Childcare Solutions for Montauk and the Hamptons

Happy New Year!
I am very excited about the way 2012 looks so far. Allow me to share my view of the universe at about 7:00 AM on January 1st:

Hello 2012. Good start!

So you will agree… good start, yes?
My January au pair meeting will be the culmination of a food drive for the East Hampton Food Pantry. We live with many advantages out here on the East End. I believe it is important for the wonderful young men and women from all over the world who care for our children to have a greater understanding of the community around them. I am asking all our host families to help and encourage their children to join their au pairs in collecting a bag of non-perishable groceries for the less fortunate among us. I must say that, so far, the au pairs’ enthusiasm has been totally heartwarming. I just love working with them!
Also this month, I will be performing at the Children’s Museum of the East End, making “your child’s imagination is the guest of honor!” Some of the children in our group will never let my visit end without a story. I hope to see my fan base there at CMEE! If you live in the area, please come by:

Come see me at CMEE!

I will be available to perform at no charge for non-profit organizations throughout the area this year, sponsored by Cultural Care Au Pair. If you would like me to come to your school, your church, your club or a benefit event, please contact me at montaukbusiness@aol.com. It will be my pleasure!
To my faithful followers, thanks for tuning in. To my new friends, welcome! I hope we share growth, peace, health and much joy in the year to come.
Sima

On December 9th, fifteen young people from eleven different countries gathered at The Harvest Restaurant in Montauk for a holiday dinner. These adventurous, responsible travelers have all come for at least a year to care for children out here in the Hamptons. They meet monthly with me, their Local Childcare Coordinator. With two of my own daughters in their twenties, I feel a great affinity for these young women (and man!) who will come and live in someone’s home, visit as much of the country as they can, and work hard to make their experience all that it can be. A survey of au pairs from all over the world resulted in one overriding reason for their using childcare as a passport to America: By coming here, they hope to enrich their own lives and those of the children they care for through language and the sharing of culture and experiences. Most of them hope, as do their host parents, that they will become a loved and loving part of the family where they are staying.

I shared a holiday wish for them to be happy and healthy in the coming New Year, and grow as people and as students of life. Here are some of the wishes they shared as well:

Jonathan, from Chile, will start his extension year next month. He wished for us all to have many wonderful adventures together in the coming year .

Seung from South Korea wished for a warm and peaceful holiday for everyone.

Mariana, from Brazil wished that all her fellow au pairs have children as sweet as the ones she cares for.

Jessica from Columbia, who is leaving a family that adores her after two years, wished that she will be able to come back soon to visit us all while Carina from Austria, who is also in her second year, wished that the friendships the au pairs make in America will be with them forever.

Nina from Germany must also leave her family this spring. She wished that everyone is making the most they can of the opportunity and adventure of being in America.

Carmen just got here and met everyone at the dinner for the first time! She wished for a wonderful year ahead of getting to know America and all the au pairs better.

Between us all, there were many more wishes for peace; for lasting friendships; for the bond with their host family to continue to grow; for travel and excitement; and, repeatedly, for warm and wonderful holidays here in America and a totally great New Year.

Jonathan from Chile and Julia from Sweden

Seung from South Korea

Mariana from Chile

l to r: Maud, Germany; Melina, Brazil; Neele, Germany

Christie from Columbia with Madison

Romina from Argentina with Madison

Johanna and Jessica from Columbia.

And so to you, Montauk, East Hampton and beyond, from me and my wonderful au pairs: Merry Christmas, Happy Channukah, and best wishes for a safe and healthy New Year filled with the joys of family and growth! I am so grateful to be a part of this community and share it with all

these wonderful, working visitors.

My daughters were born in the eighties and several of their friends have already married and started families.  Some are fortunate enough to have been able to stay in Montauk, near their parents, and join a family business.  But it’s expensive out here!  Many of our young people have to seek their fortune elsewhere.  I’m happy to have worked with some of their parents to help them find flexible, affordable childcare no matter where they are in the country.

In more than one case, Baby Boomer parents were able to pay the upfront program costs.  Then the young parents only had to pay less than $200 a week for up to 45 hours of childcare, there when they needed it!  And the au pair they brought into their home was pre-screened, qualified, and full of wonderful cultural exchange ideas!

There has never been a better time to apply for an au pair.  Any new family that applies by 12/31/11 will lock in 2011 program fees before we have a modest price increase in 2012.  Also, we are offering an amazing DEEP DISCOUNT to kick off December.  Host families who apply December 1st to December 6th and welcome an au pair by March 30, 2012 will receive a $75 application fee waiver and $800 fee discount!!  Call me NOW at 516.449.4200 or email montaukbusiness@aol.com and I’ll get you started.

I’m also happy to have the au pairs returning to Montauk for our holiday dinner.  This is the last time they were here.  One of the things I most enjoy about having meetings in my hometown is the wonderful feedback I get from my friends and neighbors when they meet the whole gang.  I’m proud of these young, adventurous people who love children so much that they use childcare as their entre’ to a year in America.  I hope you get to meet some soon!

We took a sunset cruise on the Sea Spray in September!

Remember that Halloween will be special for your au pair too!

With Halloween right around the corner, this serves as a great time to remind your families and au pairs to be sure to discuss the trick-or-treat plan together before the day arrives. If the au pair will be home manning the house and giving out candy or taking the kids out around the neighborhood, it’s important to be clear on a few things. Here are a few suggested items to encourage your families and au pairs to review before the big day:
• What time does trick-or-treating begin and end?
• How far away from the home are they allowed to go?
• Is the au pair expected to go to each door with the children or can they wait behind and allow the kids to walk to the door alone?
• Do the parents want to “investigate” the candy before the kids eat it?
• Is there an amount of candy allowed that night and each day thereafter?
This may be the first time many of the au pairs have experienced trick-or-treating and it’s important to review this information so everyone has a happy and safe Halloween!

I often talk about my affinity for both host families; as a parent myself, and au pairs; I have two daughters in their twenties.  This summer, I also spent many wonderful hours with children, reacquainting myself with the joys of their innocence and imaginations.  Here I am just clowning around at the Camp Karole Fair, where I was the Drama Coach for children ranging from three to eight years old.

I also did a fair amount of story-telling, both on land at local hotels and parties and at sea for family sunset tours aboard the Sea Spray in Montauk.  As we move into fall, I have more time with children lined up.  I will be doing special creative activities at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons religious school; I have been accepted as a substitute teacher in Montauk (grades pre-K to 8th;) and I hope to have many more story-telling adventures at private parties and institutional events.

When I work with children, their imaginations are the guest of honor!  I enjoy seeing them totally unwired and fixated on just my voice and movements.  I usually don’t even wear a clown costume!

Camp Drama Coach gets in balloon-selling mood.

It’s time to welcome families from all over the country who have second homes in the Hamptons and spend time here in the summer with their Cultural Care Au Pair.  I have been adding visiting au pairs to the email list so that they can join us at our meetings and meet the local group.  The other side of the coin is that a few families from our group rent out their homes and leave the territory for the summer.  Enjoy your escape.  I’ll look forward to seeing you all again in the fall.

I am doing some interesting personal projects this summer that I want to share with you.

On Sunday, June 12th, I will be in story teller mode for a Curious George festival at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons.  It is part of an afternoon honoring Sousa-Mendez, a Portugese ambassador who helped many Jews escape the holocaust by writing visas for them.  One of the people he saved went on to create Curious George.  I’m honored to be a part of this tribute.  You can look for information at the JCOH website. You can also visit this website for information about weekly to all-summer sessions at Camp Karole.  I will be the drama coach there this summer and we should all have a great time!

Thursday through Saturday, June 16 - 18, come on down to Studio III at LTV Studios in Wainscott for a community theater presentation of Destry Rides Again! If one of the bad guys (Bugs) looks a lot like your LCC… there’s a reason for that!  Bet you didn’t know I can sing!

Whether you’re just visiting this area or moving out here for good, I can help you find flexible, affordable childcare.  As I finish my second year with Cultural Care Au Pair, I am better able to help you find just the right person for your home.  By the time you talk to an au pair, she has been through several levels of screening:  references checked; experience verified; language evaluated; personality profiled; and more.  I will help you navigate her or his application and work closely with you and the Placement Director to help ensure that your match is a good one.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions you might have.  Phone:  516.449.4200 or email:  sima.freierman@lcc.culturalcare.com Enjoy the summer!

Each year we meet with area lifeguard directors for water safety training.

I often explain to people from UpIsland and the city that when they are starting to plan their vacation, we on the East End are planning to get back to work!  By the time they arrive in Montauk, Shelter Island and the Hamptons, we had better have our au pair up to speed and ready to get our children to their summer activities.  Even those families who only need childcare help for a few months have already been looking so that their au pair starts by Mid-May, gets a taste of what’s coming over Memorial Day Weekend, and is ready to fly solo when summer madness is in full swing by July.

This summer, I hope to see even more of your children as a storyteller and folk dancer.   I’ll be at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons’ Purim Party on March 20th and the Earth Day Celebration at the Montauk Community Center on April 10th.   As summer gets rolling, there will be other events, occasions and parties where I hope our Hamptons Au Pairs will be bringing your children for a whole new look at your Local Childcare Coordinator.   I’m learning more and more about helping you to find the au pair that’s just right for your family.  But when I become Sima At Sea, Storyteller… imagination is the guest of honor!

Making potato pancakes from a crust of bread.

People often ask for my advice for appropriate gift-giving for families and au pairs during the holidays. While gift cards, photo albums, an extra vacation day, or a picture frame are all great gifts, one of the best gifts a host family can give their au pair during the holiday season is the gift of clarity. With all of the school vacation time, travel, family engagements, and holiday traditions, it can oftentimes be difficult for the au pairs to understand when their work day begins and ends. It’s so important for families and au pairs to sit down before the official holiday games begin and make very clear what the “holiday hours” will be. In addition to clarifying hours, it’s also important for families to clarify what activities or events the au pair is asked to be a part of as part of her role as the au pair and what activities or events she is invited to be a part of as a member of the family. Without this clarity, there can often be misunderstandings and hurt feelings. The holidays are a wonderful time of the year and can be the highlight of an au pair’s experience. Taking this important step can help to keep the season bright!

Hi families,

This summer was so interesting.  Some of our families rented out their Hamptons homes and traveled elsewhere, but we also had several families join our group for the summer months.  They came from Connecticut to California and were so pleased to find a welcoming Cultural Care community, complete with au pair meetings, right here on the East End.

The family survey went out this month and I really hope you all complete it.  I’m so impressed with the responsiveness to your comments at the corporate level.  Also, of course, I value your feedback and am open to any suggestions you might have.  If you have friends who might be interested in an au pair solution for their childcare needs, I hope you’ll send them my way.

Here is a link to the host family survey website.  If you take a look at some of the 2010 issues, I hope you’ll get some ideas for things you’d like to note for the upcoming year.  Please do give us your feedback, both through the survey and by contacting me any time you have a question or comment.  I appreciate being able to help make your au pair experience rich, enjoyable and satisfying for your whole family.

Some of our girls had a great time in Montauk

meet-me-in-montauk