Amy Bryan, Local Childcare Coordinator

I will be out of the office from Friday, 12 March until Monday, 14 March, as I will be attending an LCC training session in Charlottesville, VA.  Due to the nature of my trip, I will not be able to address emails or phone calls during this time.

For general program questions, please contact Account Services at 1-800-333-6056.  For travel questions, call the Operations Department at 1-800-448-5753.

You may also contact Program Director Robin Hannum at 1-800-333-6056 x3580 or at robin.hannum@culturalcare.com.

If you have an emergency, call 1-800-333-6056 and choose option 9.

I will respond to any emails or voice mails when I return on Monday, 15 March.

Last night, several Cultural Care Au Pairs from the Philadelphia area attended a Philadelphia Flyers hockey game at the Wachovia Center.  The event was organized by LCC Rebecca Cronin and myself.  Our group name was displayed on the scoreboard and au pairs were able to get unlimited concessions, courtesy of our group tickets. Best of all, the au pairs got to experience the excitement in the arena as the Flyers earned a 3 - 2 victory over the New York Islanders.

I know that the girls all had a great time and we hope to do this again in the future and to be able to include more au pairs!

See more photos on the Photos page.

Aetna Hook, Hose & Ladder Station - Academy St. in Newark

Our April meeting will be part of our seasonal Continuing Education safety trainings and will be held on Sunday, April 18th at 1 pm.  We will be attending a Fire Safety & Prevention training at Aetna Hook, Hose & Ladder Station 9 in Newark.  The station is located at 31 Academy Street in downtown Newark.  It will last about 2 hours, so please plan to be there for the duration of the meeting.

This is a very important topic, so please make every effort to be there.  If you need a ride, please let me know right away, so that I can help you make arrangements!  You need to arrive on time to participate and get credit for attending the meeting.

In preparation for our training, watch this video regarding home fire safety and what to do in case of a fire in the home.

Augustine Beach, near Middletown

To showcase some of the places au pairs can explore during their time here, I’ve started a companion blog to this one.  It will feature sites and scenes from Delaware, Maryland and the surrounding Mid-Atlantic area and will hopefully inspire au pairs (and maybe host families too!) to see what this area has to offer.

I also would love to have au pairs contribute any great pictures they have of the local area.  I know some of you like photography and are pretty good at it, so I’d be happy to feature some of your pictures as well!

I will still post local interest information here as well, but this new site will go a bit more in-depth and offer pictures, links and information that might be of interest.

Feel free to stop by First State Reflections.  I’ve also included a link under “Useful Links.”

Is the Nation’s Capital on your list of places to visit during your year?  If so, the end of March and beginning of April are an excellent time to go!  Even if you have been there, consider another visit during the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

The plantings of cherry trees originated in 1912 as gift of friendship to the United States from the people of Japan. In Japan, the flowering cherry tree or “Sakura”, as it is called by the Japanese people, is one of the most exalted flowering plants. The beauty of the cherry blossom is a potent symbol equated with evanescence of human life and epitomizes the transformations Japanese Culture has undergone through the ages. The date when the Yoshino cherry blossoms reach peak bloom varies from year to year, depending on weather conditions.

For the past 98 years, people from all over the world have gathered in Washington, DC to welcome the arrival of spring and to share the special season with each other. The splendid cherry trees, the focal point of the Cherry Blossom Festival, are constant reminders of the strong and enduring friendship between the United States and Japan.

Festival: March 27 - April 11
2010 Peak Bloom Date Forecast: April 1

Another great thing about visiting Washington, DC is that all the museums along the National Mall that are part of the Smithsonian Institution have no admission fee.  Other sites, like the famous Lincoln Memorial, are outdoors and you can walk right up to them.  The Washington Monument also has free tickets distributed day, but they are first-come, first-serve, so you may need to plan ahead get there early if this is on your itinerary.  You can call ahead to reserve tickets for a small fee (about $2.00 per ticket.)

As part of Cultural Care Au Pair’s mission to break down barriers of culture and language through educational exchange, a group of local childcare coordinators and staff recently visited South Africa to see firsthand the difference the donations from the Cultural Care community have made through our charitable organization Kids First.

Since it’s inception in 2004, Kids First has supported many worldwide organizations that work with at-risk youth. From the daycare center in Brazil to the school library in New Orleans to an orphanage in Russia, Kids First has supported a wide range of global organizations. Our most recent work at an orphanage and daycare center in a poverty-stricken township outside Capetown, South Africa is another great example of the work we are doing worldwide.

Cultural Care staff and LCCs had an opportunity to visit several projects funded through CHOSA, an organization that Kids First supports. CHOSA provides support to programs that work with at-risk children and their families to provide nutrition, medication, clothing, food, shelter and an education.

During the service visit, those who participated had a chance to visit the Ubuhle Babantwana Care Center, which helps 150 children, some of whom are HIV positive. Donations received from au pairs, host families and Cultural Care LCCs and staff have provided funds for the building of a new structure for the infants and toddlers in the center. The group from Cultural Care Au Pair had an opportunity to see the new structure, meet the inspirational director and dedicated teachers and had some time to play with the children.

In addition, the group visited the Ilitha-Labantwana Place of Safety, the Philani Child Health and Nutrition Project, the Emasithandane Children’s Project and the Baphumulele Children’s Home. The Cultural Care team is now bringing their experience back to the U.S. to raise awareness, and additional funds for even more projects that Kids First supports.

“Our Kids First trip to Cape Town was truly amazing and inspiring,” says Local Childcare Coordinator Trudy Mar. “The work, effort, love and sacrifice the women heading up these projects give to all of the kids goes well beyond what most of us could imagine. If one little body sleeps better, eats better and smiles more, we’ve helped to change their future and make the world a better place. Every dollar we raise for Kids First definitely does make a difference.”

For information about how you can make a contribution to Kids First, or raise awareness for the programs it supports, visit this link or the Kids First tab at the top of this page.  You can also contact me directly.

Our local au pairs can help by participating in our May regional event, the Au Pair Amazing Race.  A portion fo the $5 registration fee will be donated to Kids First.

Parents who host male au pairs are quick share that their au pairs offer their family everything that female au pairs do and more. Cultural Care is one of the only au pair programs that recruit male au pairs and we are very proud of our male candidates! Here are some reasons to consider hosting a male au pair. Watch the video.

As an LCC, I have had the privilege to get to know some truly wonderful male au pairs, who were not only positive and outgoing within our au pair group, but became invaluable members of their host families and I would highly recommend considering one.  Check out my Au Pair of the Month page and you will see that our very first Au Pair of the Month was a male au pair from Colombia, and the International Au Pair Association’s Au Pair of the Year last year was a male au pair from Brazil.

If you’d like more information about hosting a male au pair, please contact me!

The spring season represents new beginnings - which makes now a great time to secure your childcare by hosting a Cultural Care au pair. You are entitled to a $350 program fee discount when you apply - using promo code PCSPR2010 by March 31, 2010. Your weekly cost is just $330-or $7.30/hr (per family, not per child).*

Cultural Care Au Pair, America’s leading au pair agency, has hundreds of qualified candidates ready for immediate placement, so you can start matching today!

In addition to the largest pool of qualified au pairs, we offer:
- Three ways to match with potential candidates
- A “Peace of Mind Guarantee” - your family’s financial safeguard
- A Placement Manager to help you find just the right au pair for your family
- A Local Childcare Coordinator in your area to provide year-long support

Check out hundreds of available candidates on culturalcare.com/availableaupairs or visit aupairvideos.com to view au pair’s own video profiles.

*To qualify for Spring Savings, you must be new to Cultural Care Au Pair, apply between March 1 and March 31, 2010 and welcome an au pair into your home by October 22, 2010. Average weekly/hourly cost is calculated including the Spring Savings discount. Total savings cannot exceed $650.

Have toys taken over your host kids’ rooms or play room? I know that is a common problem at my house…lots of stuff, and in our case, not much room for it all. It is okay for you in your role as an au pair to help with tidying up the children’s rooms and toys, so this would not be something that would go against your duties. If you think any of these things might work, please be sure to check with your host family beforehand!

The following tips come from an article in the January 2010 edition of MetroKids.

Have your kids’ toys, books and games taken over your home, multiplying at a furious pace and spreading like wildfire through every room? If you answered an emphatic “yes!” it’s time to talk to your host family about creating an inviting play area that your children and their stuff can call home.

Tidy Playroom Tips

• Run a colored marker over the back of puzzle piecesand you’ll always know where they belong. Store puzzles in Ziploc bags.

• Store children’s artwork in a large artist portfolio,available at art supply stores. Save only the favorite work. Photograph three-dimensional items.

• To help your child organize, take a child’s eye view:Look at the room from her vantage point.

• Use expandable or pegged hat racks to hold stuffed animals, dress-up clothes, belts, scarves and, of course, hats.

• Store picture books as a flip-file, standing upright in a plastic dishpan rather than on bookshelves, which are harder for little fingers to access.

• Organize bottom-to-top. Place the most used toys closest to the floor. Even if you don’t have space for a separate playroom, it’s still possible to create a distinct play area within a larger space, and well worth the effort. “There might be an alcove or niche you can use. For integrated spaces, try suggest using rolling shelving that can be turned toward a wall and wheeled out for playtime. “You can do faux finish painting on the back so it looks like a decorative part of a den or living room.

Decorating Pointers

• Once you’ve chosen your playroom space, it’s time to think about decorating. Be sure to let the kids provide some input; they’ll enjoy the room even more if they have a role in the design process.

• Proper lighting is a crucial, and often overlooked, component of playroom décor.  It’s important, even when kids are little, that they can see well and don’t get frustrated.

Fun and Functional

• Furniture should be both fun and functional. For young children, a pint-size table and chair set is a must; for older children, a desk/computer station is the way to go. Fun seating such as beanbag chairs or kid-size fold out foam sofas also work well.

• Experts recommend maximizing space by installing floor-to-ceiling shelving and/or cubbies to hold books, toys, and games. “I like open shelving, but you can also do shelving that has a combination of open shelves and some that are behind closed doors.

Storing the Stuff

• Once the decorating is complete, it’s time to organize. Begin by grouping toys in categories (dolls, stuffed animals, action figures, etc.) and storing each group separately. Clear plastic bins that are labeled work well. (For pre-readers, take a picture and attach it to the outside of the bin.)

• Use a variety of sizes of plastic containers, some with lids, some open dishpan style for bigger, bulkier things.  Avoid using toy chests; invariably, kids end up dumping them out in search of that elusive toy at the very bottom. Place less popular items, or items that require adult supervision, on the higher shelves. Periodically, rotate appropriate items that are out of reach to lower shelf positions.

• Arts and crafts items can be a challenge to organize. Set up a dedicated section of the playroom for these items “using either plastic holders with pull out drawers or plastic shoeboxes with lids, one for crayons, one for markers, another for colored pencils; separate everything but have it all together in the same area.

• For tiny items such as beads or sequins, plastic tackle boxes with many small compartments are a great solution. Collections such as Barbie dolls or Beanie Babies can live happily ever after in clear plastic shoe bags with pockets.

Separate and Label

• Separate toys and label them.  It makes it much easier for kids if they know exactly where things go.  If you can say ‘put the blocks back on the block shelf, put all the play food back in the kitchen area, put the crayons back in the crayon bin,’ and give them specific instructions, it can make everybody’s life a whole lot easier.

• Try to regularly clean out and purge unused items.  A lot of kids today have so many toys they really feel overwhelmed.  Experts recommend packing one-third of a child’s toys away for six months. If the toys aren’t missed, give them away to a local children’s charity, or try bringing them back a few months later and pack away a new set of items in their place. That way kids have less to focus on at any point, and it feels like Christmas all the time, too.

Please remember to check with your host family before doing any organizing or decorating.  If you’re given the “green light,” get the kids invloved and have fun!

The Philadelphia International Flower Show opens tomorrow and runs through next Sunday, March 7th.  It takes place at the Philadelphia Convention Center, located at 12th and Arch Streets in Center City.  This year’s theme is “Passport to the World” and will feature flowers and plants from Europe, South America, Asia and New Zealand.

There are garden and floral displays, as well as individual entries, which are judged.  Some of the displays will feature flowers and plants from the Brazilian rainforest, orchids from Singapore, Japanese flower displays, Dutch tulips and wildflowers from the US East Coast and PA.  For a full list of all the different displays featured, click here.

For more information such as hours, admission fees and maps, visit the Flower Show’s website by clicking on the link above.  You can also find directions and how to get there via Septa or Amtrak.  Amtrak offers a 15% discount as well, so look for the discount code on the “Directions” page.