"Tell me a story..." my kids ask every night.

Sometimes I say, "Once upon a time, there were three children who were really tired, so their mother put them to bed and they went to sleep.  The end."  After some loud complaining, I'll tell them a story about when they were babies, or my childhood, or my grandma from Sweden or their grandparents from Scotland.  Even if they've heard it a hundred times, they don't get tired of it.  It anchors them, reminds them that people just a few years before them lived very different lives in far away places.

This week in Lahore, Pakistan, the country is hosting its first Children's Literature Festival.  It's a collaborative effort between international children's publishers and educational agencies aimed promoting literacy in Pakistani children.  Children from across the country are invited to listen to their favorite books, enter writing contests, take classes on creative writing, write book reviews, and draw comics.  Educators can attend training on curriculum development and lesson planning.

In a country where just 66% of children finish primary school, literacy rates for women are still less than 50%, and tribal and religious conflicts frequently disrupt schooling, this festival will help train teachers and underscore the importance of educating the next generation.

Education expert Dr. Arifa Syeda Zehra, said life would be colorless if there were no stories because we interpret our world through stories.  Everybody makes sense of things in their own way, but if you have stories, it helps.  And the bigger the collection of stories, the more tools you have to interpret your life.

I would agree.  My kids would agree.  And stories also make everything more fun!  

Inspired by our international team at Au Pair Care, we asked around the office to compile a special, nostalgic, yet up-to-date list of our favorite children’s books – books  that we would love to have our au pairs read to our kids.
   
1.    The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business
By Wolf Erlbruch, Werner Holzwarth   
This is a loveable oh-so-funny story about a mole that wants to find out who happened to poo on his head.  So he goes out and asks the rabbit, the bear and many other animals on his way. It’s a lovely illustrated book and a fun story that will keep your kid excited, and will make you laugh for its underlying wisdom.

2.    The Trip To Panama
By Janosch
The colorful and detailed pictures and the exciting story tell a tale about friendship, dreams, appreciation, and home. Everything starts with the little bear discovering a little box while he is fishing at the river. On the box it says “Panama” and it smells like bananas. Immediately the little bear knows this is the land of his dreams. So he runs home to the small tiger to prepare for a long journey to Panama.

3.    Friends
By Helme Heine
This absolutely charming and delightfully illustrated tale for all ages will make you and your child laugh out loud and learn about friendship through the adventures of Charlie Rooster, Johnny Mouse, and Percy Pig. They ride their bikes together, play games together and sleep together- even if that means Percy the pig has to sleep on a Rooster stick. It is one of the most read books in Germany.

4.    The Very Hungry Caterpillar
By Eric Carle
More than 12 million copies of this book have been sold around the world.  Kids are excited to follow the path of the caterpillar while he eats his way through one apple on Monday, two pears on Tuesday, and so on.  The book teaches counting and the days of the week with bright, bold pictures and a butterfly metamorphosis story!

5.    Happy Hippo, Angry Duck: A Book of Moods (Ages 2-6)
By Sandra Boynton
Sandra Boynton is a popular American humorist, songwriter, children's author, and illustrator. This, her newest book on the market, describes moods and emotions with very funny pictures. Kids love to repeat the sounds and feelings that are described in the book and the pages are colorful and vivid!
 

6.    Farmyard Beat
By Lindsey Craig and Marc Brown
This is a colorful bedtime story, perfect for toddler and preschoolers, to read aloud, repeating the rhymes and sounds. All the animals on the farm can’t sleep, and before you know it there is a party going on.

7.    One Duck Stuck
by Phyllis Root, illustrated by Jane Chapman
Another great counting and animal book with bright and bold illustrations. Why is it special? This book received the Parents Book of the Year award and the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold award.

8.    When I Grow Up I Want to Be Me
by Sandra Magsamen
Oprah calls this one of the most captivating children's books she's ever read. We guess it must be good!

9.    Pippi Longstocking
By Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Lindgren, from Sweden, was famous for her books in America years ago. The target age for these stories is four to six, and quick-to-read children will be able to handle them at seven. Pippi is incredibly strong and can lift a horse on her own. She is also not afraid of anything, so she lives alone in Villa Villekulla with her horse and a monkey, Mr. Nilsson. With her friends, Tommy and Annika, she experiences many adventures, like taking on two burglars, having an unusual birthday party, and rolling down a hill in a wine barrel.

Now – you tell us!  Which book should be number 10 on the list? Please let us know in the comments below!

As per my last blog, I am due with a baby in 2 weeks, and since I naturally have babies on my mind, my blogs this month are baby centric!

One of the things I find comes up quite a bit with au pairs looking after infants is the question of what to do all day…?

If you have toddlers, school age children or even teenagers, there are lots of out about things to be doing including mommy and me classes, playdates, school runs and after school activites, but with a newborn baby, well..not so much..

I suggest to families with Infants that they therefore try to give their au pair some kind of schedule or structure for the day so that the au pair doesn’t find herself with the whole day yawning ahead of her and with little idea of what to do with baby during her work time?

Please bear in mind that the Department of State stipulates that an au pair cannot be left in sole charge of an infant under 3 months of age.

Here are some suggestions of what to do with your Baby:

1. NAP SCHEDULE: If your baby is already on a nap schedule, provide your au pair with this information around which she can structure the rest of the day

2. FEEDING SCHEDULE: Same applies for feeding baby (you may also want to have your au pair record things such as feeding and nap schedules in the APC diary you will be given, as good communication is even more key when dealing with infants).

3. WALKING: Ask your au pair to take the baby out for a walk round the neighborhood or local park at least once every day in the stroller or carrier.  This is good for baby and good for the au pair too.

4. BATH TIME: Babies don’t necessarily need to be bathed every day, but this is certainly something that can be incorporated into the schedule. You could even have your Au pair do some infant massage after bathing baby (either learned from her AuPairCare Infant Specialized Care Training, or from some knowledge you may have).

5. MOMMY & ME CLASSES: Depending on the age of the infant, your au pair may be able to take the baby to a mommy and me class, perhaps a yoga or music class..?

6. PLAYING MUSIC: No that doesn’t mean pumping out dance tunes from her ipod, but classical or other soothing music, including singing has proven to improve brain function in infants.

7. READING: It is never too early to start reading to children, so have your au pair snuggle up in a chair with baby and read or sing nursery Rhymes to baby. To aid communication, you may also want your au pair to teach baby some baby sign language – again either learned from her IS Training, or from tips you have given her.

8. PLAY TIME: Like reading, it’s never too young to introduce play with an infant. Perhaps time on a play mat with rattles, balls or  plastic mirrors, or playing peekaboo while they sit in their bouncy chair/swing.

9. TUMMY TIME: it is recommended that babies have 30 minutes of tummy time each day to strengthen their neck muscles.

10. BABY PLAYDATES: If your au pair has other au pair friends taking care of babies, perhaps you would consider allowing them to come round to the house with their charges on occasion or vice versa.

BONUS TIP: Don’t forget to have your au pair spend time just rocking, cuddling and loving baby!

I’d love to hear anyone suggestions for other things to do with babies (both for the benefit of au pairs and myself in the upcoming months!)