Dear Prospective Au Pair,
We are writing this letter to tell you about our family and our hopes and expectations for your stay with us.
I am currently employed as a Program Manager. As such, I oversee the management and direction of several programs in basic research areas. I have a Bachelor of Science in Physics, a Master of Science and my Doctorate in Physics. My current job requires me to travel a fair amount, but usually for no more than a day or two at a time. Occasionally, I will attend a conference that lasts an entire week, but this is usually only once or twice a year.
Mathew is currently employed as a Research Physicist. He also manages program in addition to conducting his own research.
Nicholas (15) is our oldest son. He pretty much takes care of himself and will be a big help to you in taking care of the younger children. Nicholas is currently in 10th grade at a private high school. He is very active in Boy Scouts and is working hard to become a responsible young adult. Nicholas works very hard, is very smart, and has a generally very happy disposition. He likes to read, watch TV, play video games, and swim.
Joseph (12) is ”Mr. Personality”. He has quite an imagination, likes to read, play soccer and baseball and has a very sweet disposition. He is somewhat of a perfectionist and can easily have his feelings hurt if he thinks that someone (even himself) does not approve of his work. He likes to play soccer and Little League baseball. Nicholas and Joseph are also members of one of the local swim teams. Like his older brother, Joseph is also very active in Boy Scouts. Joseph is currently attending 7th grade at the public middle school.
Joseph is an active young man– always in motion. Sometimes getting him to sit down to eat or do his homework can be a challenge.
Michael (6) is a very happy little boy. He loves to go outside and play in our large back yard. Michael enjoys swinging and going down the slide on our play set. He also enjoys going for walks, and is always eager to ”help” with gardening.
The schedule for a ”typical” day will depend on whether or not the children are attending school. During school, your day will typically start around 7:00-8:00 am. You will need to take Nicholas and Joseph to the school bus stop (sometimes Mathew or I will do this on our way to work, if our schedule allows).
During the summer, the children will sleep in and the schedule will be more relaxed. We typically will sign the children up for swimming lessons some time during the summer and we would expect you to provide them with transportation to and from their lessons and to stay there with them during the lessons. Nicholas and Joseph participate on the swimming team and they will need to go to swimming practice around 5:00 pm each afternoon during the summer. The pool is less than a mile from our house, so it is not a far drive. We also may take one or more vacations during the summer, and we would like for you to join us on at least one of these trips.
We are only about 3 miles from the local community college. We will he happy to send you a schedule of classes for the next semester, once the au pair selection process is complete. There are a number of au pairs in the area and we have found that previous au pairs find lots of activities to keep them busy in their spare time.
Your bedroom is in the basement. You have your own bathroom and there is a large room with a television, VCR, sleeper sofa and coffee table that you would have pretty much to yourself. You have access to the kitchen and basically anything that you might want to use in the house. As I said earlier, it is very important to us that YOU feel as if f you are member of our family.
We look forward to talking to you soon.