Summers tips for au pair host families

As my family comes upon the 5 month mark of hosting an au pair (already!), and had tough time in summer vacations as kids get bored too soon and too often.  Anyone with kids knows what this means…..by 9:30am, at least one child has already whined, “I’m boooooooooooored!”.  Our au pair Mia from Aupare Care has done great so far, but the change in schedules and needs of the children has proved a bit challenging for all of us.  After just a week of this, I realized it was time to give Mia some new tips and tools to help her adjust to summer vacation. This would be useful for all au pairs from Aupare Care as they would be running out of ideas and want something new.
First, we talked about structure.  I reiterated rules about outdoor play, friends, and the importance of getting dressed and ready right after breakfast.  We also went over the schedule of camps for each week so Mia had a general idea of what to expect.  Next, we talked about activities.  I reminded Mia of our rules regarding screen time, as I had already heard both of the older kids try to convince her that a mid-morning movie or video game was a grand idea!  We then brainstormed together some activities they could all do together – for example, now that school is out, the school playground was open and gave them a different place to play.  We talked about crafts, and I gave her some extra money to make sure the art supplies were well stocked for the summer months.
I also asked Mia to set aside some morning time for the older kids to do brain teasers, mazes, and other (secretly!) educational activities while the youngest colored.  As we talked, she got some ideas of her own as well – later in the afternoon, I saw her watching a video on performing magic tricks!  With a quick refresh and revamp, week 2 of summer vacation was a success! Thus, we continued to do this for other couple of weeks. This kept us so engaged that we never realized when summer vacations were over as time flew by due to being engrossed in activities.
With these tips recommended by Aupare Care our Au Pair could connect better with our children and they were able to utilize their time in a better manner. This not only took our headaches away but our au pair was able to manage things better without getting children irritated and bored.