Monthly Archives: February 2016

President’s Day

Presidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. This year, Presidents’ Day is on Monday, February 15th. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birthday” by the federal government. Traditionally celebrated on February 22 ~ Washington’s actual day of birth ~ the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for American workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.

To see a listing of all U.S. presidents click here. Click on each president to find out who they were and what they achieved during their presidency.  Most American school children have to learn their presidents, this is a great site to go through with them and test their knowledge.

Au Pair Webinars for February 2016

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Are you interested in joining an au pair webinar this month? All au pairs with Au Pair in America are able to register for any or all of these webinars, free of charge! (Please note, these webinars are not for au pairs with other agencies or for host families)

Tuesday, Feb. 2 9:30 P.M. EDT  100 Activities You Can do with School Age Children
Tuesday, Feb. 9 9:30 P.M. EDT   Homesickness and Culture Shock: Making it Through
Monday, Feb. 15 9:30 P.M. EDT  Managing Play with More Than One Child
Thursday, Feb. 18 9:30 P.M. EDT  American Kids at Play: Why It Is Important and What You Can Do
Tuesday, Feb. 23 9:30 P.M. EDT  Travel Tips for Au Pairs
Monday, Feb. 29 9:30 P.M. EDT Visitors from Home? Making it Work for You, Your Host Family and Your Guests

Valentines Day in the USA

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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

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