Yearly Archives: 2018

Merry Christmas!

Every family and culture has their own Christmas traditions. Try some of these ideas with the children:

Art Activities

  • On a BIG piece of paper draw a fireplace and a mantle. Make a paper stocking (two halves stapled together) decorate with glue and glitter, write the children’s names on them and “hang” them on your fireplace mural. Use catalogs to cut out toys to put in the stockings.
  • Cut out a tree from green construction paper. Decorate your tree with colored ornaments, glue and glitter. Pieces of ribbon or wrapping paper.

Books to Read

  • Cranberry Christmas by Wende and Harry Devlin
  • It’s Really Christmas by Lillian Hoban
  • The Christmas Doll by Wendy Parker
  • ABC Christmas by Ida DeLage
  • Santa Claus Forever by Carolyn Haywood
  • A Forest Christmas by Mayling Mack Holm
  • The Christmas Party by Adrienne Adams

A Fingerplay for Fun

Five Little Bells

    • Five little bells hanging in a row
    • (Hold up 5 fingers)
    • The first one said, “Ring me slow.”
    • (Move thumb slowly)
    • The second one said, “Ring me fast.”
    • (Wiggle index finger)
    • The third one said, “Ring me last.”
    • (Move middle finger)
    • The fourth one said, “I’m like a chime.”
    • (Move ring finger.)
    • And the fifth one said, “Ring us all. It’s Christmastime!”
    (Wiggle all 5 fingers)

 

Meet an au pair!

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, tree, outdoor, water and closeup

This is what Paola wrote on her flight home after a year as an au pair:

“A year ago when I arrived in the USA, everything was so strange, so different, I never thought I would get used to it that fast, I never thought time was going to go by that fast.

So many things were in my head, so many plans and things to do in one year, which I thought was not enough, now I know that it was more than enough.

I had time to get to know my host family and think of them as my own family. Time to meet people, friends that are now like my family, friends that I know I’ll see again and that I’ll never forget. Vacation time, Orlando with my real family, the best trip with them. The cruise with my new sister, the best trip I’ve ever been on. Time to party like I’ve never partied before. Time to study, to shop, to make small trips.

Being in another country makes you learn about other cultures and traditions, but this program made me meet so many people from so many different countries and let me learn a bit about their culture and traditions.

During this year I changed a lot. I improved my English, I grew up as a person, now I think before I talk or act, I’m more responsible, I help others more than I used to, I appreciate everything I have, I love my family even more because you never know when you’re going to lose them. I smile a lot, and I think the most important thing is that I live my life as much as I can.

My year is over and even though I knew this was coming I can’t believe that day is here…

Just like when I came here, I have a lot of things going round in my head, will I see all the people I met here again and will my host kids remember me in years to come?

I have made some plans for my future, but this time I’m not going to worry so much about that, I’m just going to let destiny work – I’m going to work really hard to get what I want and to achieve all my goals.

A year with no regrets, a year I’ll never forget…

Paola, Au Pair in Altanta, Georgia.”

Smithsonian Folklife Festival

The Folklife Festival will take place June 27-July 1 and July 4-8. 

The annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage. Attracting more than one million visitors yearly, the two-week long 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 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with special events taking place most evenings beginning at 6:30 p.m. View the schedule here.

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

10 Tips for Summer Safety

  1. Remember to bring along drinks, especially water. Try to get children to drink water every 20 minutes, when they are outside in hot weather.
  2. Pay attention to surfaces that can be hot against children’s skin, such as metal slides and other playground equipment in the sun.
  3. Safety around water is particularly important. A child can drown in just a few inches of water. Whenever you are near water you must never leave a child alone – if the phone rings, take them with you or let it ring! Always stay within arm’s reach when the children are in or near water.
  4. Young babies should be kept out of direct sunlight. Keep the baby in the shade or under a tree, umbrella or stroller canopy.
  5. Dress babies in lightweight clothing and use brimmed hats.
  6. Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before going outside, even if it appears overcast (cloudy).
  7. Try to keep children out of the sun in the middle of the day when the sun is strongest.
  8. Learn what poison ivy looks like and keep children out of it. A good rule to teach the children is “leaves of three, let it be.”
  9. Use insect repellent spray to keep away mosquitos and ticks. Ask your host parents before applying.
  10. Check for ticks when you bring children in from playing outside, especially if you’ve been in tall grass or the woods.

Photo: Scott97006 (Flickr)

SaveSave

Staying unplugged –

Phones, tablets, and laptops are wonderful tools to stay connected and informed, but we need to be careful not to let them become distractions from real life interactions and most importantly our responsibilities.

Au Pairs – Imagine for a moment that you went to the hospital and you were in the care of doctors and nurses.  How would you feel if those doctors and nurses who were there to care for you were more interested in texting or using their personal computer than caring for you?  How would that make you feel, about yourself and about them?  Would you think that you were getting the treatment you deserved?  Would you feel like paying the bill after your stay?

Life as an au pair, it is a fine balance between employee and family member. You live with your host family and participate with them as a member of the family, but you also have clear responsibilities as a childcare provider. Being a childcare provider is truly one of the most important jobs I can think of, because you are helping to shape our next generation.  What message are you sending them when you would rather interact with a computer than with them? How will they feel about themselves and about you? Children feel as though everything is about them. They will see this as a rejection of them and they will be more likely to act out.

It also poses a safety concern when you are not paying enough attention to the children in your care.  Accidents happen, but when an adult care giver is close by and appropriately supervising the chances of a major injury dramatically reduce.

During work hours, the following would not be considered acceptable:
-Texting
-Talking to friends on the phone
-Chatting with friends online
-Using Skype or FaceTime
-IMing
-Emailing
-Updating your status on Facebook
-Using Snapchat, WhatsApp or any other app or social media site
-Watching videos on YouTube
-Tweeting on Twitter
-Uploading photos on Instagram
-Anything else on the computer unless it is going to Nickjr.com together with your host children

Think about this — even if you work 45 hours a week, that leaves you 123 hours per week for all of that other stuff, or about 70 hours (if you are getting the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep per night.)

Host Parents – You need to be clear about what you consider acceptable during work hours to avoid misunderstandings.  Also, please understand that you are dealing with a new generation of people who are very accustomed to being plugged in at all times.  Their intention is not to be rude, they don’t necessarily realize how their actions will be perceived.  Please use this information as an opportunity to begin a dialogue on the issue.

National Cherry Blossom Festival 2018

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual event which celebrates springtime in Washington, DC as well as the 1912 gift of the cherry blossom trees and the enduring friendship between the people of the United States and Japan. This year’s festival will be MARCH 17-APRIL 15!

The predicted peak blooming period of the cherry blossoms for this year is APRIL 8-12.

Here are some of the highlights:

Smithsonian Kite Festival – Saturday, March 31, 2018
Washington Monument Grounds
10 am-4:30 pm

Petalpalooza Fireworks Festival – Saturday, April 7, 2018
Waterfront Park – 600-900 Water Street, SW
1-9:30 pm
Fireworks at 8:30-9:30 pm

Cherry Blossom Parade – Saturday, April 14, 2018
Constitution Avenue from 7th to 17th Streets, NW
10 am- 12 pm

There are many more great events, visit the festival website for more information.

Helpful links:
Cherry Blossom Festival Website
National Park Service Bloom Watch
Metro Website (use the trip planner feature on this website to find the metro options, taking metro is much better than driving for the festival events)

Photo & Video: National Cherry Blossom Festival 

Daylight Saving Time Begins March 11

What is Daylight Saving Time?

During Daylight Saving Time, clocks are turned forward one hour, effectively moving an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. Today, approximately 70 countries worldwide utilize Daylight Saving Time, in at least some portion of the country. The U.S. started observing it in 1918, so it celebrates it’s 100th birthday, this year.

In March, we move the clock forward one hour, losing an hour of sleep. In November, we move the clock back one hour, regaining that extra hour of sleep.

An easy way to remember it is: Spring forward, Fall back.

Before you go to bed on March 10, be sure to set the clocks forward one hour!

Photo: Mark Lee

A Valentine’s Day activity for your family

File:Antique Valentine 1909 01.jpg

Have fun with these idioms. Which ones exist or don’t exist in your language?

List of “heart” idioms with definitions

to have a heart of gold – to care about other people
to have a big heart – to be giving, caring
to be cold-hearted -lacking in sympathy
to wear your heart on your sleeve- to let everyone know how you feel about someone
to cross your heart and hope to die -to promise
to cry your heart out – to cry a lot and feel really badly about something
to eat your heart out – to be jealous of someone
from the bottom of your heart – to really mean something
to have a change of heart -to change your mind
to have a heart – to be compassionate, to care about other people
to have your heart in your mouth- to be scared or nervous
to have your heart set on something – to really want something
to set your heart at rest – stop worrying about something
to be soft hearted – to be sympathetic
to take something to heart- to have your feelings hurt by something someone else says or does