AuPair Dinner, Thursday April 29th 7:30pm
Don’t forget about our AuPair Meeting Thursday, April 29th at 7:30pm at
Leona’s
1236 East 53rd Street
Chicago 60615
See you then!
Fun Easter Crafts to do with Kids!
How to … Make Leaf Print Eggs
Instead of opting for the classic egg-dyeing technique this Easter, turn a new leaf with this reverse-stenciling method.
- Materials
-
- Small flat leaves (we used fern, cilantro, dill, thyme, and mint leaves)
- Hard-boiled white eggs
- Nylon stockings, cut into 3-inch-long sections
- Rubber bands
- Water
- White vinegar
- Food coloring
- Large glasses, one for each dye bath (be sure they’re wide enough to hold an egg)
- Spoon
X
- Instructions
-
Lay a leaf on an egg, then cover it with a section of nylon stocking to hold it in place.
Pull together both open ends of the stocking, then twist the ends together and secure them with a rubber band.
For each dye bath, mix 1/2 cup warm water, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and 10 to 20 drops of food coloring in a glass. Carefully submerge the nylon-wrapped egg in the bath and let it soak for about 4 minutes.
Use a spoon to remove the egg from the dye bath and set it on a covered work surface. Carefully remove the rubber band, nylon, and leaf. Allow the egg to dry completely before further handling it.
Clocks “Spring Forward” an Hour on Sunday!
Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time begins in the United States.
Every Spring we move our clocks one hour ahead and “lose” an hour during the night and each Fall we move our clocks back one hour and “gain” an extra hour. But Daylight Saving Time (and not Daylight Savings Time with an “s”) wasn’t just created to confuse our schedules.
The phrase “Spring forward, Fall back” helps people remember how Daylight Saving Time affects their clocks. At 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March, we set our clocks forward one hour ahead of Standard Time (”Spring forward”). We “Fall back” at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November by setting our clock back one hour and thus returning to Standard Time.
The change to Daylight Saving Time allows us to use less energy in lighting our homes by taking advantage of the longer and later daylight hours. During the eight-month period of Daylight Saving Time, the names of time in each of the time zones in the U.S. (map) change as well. Eastern Standard Time (EST) becomes Eastern Daylight Time, Central Standard Time (CST) becomes Central Daylight Time (CDT), Mountain Standard Time (MST) becomes Mountain Daylight Time (MDT), Pacific Standard Time becomes Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), and so forth.
Daylight Saving Time was instituted in the United States during World War I in order to save energy for war production by taking advantage of the later hours of daylight between April and October. During World War II the federal government again required the states to observe the time change. Between the wars and after World War II, states and communities chose whether or not to observe Daylight Saving Time. In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, which standardized the length of Daylight Saving Time.
Daylight Saving Time is four weeks longer since 2007 due to the passage of the Energy Policy Act in 2005. The Act extended Daylight Saving Time by four weeks from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November, with the hope that it would save 10,000 barrels of oil each day through reduced use of power by businesses during daylight hours. Unfortunately, it is exceedingly difficult to determine energy savings from Daylight Saving Time and based on a variety of factors, it is possible that little or no energy is saved by Daylight Saving Time.
Arizona (except some Indian Reservations), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have chosen not to observe Daylight Saving Time. This choice does make sense for the areas closer to the equator because the days are more consistent in length throughout the year.
Daylight Saving Time Around the World
Other parts of the world observe Daylight Saving Time as well. While European nations have been taking advantage of the time change for decades, in 1996 the European Union (EU) standardized a EU-wide European Summer Time. This EU version of Daylight Saving Time runs from the last Sunday in March through the last Sunday in October.
In the southern hemisphere, where Summer comes in December, Daylight Saving Time is observed from October to March. Equatorial and tropical countries (lower latitudes) don’t observe Daylight Saving Time since the daylight hours are similar during every season; so there’s no advantage to moving clocks forward during the Summer.
Kyrgyzstan is the only country that observes year-round Daylight Saving Time. The country has been doing so since 2005.
What Sets Us Apart! Top Ten Reasons to Choose Cultural Care
1. Three Ways to Match!
Families will be guided and supported by a Placement Manager throughout the selection process. Host families may use one or a combination of our “three ways to match” to find the right au pair for their family! Our new “Search and Select” option allows families to search through au pair profiles independently online and express interest individual candidates. With personalized, exclusive matching, a Placement Manager chooses candidates on host families’ behalf. For a more collaborative approach, host families can schedule a consultative matching appointment during which they review multiple candidates at once over the phone with their Placement Manager.
2. Highest Quality Customer Service
LCCs and staff are there for each host family and au pair at every point throughout their year. LCCs are always on-hand to offer support and advice and to create a local community of host families and au pairs. We believe that continued trainings and support of our LCCs will help us maintain the highest quality program.
3. Peace of Mind
With over 15 years of experience, Cultural Care Au Pair is one of the largest and most trusted au pair programs. Families can rely on our organization to assist them throughout the application process and during their year. A host family’s main responsibility is to choose their au pair and welcome her/him into their home. We do the rest from arranging their au pair’s flight to the U.S. to coordinating transitions and transportation should a host family and au pair end their year together early.
4. Cultural Care Au Pair Training School at St. John’s University
Cultural Care teachers not only prepare au pairs according to the U.S. Department of State guidelines but also provide a warm and welcoming environment for au pairs upon arrival to the U.S. Our small class sizes and campus setting allow au pairs to learn, overcome homesickness, and prepare for arrival to their host families.
5. Continuing Education Program
Because we are committed to the on-going education of au pairs, Cultural Care Au Pair has developed four seasonal units devoted to childcare safety and accident prevention to supplement the training at the Au Pair Training School. These trainings are packaged and made available on your LCC Extranet in your “Events in a Box” section under the “Marketing” tab.
6. Host Family Handbook, Daily Communication Log, and Household Handbook
Effective tools in communication, these handbooks provide essential pre-departure information and address topics such as expectations and instruction on childcare. The online Household Handbook allows families to provide information specific to their family and household for their au pair.
7. Male Au Pairs
Cultural Care Au Pair remains one of the few agencies to recruit qualified male candidates to fulfill our host families’ needs for experienced male au pairs. Why should families consider hosting a male au pair? They are energetic and experienced childcare providers with a sincere interest in being a “big brother” to children.
8. Over 35 Recruitment Countries and Growing
Currently in over 35 countries, Cultural Care continues to offer host families exposure to new and exciting cultures ranging from Europe to Latin America, Australia to South Africa. Utilizing our experienced network allows Cultural Care Au Pair to have our own offices in many of the countries we recruit from, and our recruitment headquarters in Luzerne ensures that all our offices and agents adhere to our high standards.
9. Kids First
Dedicated to improving the lives of children around the world, Cultural Care Au Pair has supported a number of local organizations important to our host families. Our efforts are concentrated, however, on our three official partners: Ubuhle Babantwana, a daycare center in South Africa, Casa do Zezinho, an after-school program in Brazil and St. Mary’s Academy, a school in New Orleans.
10. Corporate and Local Offices
To support our host families across the U.S., Cultural Care Au Pair has a main office with centralized services in Boston, MA, and local field offices for Placement Managers, Program Directors and Regional Development Directors across the country to provide a valuable regional perspective.
Save $350 with our Spring Savings offer!
|
Chicagoland Host Family Day! Join Us at the Sox Game!
CCAP Chicagoland is reserving 250 tickets to a White Sox game this summer. It is open to all host families, au pairs and friends. Please let me know by March 29 the number of tickets you would like so I can reserve them. This is a great opportunity to meet other Chicagoland host families and aupairs. As you know, all families are required to attend two host family events per year. Children under three feet tall can come at no charge and sit on a lap. We’ll handle the payments later on. Hope you can make it!
Chicago White Sox vs. Oakland A’s
U.S. Cellular Field
Chicago, IL
Sun, Aug 1, 2010 1:05 PM
Price - $24/ticket (Upper Deck, Section 548 Rows 5-7)
Hosting an AuPair is Affordable
What do you do when you have children but your budget doesn’t quite stretch far enough for one of you to take time away from work to look after the children. Well one option could be to hire in an Au pair to look after your children while you go back to work and earn the money to keep you all afloat in the tough financial climate that we currently find ourselves in.
If you decide to hire in an Au pair then you could end up making significant savings over putting your children into day care nurseries. For a start the money that you pay to an Au pair would be significantly less than paying for day care, as the wages of the Au pair are part subsidised by the fact that they obtain free accommodation, this of course does come at a certain cost to you as your food bills and or water/electricity bills might increase, but that increase should still be significantly less than sending your child to day nursery.
Of course what you can expect in return for that hospitality is complete private care for your children. Obviously if you put your children in to a daycare then they will interact with other children, but by interacting with their own personal nanny they should still achieve all the beneficial social interactivity skills.
People who claim that they can’t afford to have a live in nanny or au pair usually haven’t taken the time to see the monthly cost implementation of having a live in nanny. The fact is it doesn’t matter whether you have to go back to work because you have to or because you want to, you would still be financially better off with an au pair than sending your child to a nursery.
Contact me if you would to learn how affordable hosting an au pair is.
February AuPair Meeting-Let’s explore Japanese Culture!
Hello Everyone!
For our February meeting, let’s explore the Japanese culture at
Tatsu
1062 West Taylor Street
Chicago, IL
Sunday, February 28th
5pm
Please bring at least $10
See you then and remember, monthly aupair meetings are mandatory.
Save the date, next aupair meeting, March 28th, Chocolate Party! Details to come!
Tax Information for Host Families and AuPairs
As you gather up your financial statements and fire up the tax software, I wanted to direct you to the Cultural Care website where you can find detailed information on how hosting an au pair may affect your tax bill.
For your convenience, here is a link to the information for Host Families:
as well as for au pairs:
http://infosource.aupair.culturalcare.com/during-your-year/insurance-health-social-security-and-tax-information/taxes-and-financial-matters.aspx
Have a great one!
January 2010 AuPair Meeting
Let’s have some fun painting pottery and talking about fun activities you can do with kids at:
Glazed Expressions
717 West Armitage
Chicago, IL 60614
Sunday, January 31st at 1pm!
Bring at least $10 for your pottery and I will bring the snacks!
See you then!
Save the date for the February meeting, Sunday February 28th! All things chocolate!