Category Archives: Uncategorized

Camp Au Pair – Under the Sea

Next week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Under the Sea.

Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to creatures who live under the sea can all be found here on the Camp Au Pair – Under the Sea pinboard.

Field Trips can be a great way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Get permission from your host parents before any outings. Check the websites before you go to be sure you understand the hours, costs, and whether advance tickets/reservations are required. Search online to see if your area has any of the following:

  • Pet or outdoor store (Bass Pro Shop) with fish tanks
  • Aquarium
  • Zoo
  • Nature Center

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – NOAA has a lot of fun, interactive and educational activities on their website. They focus on whales, sharks, sea turtles, sea lions and more.

  • Virtual Underwater Dive
  • Online Games
  • Puzzle, Activity & Coloring Sheets

Webcams – You can do a google search for aquariums and zoos across the country (and the world) with webcams that allow you to observe sea creatures. Here are a few to get you started.

Videos – Look for fun videos on YouTube about sea creatures. There’s more to see than Baby Shark. Movies like Finding Nemo, Dolphin Tale, and The Little Mermaid also go well with this theme.

Books – Stop by your local library and look for books on sea creatures. The Rainbow Fish is a classic children’s book, your kids may already own. If not, you can find videos like this of it being read aloud.

Movies – There are lots of movies with under the sea themes.

  • A Dolphin Tale 
  • Finding Dory
  • Finding Nemo
  • Little Mermaid
  • Moana
  • Moana 2
  • Shark Tale 
  • Song of the Sea

Television – There are some episodes of children’s television shows that talk about life under the sea.

The Magic School Bus is a television series that follows Ms. Frizzle and her class as they set off on field trips. Most episodes can be found on YouTube. Here are some episodes that fit this week’s theme.

Bill Nye the Science Guy has episodes on Fish, Marine Animals and more on YouTube.

The Discovery Channel has an annual Shark Week coming up on July 20. Check out 15 JAW-some Activities for Shark Week with lots of fun ideas for kids in grades 5 and up, but a few for younger kids too.

Photo: mimisdollhouse.com

Welcome to Camp Au Pair in America!

When kids are out of school for the summer, it doesn’t take long for them to become bored and sometimes that leads to sibling squabbles and mischief. Even though they don’t realize it, they are usually missing routine and predictability in their daily schedule. One solution is to make fun plans to keep them busy!

Each week this summer we will share a different Camp Au Pair theme. These weekly themes are designed to give you ideas to keep your host kids occupied and engaged all summer long. They will also be learning. (But shhhh, don’t tell them that part.) Check back each Friday, for the next week’s theme. This gives you a chance to make plans and gather materials for the next week. For each theme there will be crafts, games, snacks and activities. You can just use these ideas or add your own and customize the themes to fit the ages and interests of your host children.

Here are the themes you can look forward to:

  • Under the Sea
  • Outer Space
  • Nature Exploration
  • Dinosaurs
  • Cars and Trucks
  • Bugs & Butterflies
  • Science (STEM)
  • Backyard Safari
  • Art Experiences

Check out Summer Fun & Summer Holidays pin boards for even more ideas.

If you get some great pictures doing these activities with your host kids, please send those to your community counselor. We love to share your accomplishments and inspire other au pairs!

Let’s make this an amazing summer!

Welcome to Camp Au Pair in America!

When kids are out of school for the summer, it doesn’t take long for them to become bored and sometimes that leads to sibling squabbles and mischief. Even though they don’t realize it, they are usually missing routine and predictability in their daily schedule. One solution is to make fun plans to keep them busy! 

Each week this summer we will share a different Camp Au Pair theme. These weekly themes are designed to give you ideas to keep your host kids occupied and engaged all summer long. They will also be learning. (But shhhh, don’t tell them that part.) Check back each Friday, for the next week’s theme. This gives you a chance to make plans and gather materials for the next week. For each theme there will be crafts, games, snacks and activities. You can just use these ideas or add your own and customize the themes to fit the ages and interests of your host children.

Here are the themes you can look forward to:

  • Nature Exploration
  • Art Experiences
  • Under the Sea
  • Science (STEM)
  • Bugs & Butterflies
  • Cars and Trucks
  • Backyard Safari
  • Dinosaurs
  • Explore the World
  • Outer Space
  • Pirate Adventures
  • Princesses & Knights

Check out Summer Fun & Summer Holidays pin boards for even more ideas.

If you get some great pictures doing these activities with your host kids, please send those to your community counselor. We love to share your accomplishments and inspire other au pairs!

Let’s make this an amazing summer!

Upcoming September Cluster meetings

Here’s a correct update of the remaining get togethers scheduled for this month:

Tuesday, 19 September – Multi-Cluster Safety Meeting at Memorial United Methodist Church, 250 Bryant Avenue, White Plains. Starts promptly at 7:30pm. Join Detective John Hynes and learn about your rights as a guest in the U.S. AP Pair attendance is expected – this is a very important meeting.

Wednesday, 27 September – Evening Coffee at Panera Bread. One North Broadway, White Plains. 7:30 pm till closing.

If you are a new au pair or have never attended a Safety Meeting, you are expected to attend the September 19th meeting unless you have a class or need to work that evening.

 

Westchester Au Pairs Celebrate Ice Cream!

Our annual ice cream party is everyone’s “sweetest” get together. As we gathered on May 17th to  create sundaes from an amazing variety of flavors and toppings, the beautiful Spring evening allowed us to enjoy our treats and conversation on the patio. Judging by the great turnout and all the smiling faces, the evening was a great success.

Photo 01Photo 09 Last night, Brian Eggers from TrekAmerica spoke with our cluster about travel in the U.S.A. As part of this event, everyone present was asked to fill out a form to be included in a raffle to win a free trip.

Those who weren’t able to join us and those who did and would like another raffle option, check out the following:

Global Awareness is developing a new section on its site, Learning about the U.S. This will highlight different areas and cultures in our country. APs will be asked to write about their travels for the site.

For a fantastic kick-off, TrekAmerica has designed a scavenger hunt on their website and the winner will receive a free trip with Trek!!

Go to the global awareness site (www.globalawareness.com) to learn more about this opportunity and to participate in the scavenger hunt!

Westchester Au Pairs Enjoy a Gala Holiday Dessert Get Together

On December 17th four groups of Au Pair in America Au Pairs gathered to celebrate this holiday season. What could be sweeter than a party featuring desserts from around the world? Nothing, according to everyone attending the event. Both the Au Pairs and their counselors had a great time taste testing as many different desserts as they were able to. Here are some of the evening’s happy faces….

And here’s a link to the Holiday Dessert Party photo album:    http://s791.photobucket.com/user/MS-APIA/slideshow/2014%20-%20Holiday%20Dessert%20Party

 

Link

Westchester Au Pairs Celebrate an American Thanksgiving

On November 19th Au Pairs from five clusters got together to share an amazing dinner and dessert buffet dinner as a prelude to Thanksgiving they would later share with their host

The Dinner Buffet table

The Dessert Buffet

families and friends. Counselors provided four very large and perfectly roasted turkeys along with gravy, apple cider and other beverages. Au Pairs were asked to bring vegetables, salads, other side dishes and desserts and, once again, they outdid themselves with an unbelievable variety of dishes representing their country or favorite food.

To see the entire album of International Thanksgiving Dinner photos, go to http://s791.photobucket.com/user/MS-APIA/slideshow/November%202014%20-%20International%20Thanksgiving%20Dinner

APIA Photo Contest for Au Pairs

We know there are great photographers out there!  Do you have a favorite shot of the year?  Please enter the APIA photo contest.  The deadline is November 5th.  Winners of each category will receive a $200 gift card and $25 for the runners up ~ the categories are:

  • Family portrait
  • Sharing Cultures
  • Helping Hands
  • Young Ones
  • Community service
  • The spirit of America
  • Best in Show

Be creative, show us what you’ve got.  Get details and everything you need to enter here:

http://www.aupairinamerica.com/pdf/photo_contest_entry_form.pdf

The winner could end up on the cover our 2015 brochure!

Annual Au Pair in America NYC Scavenger Hunt

Group 4x6 - 100 dpi

New York State APIA au pairs about to start the 2014 Scavenger Hunt!

Check-in table t end of the hunt

Check in table loaded with Halloween goodie candy bags for the au pairs who completed the Scavenger Hunt

A wonderful day spent in NYC with hundreds of au pairs from Au Pair in America.  All of these au pairs live on Long Island, in NYC or Westchester.  14 Community Counselors from APIA organized the event and met the au pairs on the steps of the main NYC library.  They had a list of 26 items to find!  1st, 2nd and 3rd prize certificates and prizes awarded.  Also 4 raffle winners for wearing their APIA t-shirt.

1st Place - 4x6 - 100 dpi

1st place finishers with their counselors

2nd Place - 4x6 - 100 dpi

2nd place finishers with their counselor

3rd Place - 4x6 - 100 dpi

3rd place finishers

Raffle winners 4x6 - 100 dpi

Raffle winners

Counselors 4x6 - 100 dpi

APIA community counselors