It’s a new year and with that comes new au pairs. In fact, our area welcomes three new au pairs in the next three weeks. First to arrive from Sweden will be Johanna and we will announce the others upon their arrivals.

With the new year comes excitement for the coming 12 months, Our events are already in the planning stages and beyond. HFs and APs please take a moment to jot down these dates. As always, these are occasionally subject to change. Some of these events will be with other regions nearby; others will by city-wide; and one of them (Feb. 25) is also for families. In the summer we shall schedule a HF event just for our area.

Here are the AP meetings and other events in 2012:

Jan. 30 (Monday) Bowling, Deerbrook Lanes, Dfd., 7:30 pm

Feb. 25 (Sat) HF/AP event: Chicago Wolves, Allstate Arena

March 20 (Tues) Crafts and hot chocolate at home of your LCC, 7:30 pm

April 26 (Thurs) Cinco de Mayo celebration, Chipotles, Dfl., 7:30 pm

May 23 (Wed) AP meeting, site TBD

June 9 (Sat) Soccer Tournament, citywide (day)

July 25 (Wed) Miniature golf

Aug. 27 (Mon) Outdoor event, depending on weather

Sept, 8 (Sat) Scavenger Hunt (APs only), Day

Oct. 25 (Thur) Event TBA

Nov. 27 (Tues) ” ”

Dec. 17 (Mon) Holiday event

We look forward to seeing all our au pairs and families at the events. For details, contact Dottie.Fiedler@Lcc.CULTURALCARE.COM

Have a great New Year!

Best,

Dottie

It is truly sad to say good bye to au pair Daria but she is returning to Poland very shortly.  We do welcome her replacement Gwendoline (from Switzerland).  We also say hello belatedly to Daniella whose Host Family has moved from another location and they are now in our region.

Our next au pair meeting  is next Tuesday. Nov 15. Location is in au pairs’ emails! 

Contact  your LCC with any questions you may have. Know of any families needing an au pair in the Deerfield/Lincolnshire/Bannockburn area — or elswhere in the nation? Please let me know.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our au pairs and families and of course our fabulous staff at Cultural Care Au Pair  throughout the US and world!

Best,
Dottie

New families

Save $350 and find your au pair match!

We have hundreds of carefully screened, available au pairs ready to join your family this fall. New families who register from September 30, 2011 through October 4, 2011, using promo code that I provide, will receive a $350 program fee discount when welcoming an au pair by January 31, 2012.

Families with multiples: save $650

Military family discount: save $575

Make the Switch: save up to $1,000!

Repeat families

Repeat Family Rewards (for families who extend with their current au pair): save up to $2000!

Families who extend with their current au pair are entitled to a $75 application fee waiver, $275 selection fee waiver and up to $1,650 in program fee savings. Total savings is up to $2,000! In order to qualify for the reduced program fee with their current au pair, a family must have hosted that au pair for at least 30 program weeks.

Repeat Family Rewards (for families who welcome a new au pair): save up to $1,000!

All families

Pre-arranged match discount: save $300!

Families who find their own future au pair are entitled to a $300 program fee discount. The candidate must meet Cultural Care Au Pair’s screening requirements and must successfully complete the Screening & Orientation Day in the appropriate recruitment country. No promotion code necessary: savings will be applied upon approval of candidate.

Host Family Referral Program: save $250!

New Families: ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS contact me for the codes.

Dottie

    Head to the web page  below and check out the recipe. You can substitute non-dairy cheese and a soup  that is not milk-based if  needed.

Enjoy!!  http://www.mealsmatter.org/recipes-meals/recipe/94111?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MM-Kid-friendlyRecipes+%28MealsMatter.org+-+Kid+friendly+Recipes%29

If you are an au pair with school-aged children, you will probably find yourself helping with homework every now and then-or even on a regular basis-now that back-to-school season is approaching. There are lots of tips out there to help make getting homework done easier and even fun! Here are just a few from the U.S. Department of Education (2011):

1. Set a good example
Children need to know that the adults in the house think homework is important. If they see that you value education and homework, they are more likely to consider it a priority, too.

2. Set a regular time
Identify a specific time each day to sit down and get homework done. Usually, earlier is better as kids lose focus and energy in the evening.

3. Pick a place
Make sure your host kids have a quiet place to concentrate and spread out. Ask them to help organize and decorate their homework area if they wish.

4. Remove distractions
Turn off the tv and radio, put cell phones away and shut off the X-box. Giving children a quiet environment to work in is important.

5. Monitor assignments
Make sure you know what homework your host kids are responsible for turning in and when it’s due.

6. Provide guidance
Providing guidance means: 1. make sure your host children have all the information they need to get their homework done; 2. be there to explain instructions/words/formulas they don’t understand; 3. check their work once they are finished.

Do you have other suggestions for helping your host kids do their homework? If so, please post them below. Otherwise, happy homework-helping!

Late breaking news: Details for our city-wide Scavenger Hunt are below:

When: Saturday, Sept. 17. 11:00am-3:00pm, check in time, 11:00am, 11:30am start time!

Where: Chicago, meet at Millennium Park, at the “BEAN”

What: Join in the fun with other au pairs from Cultural Care and other agencies, invite your friends. See who can complete the scavenger hunt with the most correct answers!

What do au pairs need to plan for: Wear comfy shoes and clothes (your CCAP T-shirts). Please plan on bringing cell phones with cameras or a digital camera. Bring water and snacks, we will not provide lunch, so bring your own.This is a fun event in downtown Chicago; we welcome you to also invite friends from other agencies!

Cost per au pair: $1 donation per au pair for Kid’s First. CCAP will march our donations $ for $. Many LCCs and staff will also donate. The 1st and 2nd place winners will receive a ribbon.

Make sure this one’s on your calendar. We will have blue t shirts  ahead of the event for those of you who are new and have not gotten one yet.

              
     Presenting… UNDERSTANDING AMERICAN CULTURE courses at Harper College over two weekends!
This course introduces American concepts and cultural principles for foreigners in the United States. Students are taught American traditional mainstream values that have attracted people to the U.S. for more than 200 years. The course explains how American traditions and values developed and traces the various concepts of American life. Understanding American Culture is held over two weekends and will fill D.O.S. education requirements for au pairs. You may choose to take either weekend as an individual course for 40 hours, equivalent to 3 credit hours of education. If taking both weekends it will equal 80 hours, equivalent to 6 credit hours of education. Weekend courses are October 14-16  November 4-6 
    Payments are due at time of registration.
Class hours: Fridays : 1230p-830p, Saturdays: 830a-830p, Sundays 8a-6p
       Tuition $399, fees $59 = 3 credit hours
       Tuition $699, fees $59 = 6 credit hours
  Please call to register:  1-847-925-6300 or visit: harpercollege.edu/ce
  You must have your own transportation back and forth; there is no public transportation close by. No lodging is provided.  Thanks to Mary for providing the info!  –Dottie.Fiedler@Lcc.culturalcare.com

Our family/au  pair event this year will be a joint event with other families and au pairs from Glenview!  On Sat Ocober 15 at 1 pm we will meet at Lincoln Park Zoo  and spend time meeting with one of the key veterinarians at the zoo.  Here we will get an inside look at how animals are treated  behind-the-scenes for birthing, injury or illness.  Allow time to roam around the zoo, get acquainted with other families (and their au pairs, of course) and have some ice cream.  Bring the digital cameras!!

New families who apply this weekend can save $450 off the program fee. Spread the word, please!

Here are the details:

Friday, July 15, 2011 through Sunday, July 17, 2011, using promo code I will provide you to  receive a $450 program fee discount. To qualify for this savings, families must welcome an au pair by October 21, 2011.

Dottie

SUMMER FUN IDEAS!

Use this list to come up with ways to entertain the kids on  hot or rainy days at the home or away from home.  Check with HF for an OK.

Indoor Fun: arts, crafts, cooking, spending a rainy or too hot day inside!

• Put on a puppet show  or put together rubber band and box guitars and create a band.
• Use the video camera and record the children doing plays and shows for you.
• Write comic books.
• Make cards and letters for   relatives or parents.
• Learn magic tricks and do a magic show.
• Hold a carnival and make carnival games and then invite neighbors over for the carnival.
• Go “camping” inside.
• Build a tent and then go in the tent with flashlights and read books or tell stories.
• Scavenger hunt inside the house on hot days.
• For girls, have “beauty day” where they stay in jammies, have a tea party, then do makeup and manicures.
• Make necklaces out of different shaped noddles (can be colored too).
• Make homemade playdough with the kids. Search online for recipe.
• Play Brown Bag Bingo
  • The kids decorate and fill 2 or 3 bags and you fill the grand prize bag with something special from you and everyone plays many cards of bingo.
• Get a roll of unprinted paper and lay it on the floor; have each child lie on a sheet and then you, or another child, can trace them. 
  • Then have each child “dress” their paper selves, using crayons (or paint) and draw on their own faces. 
• Bake cupcakes, and have assorted frostings and toppings available and let the kids do the decorating. 
• Make picture frames.
• Make a bird feeder and watch the birds.
• Write and act a Play. The children can dress up and act out plays.
  • Write a simple play with your host children. Ask them to invite their friends to participate. Help them make their costumes, build a “stage” and make up invitations for the parents to come and see it. Perhaps you can include the grand parents, aunts, uncles. Plan some simple refreshments, you can have the children help with that as well.
• International Day! Pick a country you and your host children would like to learn about (yours maybe?).
  • Go to the library with them and find some books about that country. As soon as you and your host children have picked a country, learn as much as you can about it. Let’s say you pick Greece. Plan a Greek dinner and try to find appropriate music. Set the table together and then during dinner talk about all the things the children had learned about the country. If you have an artistic host child he or she could make placemats with a map of the country drawn on it. The possibilities and ideas are endless.
• Plan a surprise dinner with your host children for their parents.
  • Take them for a walk to pick some flowers and have them help set the table. You can go to the library or on the internet to find recipes the (older) children can help make.

Outdoor Fun: get them moving and out of the house! DON’T forget the sunscreen!!

• Have the children take  digital pictures of where they go and they could make a scrap book or collage.
• Make a race course on the street/driveway out of chalk and have the children ride their bikes on it.
• Make running obstacle courses and have running races.
• Wash their bikes.
• Head to the pool.
• Outdoor scavenger hunt.
• Sprinklers in backyard.
• Planting flowers (seeds), watering them, and watching them grow.
• Grow a friendship garden.
  • Ask your host family if you and your host children can have a small part of the garden to grow some “friendship” flowers. Then take your host children to a local shop, together select and purchase some flower seeds. Plant them in your special garden. Throughout the summer you can see the seeds you planted together turn into beautiful blossoming flowers.
• Have a picnic lunch.  At home have them cut out  cute shapes from white or wheat bread and have them help you put their favorite filling (peanut butter/jelly; tuna, etc) between two pieces of the bread!  Use dry ice in plastic to keep food cool.
• With swim suits on: “paint” each other with shaving cream and wash off in the sprinkler and/or jump in a lake.
• Drawing outside with chalk or water painting on the sidewalk/driveway.
  • Use gardening pads (for the knees) for sensitive knees.  Make sure to have the children wear older cloths, as the cement surface can be rough on clothes.
• Set up baby pool and play with sand toys in pool, sprinklers, bubbles.
  • Try making your own bubbles (1/2 cup of dishwashing liquid (Dawn or Joy), 2 cups of water, 2 teaspoons of sugar, plus food coloring for fun).  Bubbles can be put into a pan and larger wands (that you can make or buy) can be used to create big bubbles!
• Take a nature hike.
• Go on a ‘nature hunt’ in the yard.
  • Come up with a list of common outdoor things, such as an acorn, a twig, a dandelion, a clover, a red leaf, etc. if the kids can read, give them each their own list to gather up. They can check them off and put them in a bag as they find them. If they can’t read, read through the list one-by-one and let the little ones go looking. When everything is found, you can do a show-and-tell of all of the fun stuff!
• Old Barbies or dolls, maybe plastic cars or match-box cars for the boys can be used outside as well. 
  • Find out from your HF what can be used outside.  You can make pools for the Barbies to bath in with pans or tupperware.  The boys may find it fun to build a ramp for their cars to slide into water outside. 

Away from Home: Let them explore their community!

• Arrange play dates with neighbors.
• Find your local farm and enjoy meeting all the animals.
• Going to the zoo
  • When planning an outing to the zoo, have the children first search online for five different zoo animals and make a list.  
  • Then, go on a “safari” at the zoo and search for the listed animals.  
  • Once at home again, have the children draw pictures of the animals, cut them out and glue them to Popsicle sticks
  • Finally, have a puppet show with animals behind the couch.
• Go see a movie.
• Visit a local aquarium.
• Go bowling!
• Summer reading at the libraries are great outings.
• Arrange to visit a local fire station.
• Children’s theater shows.
• Visit a planetarium.
• Visit Children’s Museum.
• Visit Science Museum .
• Most local libraries have museum passes that you can check out. Check in there before taking host children to museums, aquarium, or zoo.

Website Links:

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/activities/

http://atozkidsstuff.com/