E-News from the Literacy Center, 8-1-13

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In This Issue

  • Extreme VOTING

  • Coming to America

  • Literally Accoustic

  • Tutor Training

  • FREE Classes


Quick Links

Mission Statement

The mission of the Literacy Center of Milford is to provide services at no cost to any individual who wishes to learn the English language or enhance their reading, writing, speaking and math skills necessary to lead productive lives in our community.


Dates to Remember

September
2- Labor Day- Closed
9-13- National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week
25- Tutor Training Session
26- Literacy Awards

October
2-3 Greatgive 2013
11- International Wine Tasting

November
28- Thanksgiving- Closed

December
23- Jan 1- Closed


Tutor Resources

Pro Literacy Notebook
Elizabeth Claire,
Easy English News

Other Resources

Literally Acoustic

The Stallions will be performing an acoustic performance at Cafe Atlantique from 6:30-8:00 pm, Sat. Aug. 3rd.This is a charity donation event for the Literacy Center of Milford.

The Stallions play acoustic rock, blues, folk and jazz. Band members include Chris Quinn and Evan Leone.

Thank you to The Stallions for thinking of the Literacy Center and supporting our programs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VOTE for the Literacy Center to receive an…Antelope Web is celebrating its 5th Anniversary, due in large part to the support of the community in and around Milford, CT. Their way of saying “THANK YOU” is by holding an Extreme Charity Makeover Contest.

The Literacy Center of Milford
has been nominated!

If the Literacy Center of Milford wins this contest we will receive over $20,000 in marketing services and the person who submits the winning charity’s nomination will win a 40″ Flat Screen TV!

Every day YOUcan vote for us and keep us moving up the leaderboard.  Please take some time and click the link and
vote for us today…and every day til the contest closes on September 30.  Thank you!

VOTE


Why Did I Come to America?

It all started in 2009, when my aunt from Seattle and her son, Jesse, came over to Berlin after a long time and visited us. We had a really fun time together and they invited me again to come visit them in America. The following year I turned 18 and I got the trip to America for my special birthday. I was so excited to finally get to the US and, when I arrived, I was just so overwhelmed. Of course, I was born and raised in a big city, but that was just a different world to me. Everything was just bigger and so huge, like the buildings or the packages in the grocery store. I just got fascinated by the easy-going lifestyle and the kindness of the people.

I remember when we first went to the mall and people came over and asked “Hey, how are you doing today?” and I just thought like “What? Really? Is she talking to me?” And when I tried some clothes on, some strangers came over and said “Oh, you look cute in that”. Of course, that does happen in Germany, too, but not as often as in the US. So, yes, I just fell in love with this place. I had a great time.

We went to Canada and I met some nice new people and I promised my aunt to visit her again the following year – and I did it!

People always tell me how good I am with kids, so they told me being an Au Pair would be perfect for me. I never heard anything about it, so I did some research and I liked what I read about it. So I decided to become an Au Pair, because it is the perfect mix of spending time with kids, seeing them grow and develop, discovering new places, getting to know new people and improving my English.

So, when I told my family what I was planning to do, they weren’t really happy about it, especially not my mother. She saw some TV reports about it, where the Au Pairs weren’t treated well by the host family, got raped or locked in the basement. We were talking about that for a long time and I told her that I am old enough and that there will be a time when she has to let me go and let me have my own experiences.

And now I’m here, and with three kids instead of one, like I always wanted. Even when it gets really exhausting with all three of them, one smile from them shows me that I am in the right place right now and I don’t regret my decision at all. And so does my mother. Of course, she is scared that I don’t want to come back to Germany and they do miss me and I do miss them, too, but, all in all, she is proud of me and I am proud of myself that I made this step.

The definition of an Au Pair is always being misunderstood, because people think an Au Pair is just a babysitter or a nanny. But an Au Pair is not a nanny – an Au Pair is definitely more than that. You’re not just taking care of the kids. You are completely involved in the family life, because you live them and you are together 24/7. In the best case your host family treats you like their daughter and you are like the big sister for the kids.

Being an Au Pair can be rough, but your schedule usually looks like this:

You have to get up in the morning, feed the babies, give them a bath and dress them for the day. The rest depends on the weather. If it’s nice outside you just try to spend as much time as possible outside, running around, going to the playground or feeding the ducks. But when the weather is not so nice, we usually do some crafts, play instruments or read some books.

All in all, an Au Pair is there to interact with the kids, keep them busy and just be there if they need help with something or, for example, if they want to snuggle.

Student: Virginia Razzag

Country: Germany

Tutor: Phyllis Gwatkin

Imagine if you couldn’t read this.  STOP.  WELCOME.  RIGHT TURN.  HAM AND SWISS ON RYE WITH A SMALL SODA.  What would you do?  Who would you ask?  Where would you go?

Luckily our adult students find us at the Literacy Center and they ask us for help.  Our volunteer tutors work with students every week on a one on one basis or in a small group and they teach them the English language, pronunciation, fluency, phonics, math and conversation skills.  But we are always looking for more tutors!

Looking for a volunteer opportunity?
Become a part of the Literacy Center and change someone’s life!


 Literacy Center of Milford | 16 Dixon St, Milford, CT 06460 | (203) 878-4800

director@literacycenterofmilford.com | www.literacycenterofmilford.com