Arlene.lang@lcc.culturalcare.com will be covering the Evergreen Group for the next few months. She has helped out in Evergreen before, so some of you may know her. Also, she is very experienced and will be an asset to our group. Thanks, Nina
I will miss you all. You can always look for me on facebook. (Nina Paripovich Moran)
Adelheid will be joining our new family in Evergreen. They are expecting twins in August! Good fun for Adelheid.
Alderfer/Three Sisters Open Space Park (first parking lot). Climb up to Brothers’ Lookout which offers a great view of snowcapped Mt. Evans.
Alderfer/Three Sisters (second parking lot). After parking, hike downhill on the road to the gated entrance to Bearberry trail. Follow the Bearberry trail to the second Mtn. Muhly trail. You will hike past two great old homesteads which have been donated to the Jefferson County Open Space Parks. At the second homestead, wind upward behind the house and water tank to stay on the trail.
Beaver Brook Watershed (Mt Evans Hwy). This is a great trail to a lake, it’s short enough for little kids to walk to and go fishing. Big kids will enjoy hiking around the lake and balancing on the stepping stones to make it all the way around.
“MARY POPPINS” NO LONGER; MALE AU PAIRS MAKE THEIR MARK
-Local Families Turn to Male Au Pairs for Childcare-
(Evergreen, CO) With men taking a more active role in raising children than ever before, it is perfectly succinct that male Au Pairs have become so popular for families with boys.
Nina Moran is a local childcare coordinator for Cultural Care Au Pair, an intercultural exchange program that brings experienced childcare providers from all over the world to the United States to live with local families and care for their children. In recent years, the number of families interested in hosting a male au pair has dramatically increased.
“Families with active children, particularly boys, have shifted toward the less traditional,” said Moran. “With a family of boys, what could be better than an older brother of sorts who shares the same interests as your kids, but also has the background and training you look for in a childcare provider?”
In Evergreen, CO we will soon host our third male au pair, Thiago from Brazil. He will care for one of our family’s (2) boys, ages 4 and 6. He will be replacing Jesus from Mexico who will return to home to attend University after his one year stint in Evergreen. “I don’t know what we would do without him,” said his host mom. “He’s terrific with the kids, enjoys and encourages sports and activities, and is a great help to us.”
This family is not the only one to have discovered the benefits of a male au pair. With news about male au pairs on the Today Show, New York Post, FoxNews.com and daily newspapers throughout the country, the awareness of and demand for these young men is rising.
“Because, overall, male au pairs are still significantly outnumbered by female au pairs, the male au pairs we do accept onto the program have a tremendous amount of experience. In fact, many of them have advanced degrees or some sort of formal training in kindergarten and childcare,” said Ms. Moran, “Thiago is a physical education teacher and basketball player from Sao Paulo, Brazil. He is really excited to experience our culture and practice his language skills.”
Given the energy and quality of male au pairs, it is not surprising that this little-known child care option is moving into the spotlight.
Due to to fun events we participate in here in Colorado–i.e. skiing, snowboarding, please think about purchasing the extended insurance while you are in your home country. When you see a Dr. here, the co-pay for the basic insurance is much higher, and the Au Pairs have used the insurance. You can not change to extended insurance once you arrive in the USA.
Here are some
of the Colorado Au Pair Coordinators at a training weekend in Napa Valley, CA
North Rhein - Aachen Cathedral
How lucky are we that the Cagle family is going to be hosting a party for our May 23 meeting! We had to change the date from the 16th to the 23rd, though, because Thiago will be here on the 21st.
Our Official Rafting Trip has been canceled due to Cultural Care liability issues. If you would like to go on your own here there are good trips from Idaho Springs.
Please Remember to budget $15 per Au Pair Meeting each month.
***** In Feb, for skating at the lake with the Ken Caryl Group the meeting will be about $15. In March we can make it free and attend the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Denver. In April we can make it free perhaps go to the Air Force Academy and Pikes Peak. May 23rd at Jesus’ house. In June we can make it free at the Lakehouse for Music (instead of a Redrocks Concert), July we will look for a replacement for the rafting trip–any suggestions?, in August many of you will be going home and perhaps we can picnic with another group-Vail, in September on Sunday the 26th we will be doing an all Colorado Au Pair event in Denver (a scavenger hunt around the city) $15.
* As you all know, you can miss a total of two meetings without losing your deposit. So pick and choose, missing for vacation counts as a missed meeting.
* If you are absolutely broke, you can still come to visit, but you have to stay there for at least 1 hour, not just drop in to sign the sheet.
Jan. 28-31 Aspen hosts the Winter X-Games. See website for information.
Use the link on the right side of your screen (Other Links) to see the footage from Channel 4. The Polar plunge happens every year at Evergreen Lake where skating is the main attraction.
Czech Republic/Prague
Kiev, Ukraine
Lucie from Czech Republic, and Kateryna from Ukraine arrive soon!
Wed. Jan 20th AP meeting. Bowling at Lucky Strike Lanes/Belmar on Wadsworth, or Golden Bowl. try to be there at 7:30pm and stay until 9pm or so. $15 plus beverage and food.
Sat. Feb 20th AP Meeting. Skating Evergreen Lake with Ken Caryl Group of 10. 11:30 am.
Thurs. March 18th AP Meeting. Perhaps Lakewood/Littleton Group. 7:30pm-9:30pm
Our November Au Pair meeting, Wed. Nov 18th will cover Winter Safety; thin ice, carbon monoxide poisoning, roadside rescue, and fire safety. It will be held at the fire station in Bergen Park at 7pm.
I have found out about SO MANY great classes offered at ACC in Littleton (Check the LINK for class info.) You may be interested in Choir, Interior Design, Painting, Art of Producing CD’s, Languages, Creative Writing… Most classes are offered at night. Registration is simple–just go online and register for the class with a credit card. Or call them. They are very familiar with Au Pair requirements. These classes are for HOURS not CREDITS, so you can add up the hours you spend in class. Non-Credit Course: A non-credit course is a course that a school has not assigned a set credit value to. These are usually offered through the community or continuing education departments of colleges and universities. Cultural Care will count the classroom hours of the course since no credits are assigned to the course and go by the educational standard that 12 hours = 1 credit.
Please tell the teacher that you are an Au Pair on the first day so that they can keep track of the hours and give you a certificate at the end. Remember to look at the location where the class will be held ACC Campus is the one you are looking for.
Please bring international holiday cakes/cookies to Nina’s. This can be a Host Family Event make-up for the three families who could not make the Butterfly Pavilion due to vacations or church. Also, It is the December Au-Pair meeting, so all au-pairs will attend. Remember all Au Pair meetings and one Host Family Event per calendar year are required in order to meet the regulations of Cultural Care. I will make them FUN! I promise.
Adult Unlimited Lessons at Keystone
The Keystone Unlimited Ski & Ride School Lesson Pass allows you to take unlimited lessons with the Keystone SKi & Ride School throughout the 2009-10 season. The Unlimited Lesson pass is available for $225 through November 15, 2009. The pass is valid Sundays through Wednesdays*. The pass is available for purchase at all Front Range pass sales locations.
http://www.snow.com/passsales/learn%20to%20ski.aspx
To do list when you arrive to your family:
Apply for a Social Security card within your first two weeks. The Social Security Administration (SSA) office near us is located in Littleton. For more information visit the SSA website.
To obtain a Social Security card you will need to bring with you:
•Passport
•DS-2019 form
•Social Security letter to be found in your account at www.culturalcare.com.
•Application for a Social Security Card (SSA forms must be printed on 8 1/2″ x 11″ white paper. You must print the form with blue or black ink to be acceptable to SSA.
(I have heard that if an AP is only here for 1 year they do not need a SSN#. They also do not make enough money to be required to pay taxes.)
Open a bank account.
To open a bank account you will need to bring with you:
•Passport
•DS-2019 form if you have one.
•Social Security Card (AP’s have opened bank accounts w/o SSN#’s)
If your host family requires a driver, begin studying for the driver’s license test by picking up a Drivers Manual from a local Department of Motor Vehicle office or downloading it: CO Drivers Handbook. Colorado State Law requires that you obtain your license within 90 days of entering the United States. German license holders do not need to take tests.
To obtain a Colorado Drivers License you will need to bring with you:
•Passport
•DS-2019 form, and all other visa forms, I94 & D
•Social Security Card (DMV states that as long as you are here for less than 1 yr, you do not need a ssn#. However, then you would have to show your int’l drivers license as a second form of ID.)
•Bring a signed Letter of Program Participation. You can obtain this by contacting the Boston Office. You need to request that the Letter of Program Participation be signed by your Program Director. Please allow 5-7 business days for it to be mailed. The CO DMV will not issue a drivers license without this signed document. (although, One host parent wrote a letter herself when she arrived at the DMV.
•Bank card (I don’t think you actually need this–you can’t pay with it.)
•Cash or check to pay $14 permit fee.
•You must go to a Regional Office, not just a regular DMV. Visit our Regional DMV Office.
•DO NOT HAND IN YOUR INTERNATIONAL DRIVERS LICENSE because the CO DMV will void it, preventing you from using it again when you return home after your au pair year is complete. If you have a INT’L License from Germany, you can turn it in for a CO license w/o taking any tests.
Start looking into classes you may like to take. Most local schools start classes in September and January, but there are some classes you can start taking in April, over the summer or by traveling to attend a weekend course. Visit your Au Pair Account/Infosource for more information.
Au-Pair Monthly Meetings are mandatory, so please plan ahead for transportation to and from the meetings.
Last but not least: Go out, make friends and have fun! Just by going to School or the local Starbucks you will be able to meet other Au-Pairs from everywhere. Even when dropping off kids at school, activities, parks or museums you will run into other Au-Pairs. Don’t be afraid to approach them.
