are knowledgeable, and really do care. I have been an Au pair for almost 2 years now with 2 different families and it has been a wonderful and life changing experience.”
“The person that helped me in my home country was brilliant! My LCC here is absolutely useless and our monthly meetings are an hour drive away. And every month it’s the same thing: Coffee.”
“I was super happy and lucky.This agency was awesome and especially the LCC in my area.”
In one year, I only saw my LCC once. She never went back to my place to follow up. The health insurance is a joke and I’m glad I did not get seriously hurt there, otherwise I’d be either dead or sinking in hospitals bills. Even though they make us take many tests and get many medical documents, to check on our health, they feel like it’s not important to have the same documents from the hostfamilies.”
Accurate tendencies are not available due to the lack of ratings. The average numbers below are based on just a small amount of ratings!
“They are super fast in processing everything and if you write them an email they are responding always really quick! I couldn’t imagine a better agency for me. It’s all very personal and I actually feel like they care for their Au Pairs. They are also a lot cheaper than Cultural Care, which I was with first.”
“Expertaupair is a small agency compared to most others, but it’s not a bad thing. My LCC was carrying and actually tried to be helpful, but often didn’t know how. That’s how the whole agency is: Carrying, but sometimes a little unorganized. Big minus: If it’s not working out with your hostfamily, there are not many families for a rematch.”
Accurate tendencies are not available due to the lack of ratings. The average numbers below are based on just a small amount of ratings!
Accurate tendencies are not available due to the lack of ratings. The average numbers below are based on just a small amount of ratings!
Photo: EvelynGiggles (Flickr)
Au pairs representing over 35 different countries will provide: children’s activities, performances, visual displays, face painting and a cultural parade. This event is open to the public. Anyone interested in learning about other cultures and the Au Pair in America program are invited.
Check out this video from our last Regional Cultural Fair:
For more information, please contact Diane Wallace at dwaupair@gmail.com or Gwen Remy at gwen.aupair@gmail.com
Today, our cluster met in DC for a guided tour of the US Capitol. We all enjoyed the beautiful weather and had a great time!
Click here to schedule your own tour of the Capitol.
Super Bowl Sunday is an American tradition and a super doze of the American culture for any visitor to this country.
Every year there is a lot of hype leading up to the game and the day itself brings parties, barbecues, funny TV commercials and the half time show. The game is the most watched television program of the year. Although it is not a national American holiday there is a “holiday” type atmosphere across the country on Super Bowl Sunday. Families and friends gather together, consume a lot of food and enjoy watching the game on tv, in sports bars or other public venues. Most au pairs will be experiencing it for the first time this weekend. Here are some fun facts about this Super Bowl:
Chinese New Year begins January 31st. 2014 is the year of the Horse.
Check out the APIA Chinese New Year Pinboard on Pinterest for great activities and craft ideas related to the Chinese New Year.
Photo: Tony Hisgett (Flickr)
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
This weekend we all met for our Annual Au Pair Holiday Party. Every au pair was asked to bring a favorite holiday dish that is served in her country.
We all had a great time and got to try many different treats from all around the world.
Snowflakes –winter officially begins on the 21st but in some parts of the United States it has already snowed. Did you know that each snowflake is unique?
Make snowflakes with your host children:
Start with an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of paper. Fold one corner of the piece of paper down. Cut off the bottom portion to make a triangle.
Temporarily bring the two corners of the base of the triangle together to find the center point of the longest side. Make a small crease at the center point.
We’re now going to use the center point identified in Step 2 to divide the triangle into three equal parts. Fold the right corner in at a 60° angle. (Use a protractor to help you.) Then fold the left corner in back at a 60° angle.
Your paper should look like the illustration at right. Now fold the paper in half as shown.
Cut off the upper portion along the horizontal line.
This triangle will be 1/12th of your snowflake. Use a pencil to draw a design on the triangle. The unopened side will be the backbone of the snowflake. Do not draw any lines that cut through the triangle.
Use a pair of scissors to carefully cut away the unwanted area.
Carefully unfold your snowflake and flatten it out with your fingers. Voilà!
Now experiment with different designs and see what you come up with. One of the joys of cutting paper snowflakes is that you never know for sure what the snowflake will look like when you open it up!