Classroom Support for Mental Health – Translated to the Home Environment

One idea we especially liked was having a morning check in, via a “feelings thermometer” to see how the child is feeling. This can help the au pair gauge a child’s mood and help her to understand the best way to move forward in the day.“A feelings thermometer is a simple tool that can be

Congratulations to the winner of PROaupair’s 2017 Au Pair of the Year Competition!

Congratulations to Maren Fander, the winner of PROaupair’s 2017 Au Pair of the Year Competition. Maren, a 26-year old speech therapist from the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany, has lived with the Lawrence family of Cottage Grove, Minnesota since May 2016. In her host family’s words, “Maren is the epitome of a professional au pair

Professional Au Pair from Germany to Perform with Oakland Civic Orchestra

The following interview with Johanna Dittmar was conducted by Jane Smith, the apex PROaupair area director for San Francisco. Dittmar, a speech therapist from Germany, has been living and working with her host family in Oakland, California since last summer. Her host family adores her and raves about her kindness, friendliness and love.  How old

Why is Friday the 13th Considered Unlucky?

For many Americans, Friday the 13th either conjures up images of unlucky things: a black cat, a broken mirror, walking under a ladder – or horror movies (the “Friday the 13th” franchise includes 2 movies that spanned three decades!). But where did our fear of Friday the 13th come from? Some historians say it came from

New Study Shows How "Cybercycling" Benefits Children with Special Needs

A new study published this month in the American Academy of Pediatrics journal Pediatrics says that “aerobic cybercyling” (riding a stationary bike attached to a virtual-reality gaming screen) helped children with behavioral health disorders significantly minimize incidences of acting out – much more so than a traditional physical education program.The study was conducted at a therapeutic day