Tag Archives: driving

Winter driving safety tips

Driving safely on icy roads

  1. Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.
  2. Brake gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake.
  3. Turn on your lights to increase your visibility to other motorists.
  4. Keep your lights and windshield clean.
  5. Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.
  6. Don’t use cruise control or overdrive on icy roads.
  7. Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.
  8. Don’t pass snow plows and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you’re likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.
  9. Don’t assume your vehicle can handle all conditions. Even four-wheel and front-wheel drive vehicles can encounter trouble on winter roads.

Tips if you want to extend into a second year

Au Pair in America

Reminders for au pairs who are extending for a 2nd year (6,9 or 12months).

MEDICAL INSURANCE:

Your medical policy expires for the first year and you start your new policy during the year you extend so that means:

For example:

-Your first year began february 2011 and your insurance policy is the 2011 policy.

-You extend in February 2012 so you are now on the 2012 policy. (be aware of the changes in the policy)

Your insurance card expires after one year so you should receive a printable card when you start your extension year. If you do not receive it call the agency for a new card.

If you purchased the upgrade insurance in your first year, you have to purchase it again in the second year.

If you purchased the sports insurance in your first year, it lasts only 12 months from the time you bought it. So depending on when you bought it, you will probably need to purchase it again.

EDUCATION

If you extend for 9 or 12 months you have to get 6 credits again or 72 hours of education to complete the program requirements.

If you extend for 6 months you only need 3 credits or 36 hours of education.

DRIVERS LICENSE

Check on the expiration of your driver’s license, you must renew it before it expires (DO NOT LET YOUR LICENSE EXPIRE). Most likely you will need to renew it before you start your extension year. Check with your new host family for laws in your new destination state.

VACATION

Vacation for a 6 month extension is 6 days.

Vacation for a 9 and 12 month is 2 weeks.

TRAVEL

Check on the expiration date of your visa. If it expires before your second year starts then you should not travel outside of the USA, Canada, and Mexico out of a risk of not being able to return. With the exception that if you return home during your first year after your approval for extension, you can get your visa renewed for another year. You must ask the agency (contact Evelyn Blum) for the paperwork required for this renewal.

RETURN HOME (only for au pairs who arrived before 2012)

If you extend for less than 12 months, you will be responsible for the flight surcharges to return home. If you extend for 12 months you do not pay for surcharges.

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

Tips for host families expecting their second au pair

You probably remember all this, but just in case…here are a few reminders to help you get started with your next au pair… Let me know if you need anything else.

You make flight arrangements for your AP from any one of the 3 big NY airports. Any flight that leaves at 6 p.m. or later on the day she is coming to you (usually Thursday). Send flight info to the orientation staff.  You may also email the info to your AP, but orientation gets what she needs to her.  Then they take them to the proper airport.

  • Did the office send you a fresh copy of “Guidelines…for a successful year”?  Please be sure you have one and review it before you AP comes. When your AP questions you, the answer will be in print to show her. Let me know if you don’t have one.
  • In making her room “hers”, some families have copied a photo from the au pair’s application and framed it and put it in her bedroom with some flowers or a small plant.
  • Mark her birthday on your calendar.  This is a big day for homesickness; make it good.
  • Ask her to mark her country’s special occasions (like our Thanksgiving and Fourth of July) on the calendar- then let her cook and teach you about it on that day. It will be emotionally helpful to her, and a great cultural learning experience for your family.
  • I suggest you send a welcome package to her at orientation. (Include a picture of your family so she will recognize you at the airport). If you need ideas, give me a call or shoot me an email.  Some people like calling Laura Blersch at Orientation and buying her the NYC Tour ($65) the au pairs can take on Wednesday night of their orientation.  Her direct line is 203-399-5042.  The address at their orientation is: Her Name, c/o APIA, c/o Sheraton Hotel, 700 E. Main St., Stamford, CT 06901. Put her NY arrival date on the bottom left corner of the envelope.
  • BE SURE SHE KNOWS YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER and that she knows that to use a pay phone, you must dial a “1” before the area code and number.  Sometimes flights are delayed or they have gotten lost at the airport (one rematch missed her flight) and they need to know how to contact you if you aren’t at home.
  • Don’t talk about work the first night- just about her and her family and you and your family and how was your flight and how was orientation and all that…
  • Let her sleep late the first day.
  • Remember she cannot be alone with your children for the first 3 days.
  • Inside your orientation folder, there is a Child Care Questionnaire.  Please go through this with your new au pair during the three day training period.  It will help her a lot and remind you of things she need to know.
  • Remember she doesn’t know America. She might not know how to use the shower or toilet or stove or the alarm clock or anything… make no assumptions.  In France, they keep the milk on the shelf. If your current au pair is still there, let her show her these things.  Dish detergent doesn’t go in the dishwasher.  Teach her to turn the water off if the toilet is leaking or overflowing. (and tell her how important it is to tell you if it is)
  • Remember she might be very homesick at first… or she might not be homesick for 3 months.
  • Take her for a drive the first weekend and show her around town.  Later, let her drive you somewhere and see how she does.  If she is drives well enough, let her start driving with you in the car or by herself (but not with kids yet) to the store or school or other places.  She needs to know her way around somewhat before she drives with your kids. (FYI- APs love GPSes for obvious reasons)
  • Make some rules.  Car rules. Your gas plan. House rules. Company rules. Family rules. Tell her these rules will be in effect for the first two months, and then the two or three of you will sit down and talk about them and adjust as needed (like 2 or 3 months) RULES ARE EASIER TO TAKE AWAY THAN TO ADD.
  • Remember you are responsible for allowing time and gas money to cluster meetings and school.
  • She has to have been in the US for two weeks before she can apply for a social security card (so that APIA will have let the Department of State know she’s here).  Whether or not your AP gets a license is up to you and/or your insurance company.
  • Speaking of SS, the US is now keeping a closer watch on having au pairs pay income tax (not SS). This is their responsibility, not yours
  • If you just really loved and are losing ‘the perfect au pair’, remember, this new au pair won’t be perfect- she’s new- it’s all strange- she has to learn it all.  The ‘old’ girl wasn’t perfect at first either. Give it a couple of months. (It’s hard to follow up a really great au pair).

Winter driving safety tips

Driving safely on icy roads

  1. Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.
  2. Brake gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake.
  3. Turn on your lights to increase your visibility to other motorists.
  4. Keep your lights and windshield clean.
  5. Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.
  6. Don’t use cruise control or overdrive on icy roads.
  7. Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.
  8. Don’t pass snow plows and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you’re likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.
  9. Don’t assume your vehicle can handle all conditions. Even four-wheel and front-wheel drive vehicles can encounter trouble on winter roads.

Money Questions

money-clipart

Miscellaneous Expenses

It’s important for the host family and the au pair to agree how to handle the little expenses that may come up.  Things like when an au pair takes the kids out for ice cream or picks up a gallon of milk.  Some families keep a cookie jar fund, a little cash that they set aside weekly or monthly for this kind of expenses.  Here are some suggestions for avoiding problems with that.

Host Families

  • It’s important to be clear about how long this money should last and what types of expenses are approved.
  • Let the au pair know whether or not you expect receipts.

Au Pairs

  • Only spend the money on approved expenses.
  • If it is something you are not sure about, ask first.
  • Put your receipts in the cookie jar in place of the money to avoid any confusion.

Gas and Fare Cards

Host families are responsible for the au pair’s transportation costs:

  • to and from classes and cluster meetings
  • driving the kids

It is a good idea to figure out how much gas an au pair will use for these trips and either put gas in the car or give a gas allowance.   If your au pair is riding to classes or cluster meetings with another au pair, you should offer to share the cost of gas.

Au pairs are responsible for their own transportation at all other times.  You should replace the amount of gas used for personal use.

How to get a Virginia drivers license

An au pair is legal to drive on an International Driver’s License for six months or an English translation of her National Driver’s License (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia) until she has all of the pieces that are required to get a VA license.

How to get a Driver’s License:

Effective immediately, to apply for a driver’s license (holders of German, French, South Korean or Canadian driver’s licenses) or a learner’s permit (all other countries) your au pair must bring:

  • Bank Statement
  • Envelope with the au pair’s name and host family address on it
  • Passport, DS-2019, I-94

At the DMV you will:

  • Take the computer/multiple choice test.
  • If you pass the written test – you will take the driving test.
  • If you pass the driving test you will get your VA Driver’s License!

Au pairs that are not yet 19 will not be licensed in the state of Virginia without extensive driver’s education.  Once, an au pair turns 19 – this is no longer required.

An au pair will receive a Virginia license that is valid only for the term of her visa.  For her to renew her license after her visa has expired she will have to prove that she is in the U.S. legally with new visa documentation.