Tag Archives: Au Pair in America

It’s Labor Day!

The first Monday of September is known as Labor Day in The United States of America.

It is a holiday very similar to May Day, as it honors the achievements of workers. But unlike May Day, which is a tribute to working class only, Labor Day is a tribute to the entire workforce.

Labor Day originated in Toronto in April 1872 with the first workingmen’s demonstration organized by the Toronto Trades Assembly. Ten years later, in July, a parade took place in Toronto and Peter J. McGuire of New York was invited to hold a speech. Upon his return to NY he proposed an official celebration to honor workers, and in September 1882 Central Labor Union held its first Labor Day celebration in New York City.

In 1884 first Monday of September officially became Labor Day and over the years it has been celebrated with parades, fireworks and festivals; slowly losing its political connotations and becoming an unofficial end of summer holiday.

It’s Baby Safety Month

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There are safety tips throughout this site to keep the children safe. Here are some more tips for baby in honor of Baby Safety Month:

  • Check condition and sturdiness of toys. Discard any that have sharp edges or are broken or falling apart.
  • Check children’s clothing for loose buttons and remove strings.
  • Is baby’s pacifier still in good condition? Be sure it isn’t coming apart. Never use strings to attach the pacifier to baby’s clothes or crib.
  • Where do you set baby’s carrier when she’s in it? Not on the counter please, or any high surface. Babies can wiggle and tip themselves over.
  • Are you using an old walker? It’s time to throw it out. Walkers can be dangerous (especially old ones that don’t meet today’s safety standards).
  • Stroller check. If your stroller is collapsible, be sure latches are secure before putting baby in. Always check that your child’s arms are out of the way when reversing handle directions so they won’t get pinched. Be sure to use that safety strap. Don’t hang overloaded or heavy bags on the handle of the stroller; this may cause it to tip over.
  • Can you name the 12 most common choking foods for kids under five? Popcorn, hot dogs, chunks of meat, raisins, ice cubes, chunky peanut butter, peanuts (nuts of any kind), hard candy, grapes, raw carrots, potato chips and corn chips.
  • Don’t leave toddlers alone while eating; if they begin to choke you need to be nearby to assist.
  • Get a piggy bank: this is a great place to put coins so they don’t end up on the floor, in the couch cushions and then baby’s mouth.
  • Never leave your child unattended in the bathtub. If the phone rings, let the machine get it, or bring a cordless phone into the bathroom with you. Wait until baby can sit alone to give baths in the tub. It’s easier in the sink until then.

Enroll in an infant/child CPR and first aid class. This will be a valuable investment of your time, and Au Pair in America will pay for it if you have at least 3 months remaining on your visa.

It’s Potato Day

In the US we most often eat potatoes baked or fried. However, almost every culture has its own way of preparing potatoes – introduce your family to potatoes as you know them.

Potatoes are also useful for many craft projects. Cut one in half and carve a simple design into the cut end, then dip it in paint and use it for printing.

Cut an end off a sweet potato and let it sit in shallow water for several days. It will start to grow into a beautiful vine.

Why should I audit?

When it comes to the Education requirement, au pairs can be confused by the phrase “not less than six semester hours of academic credit OR its equivalent.” What that means is that au pairs do not NEED to take credit classes. In fact, some colleges or universities will not allow J-1 visa holders to register for credit classes, as they “save” these for degree seeking students.

BUT au pairs can easily take non-credit or Continuing Studies classes. And some colleges and universities may allow them to “Audit” a credit class. This means that the au pair can sit in the class and do the assignments and take the tests but she will not get a grade for any work done, only a  ”pass or fail”. The cost may or may not be less to audit a class. Each individual school will have its own policy. Au Pairs should consult with their Community Counselor to see which schools offer this option.

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Fredericksburg is fortunate to have the University of Mary Washington which is an excellent school that has a special program for au pairs to audit classes. Check out the link below for more information:

http://academics.umw.edu/registrar/registration-instructions-for-nondegree-students-and-auditors/

It’s National Watermelon Day!

A Summer Craft Recipe: Watermelon Magnets!

Use these on the refrigerator or give them as gifts. Suitable for ages three and older.

  • In a bowl mix 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup salt. Add 1/2 Tablespoon of olive oil, 1/8 cup warm water and 1/4 teaspoon red food coloring. Blend well and knead 20 times. If the dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour.
  • In another bowl mix 1/3 cup flour and 2 1/2 tablespoons salt. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil, 3 teaspoons warm water and a few drops of green food coloring. Blend well and knead 20 times, adding more flour if necessary.
  • Mold the red dough into flat circles and roll the green dough into a long snake shape and wrap it around the edges of the red circles. Press the two colors together so that they stick to each other.
  • Cut each circle in half and press 5 or 6 real watermelon seeds into the red part of the dough.
  • Bake the finished watermelon slices at 200 degrees for 2 hours. Turn them over and bake for 1-2 hours more until completely dry.
  • Glue a small magnet to the back of each.

Have a toasted marshmallow today!

Toasting marshmallows at the end of a long green stick over a campfire is a summertime treat. This may not be possible at home, but you can still make S’mores, a messy, gooey, sweet summertime delight.

  • 2 graham cracker squares
  • 1 large marshmallow
  • Handful of chocolate chips, or half a chocolate bar
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • tin foil

Place the marshmallow and chocolate between the two graham crackers (like a sandwich) and wrap in tin foil. Place in a toaster oven or under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, and voila gooey treat!

It’s Harry Potters Birthday! Have a party!

504x504 Harry Potter Scar Clipart Free Clipart Images

Before embarking on a Harry Potter birthday party, start the magic by asking guests to come dressed as a character from the books. Some essential characters include: Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley (and the rest of his family), Neville Longbottom, Draco Malfoy, and of course, Harry Potter. Have older family members dress as professors from Hogwarts, such as Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, or even Hagrid. To start off the Harry Potter birthday party, have guests choose scenes to act out from one of the books for a fun activity that will put everyone in an enchanted state.

Harry Potter Birthday Party Tips:

  • Decorations
    Set the scene with candles, broomsticks, toy snakes, fake owls, and bats. For a magical touch, paint ping-pong balls gold, representing the Golden Snitch from the game of Quidditch. Hang them around the room with clear thread or fishing line. Display banners shaped like pennants with the house names printed on them. The house names and colors are: Hufflepuff (yellow and black), Ravenclaw (blue and bronze), Slytherin (green and silver), and Gryffindor (scarlet and gold).
  • Food and Drink
    Set up an area as the Leaky Cauldron. For Butterbeer, make root beer and ginger ale floats, pouring the soda over a scoop of ice cream in a clear cup or mug. Label food with magical names — cupcakes become “cauldron cakes” and malt balls are “chocolate frogs.” And naturally, you’ll need some jellybeans to stand in for Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. You can also put some jellybeans in a separate jar and have guests guess how many are inside.
  • Make Your Own Wand
    Have a crafts table stocked with straws and chopsticks for children to decorate and conjure up some fun. Creatively label yarn, feathers, and sequins with names like “Unicorn Hair,” “Phoenix Feathers,” and “Dragon Scales.” You’ll also need safety scissors, cardboard stars, colored markers, and glue.You can also have Harry Potter birthday party guests make their own wizard hats by making cones out of cardboard and decorating them with the same materials as the wands.
  • Magical Treasure Hunt
    Before guests arrive to the Harry Potter birthday party, hide golden eggs, a Sorcerer’s stone, plastic rings, Wizard’s gold, and other surprises around your house and/or yard. To make it challenging, hide riddles in easy-to-see places that give clues to where certain items are hidden. You or another family member can also act as a “gate keeper” for one-of-a-kind items like the Sorcerer’s Stone or a Goblet of Fire, requiring those who seek the prize to answer a riddle, give a certain amount of Wizard’s gold, or answer a trivia question. If you choose to challenge with Harry Potter trivia, make sure to have the books handy so kids can search for answers at the Harry Potter birthday party.

Are we there yet?

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Ideas for making those car trips memorable in the very best way:

1. WINDOW AS CANVAS If you don’t mind wiping the windows, let the kids use dry-erase markers to color pictures. Kids love to play tic-tac-toe. A baby wipe clears it up fast — makes the kids great travelers.

2. FOR VERY YOUNG ONES Pick up two clipboards at the dollar store to draw on. Tear pages out of coloring books and bring plain white paper. Let them use crayons – not as messy as markers. Also bring along some favorite lost and forgotten figurines from the bottom of the toy box. It was fun and quiet.

3. TAPES & ZIPLOCS Bring for each child lap desks for coloring, and individual snacks packed in their own Ziploc snack bags, and lots of sing-along tapes.

4. WIRED FOR PLAY Borrow a small tv/vcr and hook it up in the car so the kids can watch movies.With Red box or Blockbuster you can borrow them here and return along the way at other locations. Let them bring headphones and tapes or CDs they like. Get a couple of books on tape for the youngest kids that they really liked to listen to. The oldest can bring cards to play (like Uno, Go FIsh, a regular deck). Also pack a Frisbee, ball and gloves, and some bubbles in an easy-to-get-to place, so when stopping at a rest area you can all get a little exercise.

5. BOOKS & ACTIVITY BAGS Make a trip to the library and let each child pick out a couple of books for the ride. Pack an activity bag that straps onto the seat in front of the kids that are stocked with papers for drawing, activity books, and colored pencils (crayons melt in hot cars). Also bring a family activity bag with small magnetic games like checkers, Chinese checkers, etc.

6. MODEL MAGIC Take a couple of packages of multi-colored pipe cleaners and several packages of Crayola Model Magic which sticks to itself but not to the interior of the car or the kids’ clothes, it doesn’t blend unless the kids make it blend. Any little crumbles can just be brushed out or vacuumed away.

7. NIGHTTIME TRAVEL Even if it is a baby toy, kids have fun with ANYTHING that lights up. The dollar store has neon glow bracelets and sticks (the kind you’d purchase at an amusement park or nighttime parade) that kids can connect and make bracelets or necklaces out of. Glow-in-the-dark star stickers are fun to get out too. Have them use their mini-flashlights on them to get them to shine. They can stick them above their seat in the car (if they are big enough), or you can have them do it before it gets dark when stopping for gasoline or something quick.

8. TRAVEL JOURNALS Create travel journals in a 3-prong folder. Print off info — state bird, state flag, state capital — on the states you will be vacationing in (and also driving through) from state Web sites. Print out coloring pages from free Web sites on subjects having to do with those states (a moose for Maine, seashells for the beach). And to stop the dreaded “Are we there yet?”print out a map of our route and highlight the roads, marking off the parts as we complete them.Take all of the printables, add a few sheets of lined paper, and start each new section of the journal with “Our Trip to … Summer 2012.” Then the kids add what time we left, where we stopped, what we saw on the way, etc. They now have a collection of memories in one folder of all our trips.

9. TRAVEL BINGO Purchase auto bingo boards for sale, or just make them yourself and get the kids to help out.

10. SMALL SURPRISES Prepare small gifts along the way to keep the children occupied. Wrap them and tell the kids they will receive a gift if they are well behaved until the next stop.

11. CAR LICENSE GAME Play the car license game with them. Older kids can identify the states, and younger ones can look for the different colors, letters or numbers.

12. MAD LIBS Buy some Mad Libs. The kids will take turns filling in the answers and will love reading the funny stories