Monthly Archives: April 2015

Meet an au pair

aupair_beach
An Update from a French Au Pair to her Interviewer…

Hi!

As you told me, the first weeks are very busy as an Au Pair in America, which is why I am only writing to you now!

Everything is great here. Orientation went very well but we couldn’t do the New York Tour because of a snowstorm!!

Everything is perfect with my host family – they are kind and the twin girls are great. I met other au pairs living in the area and among them, a French one – we have been out several times

I am very happy here, and I feel lucky to live in such a nice house in a beautiful suburb where all the houses are nice.

Next weekend we are going to California for one week – I can’t wait!

I will send you an email later to give you more good news.

Thank you very much for everything you did.

Alicia

Do you know Morse Code?

The inventor of the telegraph and Morse Code, Samuel Morse was born on this day in 1791. Morse Code is a system representing letters, numbers and punctuation marks by means of a code signal. It was the first electronic communication and International Morse Code, which uses only dots and dashes, is still used today. You can learn more about Morse Code and type text in to be translated to Morse Code for you to listen to by visiting www.scphillips.com/morse.

It’s National Pretzel Day!

Bake your own soft pretzels. Here is an easy and delicious recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1 package of yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 11/2 cups warm water
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • course salt to sprinkle on pretzels

Directions:

Stir yeast into water. Add the sugar and salt. Blend in flour with hands. Knead until smooth. Cut into pieces and roll into long, skinny twists. Put a little flour on the counter and give the child a piece of dough to create what he or she wants – balls, worms, letters, or pretzel shapes. Put onto a foil-lined, well-greased cookie sheet. Brush with the egg. Sprinkle with the salt. Bake immediately at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Photo from norcalcoupongal.blogspot.com

Let’s get moving!

Want to get your family moving? Tempt kids with irresistible active play. If you join in, your children are more likely to want to participate. Plus, you’ll reap fitness benefits from these easy activities too.

1. Hit the playground for instant active play.

Preschooler on playground climber
Most kids can’t help but move their muscles when faced with a tempting array of climbers, swings, and slides. Sandbox play counts too; all that digging and scooping is great for the arms. Mix things up more by:
  • Bringing some extra toys (balls, kites, jump ropes)
  • Meeting another family and playing together
  • Playing obstacle course—chart out a wacky route and see who can do it the fastest
  • Trying out a new playground to check out its offerings—anything different from your usual haunts?
2.   Teach classic backyard games.
Red Rover backyard game for active play
Recruit a few neighborhood kids to join in, or just play as a family. Remember Red Rover and Four Square? Inside, try get-moving games such as Twister and Hullabaloo.

3. Have some good clean fun.

Girl rides tricycle in leaf pile
Tackling housework together is more fun than doing it alone, takes less time, and gets everyone up and moving. Older kids can vacuum and mop; littler ones can dust and wipe. Everyone can help sort laundry or move it from one machine to another (extra points for hanging it outside on the line!). Outside, take on sweeping, raking, weeding, digging, or watering chores together.

4. Host a dance party.

Kids groove at an indoor dance party
This works indoors, outdoors, anywhere, anytime. All you need is some jammin’ music. If you start shaking your groove thing, your kids will clamor to join in. For extra incentive, bring out some dress-up items for props (filmy scarves, silly hats, or feather boas are perfect).

5. Walk!

Boy with backpack and parents hiking
Take a family stroll after dinner (try a walking game for more active play), walk to school and back, take your dog on a spin around the block, do errands on foot or park at the far end of the parking lot. Consider outfitting the whole family with inexpensive pedometers, then tracking your steps together. Set goals and reward yourselves with a family outing (bowling, batting cages, etc.).

Let’s visit the library!

If you have not visited the library with your children, this would be a great week to do it. Check out books to read with your children and find out when the library offers story hour or other special activities for children. Help older children to discover research opportunities to help them with their homework. The 2013 theme is COMMUNITIES MATTER at your library

Check out local library news at  http://www.librarypoint.org/

Let’s play scrabble!

Alfred Butts who was born on this day in 1899 invented Scrabble, the game that uses letter tiles to spell words. As soon as children learn to read and spell they can play an easy version of Scrabble. You may have a regular Scrabble set or even a Junior Scrabble game that you can play with the children. For very beginning readers you can create your own simple game by making letter tiles from index cards for each letter that is used in the words the child knows. Be sure to make extra vowels (a, e, i, o, u) as they appear most frequently. Uses these letter cards together you can help strengthen the children’s reading and spelling skills while having fun.

Fun with Chalk!

Take advantage of a mild day and head outside to draw on the sidewalk with chalk. Kids love to have their whole body outlined and then fill in the drawing with clothes and a face.

If it is a rainy day,  try white or colored chalk inside on construction paper or brown wrapping paper. The drawings can be made permanent, so they won’t rub off, by spraying with aerosol hair spray (best to spray outside, and certainly away from the children).

Explore the outdoors

bug on handPhoto by D Sharon Pruitt

It is great to see the world through the eyes of children.  There are simple things in day to day life that can be a thrill for young children.  Below are a few ideas to get you started thinking.  Try to take time for them to marvel at the world and see new things.

  • A car wash (the drive through kind or a bucket and a water hose in the driveway at home)
  • Parking on the street near a construction site to watch the big trucks
  • Feeding ducks bread at the park
  • Collecting leaves, pinecones and rocks
  • Driving across a bridge where they can see the water
  • Driving past a place where you can see animals
  • Any place that has something out of the ordinary, like a fountain or sculpture