Whenever we get together with a group of people, we like to play games.  I was recently at a home with an au pair from Germany.  While the adults were talking in one room, the children were playing games.  The au pair asked if they could Google some games from around the world for the children to play.  The adults all thought it was a great idea, so the au pair found some that were easily played with a group.  The adults joined in and fun was had by the entire group.  Here are some of the favorites that maybe your children could play at the next gathering.

Chile

Corre, Corre la Guaraca

Translated "Run, Run, la Guaraca" with "guaraca" being a completely nonsense word. 

Players sit in a circle while whoever is "it" jogs around the outside with a handkerchief.  The seated kids must look to the inside of the circle and sing, "Corre, Corre, la Guaraca, who looks back will be bopped on his head!"  The runner drifts the handkerchief along the backs of those seated, tying not to be felt.  If he makes it around the circle without a player feeling the handkerchief, the runner sits down.  If the seated player feels the handkerchief, she must jump up and tag the runner.  If she succeeds, the runner is out.  If she fails to tag him, they play again with the 2nd player being the runner.

Greece

Statues

With children from Greece growing up surrounded by marble statues, it is natural for them to incorporate them into a game.  After a trip to a museum, this is a great game for American children to adopt that will reinforce what they saw and learned.

One player that is "it" stands in the center of a large playing area.  She counts to, at least 10, but she can stop at any time after 10.  Only the player who is "it" knows when she will stop counting.  When she stops counting at her chosen point, she opens her eyes and yells "Agalmata!" which is statue in Greek.  On this cue, the players freeze, in a pose of a famous statue they saw in the museum or know about.  Some American poses might be the Statue of Liberty or The Thinker.  The player that is "it", tags any statue that is moving and then tries to make the steady ones laugh or move.  The last player remaining composed is the winner and becomes the new "it."

Australia

Skippyroo Kangaroo

This is a great icebreaker game as the group will get to know each other's names in the end.  All players sit in a circle and one goes to the middle.  This is the first Skippyroo, the kangaroo.  Skippyroo crouches forward on the floor with her eyes closed while the circle chants:  "Skippyroo, kangaroo, dozing in the midday sun, come a hunter, run, run, run."  Then, one player sitting in the circle comes forward to touch Skipproo's shoulder and says, "Guess who's caught you just for fun?"  Skippyroo tries to name the owner of the voice and if is correct, swaps places.  The game is played until everyone has had a chance to be Skippyroo.

There's been lots of conversation lately on the benefits of language immersion for children, and how acquiring a second language early can set the stage for learning other pattern-based skills like math and music. But, what do you do when it's time for school? Find an immersion preschool? Enroll your child in an immersion private school? Find a tutor? An after-school class? How do you teach your child to be not only conversant, but literate in another language? 

America is notoriously slow in introducing second languages. They aren't available in most schools until middle school, and if they are offered in elementary schools, it's once or twice a week at best.  

A good friend of mine, who is an airline pilot, hired multiple French au pairs for her children well into middle school. She works unusual hours, which gave her au pairs time to enroll in a local community college. All three of her kids attended a French Immersion school where they learned to read, write, and speak in both English and French.  

If you can't do that, there are still lots of options to supplement the language lessons your children learn from their au pair. AuPairCare's sister company Lango offers classes and camps in Mandarin, Spanish, and French in 80 communities around the country. You can start a program in your area if one doesn't exist already. (This doesn't mean you have to teach it or be there all the time. It's just a matter of generating interest and getting it started.)

Dual immersion preschools are increasingly popular. Check out local listings, and be sure to talk to other parents whose children attend your top choices.    

For older kids, the web site LiveMocha offers online language lessons, role playing, and conversation practice. You can also connect with native speakers who will review recordings of you practicing and offer suggestions. (They're REALLY nice too!) It's not free, but it's cheaper than Rosetta Stone.  

Additionally, more information on dual immersion and bilingual programs is available Center for Applied Linguistics, where you'll find listings of elementary, middle, and high school language immersion programs in the US, both in public and private schools.

My personal favorite is, of course, to travel because there is no substitute for immersion. So in my family, we are saving up for a trip to Europe next summer, where three of us can practice our French, and one of us can practice his German. We just need some Italian and Spanish speakers to join us, and we'll be good to go.  

I am getting a little weary of books about how Americans are terrible parents, who are raising an entitled population of over-protected, screen-addled underachievers. To be sure, we have our issues, but I don't believe anyone has the corner market on raising perfect kids. After all, the entire goal of parenting, no matter where you live, is basically the same:  raise children who can grow up and thrive in the reality that they live in. There are lots of different ways to do that well, and if we quit claiming our way is best, we just might learn something from each other.

My whole goal as a mom is to work my way out of a job. When my son Liam was two, I read that toddlers his age could peel carrots. I gave him a peeler and he did it. Then I gave him an apple and he peeled his thumb. Ouch. So, we waited a year or two before trying that again.

It did show me, however, that my kids could do a lot more than I expected -- if they were taught how to do it. Also, a little pain in the learning process isn't harmful. In fact, sometimes it's exactly what helps kids to be careful and competent. (Didn't we all fall down hundreds of times before learning to walk?) Read the Little House on the Prairie books or My Friend Flicka for a glance into what American kids were expected to do in previous centuries. 

In her book, How Eskimos Keep their Babies Warm: And Other Adventures in Parenting, Mei-Ling Hopgood discusses parenting differences around the world. Here are a few of her observations:

Ache children in the rain forests in Paraguay learn to follow trail markers (bent leaves, twigs, and shrubs) as early as eight-years-old.  

In Zapoteca, Oaxaca, kids can name hundreds of local flowers (because they're expected to roam around with other kids). Compare that to American kids who can name 200 brands, but not the trees in their yard.

Tibetan children as young as six tend heards of yaks, sheep, and other animals.

In the Arctic, Inuit children are expected to eat raw meat from the game their parents kill before they turn three, so they will learn to like it. 

My kids are pretty happy living in a house and not having to herd cattle or shoot their dinner, (well, Liam might like to shoot his dinner). But now that they are 9, 11, and 12, I'm still going to make them do their own laundry, pack their own lunch, and get themselves to soccer, music lessons, and track practice on time. That seems like a reasonable step in teaching them to thrive in their local reality. Next step... cooking dinner! After all, it's not like they have to herd yaks!

You may not know it, but the Oreo cookie is an American icon that is recognized around the world...wait a minute while I dunk my Oreo...OK, where was I? Oh, the Oreo.

The Oreo celebrates its 100th birthday this month as an international celebrity.  Flash mobs in seven cities in the U.S. sang "Happy Birthday" simultaneously to the iconic cookie and celebrations were held in China, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.

John Ghingo, senior director of Oreo Global at Kraft says, "It's the best-selling cookie in the world. The simple act of enjoying an Oreo cookie and a glass of milk continues to speak of a universal, human truth:  inside all of us...there's a kid that deserves to be set free every once in a while."

Before your next au pair arrives, you may ask her about the Oreo in her country.  Maybe she could bring some to share and you can have the American Oreo for her to try.  The Oreo is an interesting example of fun cultural exchange that happens every day between host families and au pairs.

Here are some examples different Oreos from around the world:

United States:

• Triple Double Oreo
• Oreo Fudge Cremes: Peanut Butter and Golden
• Double Stuff Oreo Heads or Tails

China

• Oreo Green Tea Ice Cream
• Oreo Wafers
• Oreo Double-Fruit in Orange & Mango and Raspberry & Blueberry creme

Indonesia

• Oreo Vanilla
• Oreo Chocolate
• Oreo Double Delight (Chocolate and Peanut)
• Oreo Strawberry
• Oreo Blueberry Ice Cream
• Oreo Orange Ice Cream
• Oreo Golden Vanilla

Argentina

• Oreo "x3" (pronounced "Por Tres")
• Oreo Duo: Strawberry & Vanilla and Dulce de Leche
• Oreo Alfajor

Mexico

• Oreo Trio Chocolate
• Oreo Cookies & Creme
• Oreo Double Stuff
• Oreo Dark Fudge
• Oreo White Fudge