by
Natalie Jordan
We often find that au pairs will come to the end of the year having amassed a significant number of items they’ve purchased and collected throughout the course of their year. As airlines are imposing higher fees for baggage in general as well as for overweight bags, please encourage your au pairs to think strategically about how they will get all of their belongings home at the end of their year. One idea would be to think about their visitors that may come throughout the year and have them send items back with them to avoid these fees and the stressful challenge regarding what they will do with all this stuff! It also may be cheaper to send some things home via mail in so long as these items are not sent via priority overnight service. Lastly, while it may be difficult to part with some things, it can also be helpful to do some spring cleaning and weed out the items that they may be better off throwing out or giving away. Whatever the best solution is for each au pair, it’s important that these questions are explored so that they don’t end up having to make last-minute and very expensive decisions. Thinking ahead about these things can save them time, anxiety, and money.
5 days ago
by
Natalie Jordan
Each year Cultural Care Au Pair hosts a series of regional meetings across the country and 2010 is no exception. We’ve been so excited to meet with all of you to share our program updates and to provide professional development opportunities for every Local Childcare Coordinator. Most importantly the senior management and staff of Cultural Care is able to spend time with all of you answering questions and hearing about all of the wonderful things you are doing and successes you’ve had over the past year. We hope that you are as motivated as we are by these meetings and it’s important to share the fact that you’ve participated with the families and au pairs in your region. Your attendance shows your continued commitment to your LCC role and your dedication to being the best local representative for them. Thank you all so much for being a part of these meetings and if we haven’t seen you yet, we look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming meetings in March!
1 week ago
by
Natalie Jordan
While many families use the full 45 hours per week with their au pair, there are many other families who don’t. While many families think about the au pair hours in relation to when they are at work, one way that we’ve found host parents have also benefited from the help an au pair provides is by establishing a date night once a week. Those couple of hours where the parents can go out to dinner and reconnect allows them to come back to the house as a stronger team and more on the same page and that has benefits for the whole family. So, if your families have some hours to spare, encourage them to put them to great use and invest in date night.
2 weeks ago
by
Natalie Jordan
As the weather continues to be chilly across much of the U.S., now is a great time for host families and au pairs to get on the same page regarding appropriate outdoor attire for the kids. Sometimes kids can have their own ideas about what counts as a “winter coat” and they may or may not think that a hat and gloves are a necessity when they head out in a snow storm. However, if the au pair is responsible for helping to get everyone together in the morning and especially during inclement weather, it’s important that they know what the expectations are of the parents in this regard. In your next monthly call, email update, or even on your website, encourage your families and au pairs to discuss this important seasonal issue.
3 weeks ago
by
Natalie Jordan
Be sure to bring a camera with you to all of your monthly meetings and capture those memorable images and post them on your LCC website. Let your au pairs know that these pictures will be posted each month and encourage them to send your website link to their friends and family back in their home country so they can see all the fun they are having in the USA! Invite your host families to share their favorite moments with their au pair as well and ask them to submit to you any photos they would like to have you share on your site. LCC websites are a wonderful place to share the memories that au pairs are making throughout the year and is a great vehicle to share this with countless others.
1 month ago
by
Natalie Jordan
While the media continues to cover the devastation in Haiti, au pairs may be faced with some difficult questions from the host children about what happened and what it means. The au pairs are undoubtedly having their own personal response to this tragedy and they may appreciate some guidance or direction from their host parents about how they would like them to deal with these kinds of questions. In addition to providing an opportunity for your families to make a donation, if they so choose, through the fundraising initiative we announced last week it may be helpful to also suggest that this issue be a topic of discussion between host parents and au pairs so that everyone can be on the same page regarding how this should be handled. The devastation experienced by the people of Haiti is unimaginable, but understanding how to talk about it is important and that’s a personal choice for every family. If you have any au pairs in your group that are having any difficulty with this situation and would appreciate the support of one of our Program Counselors, please reach out to your Program Director and we would be more than happy to make this resource available to them.
1 month ago
by
Natalie Jordan
At Cultural Care Au Pair and our parent company EF Education First, we believe in connecting people as citizens of the world, and breaking down barriers of language, culture and geography. Never is that mission more important than in a time of crisis. In order to reach out to the people of Haiti, EF Education First will match up to $100,000 of employee, student and customer donations made through the American Red Cross. We believe this is our responsibility as a company, as educators and as global citizens. We hope you will join us in our effort to aid the millions of Haitians who need our support. Together, we can make a difference.
If you would like to make a donation, please click or paste the following link in your browser:
http://american.redcross.org/efeducationfirst-emp
1 month ago
by
Natalie Jordan
Each month you make calls to each of your host families to check in and to see how things are going. You undoubtedly have some updates or upcoming meeting dates to share during these calls, but try asking them to share one thing that’s going well and one challenge they’ve had over the past month. Take note of these for each family and at the end of the year as they prepare to welcome a new au pair, share their year of feedback. It may be helpful for them and may help to set them up for even more success having been given the gift of perspective of a year in review. It’s also an incredibly helpful tool for you as an LCC and can assist with additional talking points during the repeat family interview or even the orientation meeting once the au pair arrives.
2 months ago
by
Natalie Jordan
The New Year is a perfect time to finally transform some of those long time ideas, thoughts, and intentions into plans. Au pairs have one year to do all of the things that they hope to and that time can fly by very quickly. Unless they are extending, their year could be coming to an end and it would be a shame to not do all the things they dreamed about at the beginning of their year. At your next monthly meeting hand every au pair a piece of paper and have them write down 3 things that they want to do before their year ends. Then, have everyone put a date by which they commit to making that happen. If they feel comfortable, have them share their list with the group. Some au pairs will realize that there are others in the group who have the same goals as they do and they can team up to achieve them together. Now is the time to make those plans and to have that weekend trip, visit that museum, or go to that show that they had thought about for so long. With a little encouragement from you, they will be one step closer to making it happen.
2 months ago
by
Natalie Jordan
As LCCs, you have significant ties to the community and to the host families who may have been on the program for a number of years. To a new au pair, this may be intimidating and they may feel like they are on the outside of a longstanding relationship in addition to feeling like the “new girl/guy in town”. This can potentially lead to an au pair feeling less able to reach out to you if they have a concern. It’s important to make sure that both the host family and au pair know that you are a resource for both of them and that their concerns are important to you. Be sure to review this important part of your role with them during that 48 hour check-in call and, again, at the orientation meeting. It’s one of the many items you will review in those initial days, but this is an important topic to cover to make sure that an au pair knows that they have a friend and a wonderful resource in their LCC and that while they may be the newest one in the neighborhood, they are certainly not on their own.
2 months ago
