Go Au Pair in Grand Rapids offers a child care experience through cultural exchange
What is an Au Pair?
Au Pairs are pre-screened international young adults with child care experience who provide full time, live-in child care and introduces a memorable cultural experience at an affordable cost. With Au Pair child care, families in Grand Rapids can enjoy all the benefits of in home child care.
Au Pairs can be responsible for general supervision of the children, driving, laundry, homework help, preparing meals, and providing morning and bedtime help. As an Au Pair agency, Go Au Pair is dedicated to helping families in the Grand Rapids area choose an Au Pair that fits their specific family needs.
Local Area Representative in Grand Rapids, MI
Go Au Pair has a Local Area Representative in Grand Rapids and surrounding areas to help our families during their experience. Our agency’s local representative will assist your family and Au Pair with any questions related to your live in child care needs.
Mackenzie Smit
“Erin provide really good service to us. She is always in touch. She helps with questions immediately. She always asks our opinion before she plans another activity, sends information about new au pairs. She is wonderful!”
“Everything about our au pair has exceeded expectations. She is wonderful!”
“I really love to live in Utah. [It] is one of the most beautiful places in the world. You can do a lot of things, hiking, snowboarding, you can watch amazing landscapes. My family is really special, they are very independent, but they also love to have family time.”
“We have been thrilled with our au pair and having her in our home has been a pure delight. We adore her and consider her a part of our family.”
“Erin has been great at letting us know when there are activities and encourages the Au pairs to go. Erin has always been available to answer questions and is super easy to get along with. We feel very comfortable talking with her.”
The areas I serve in Michigan
I cover the west Michigan area – the greater Grand Rapids area, including from Cedar Springs to Kalamazoo and Lansing, the lakeshore, and surrounding areas.
I enjoy being part of the au pair program because I have experienced firsthand the benefits of the program. I love the cultural exchange that it provides, in addition to consistent child-care. My girls love their au pair! I enjoy connecting with the families and au pairs.
Au Pair Cultural Activities
Au Pairs are required to attend a number of Cultural Activities with their Local Area Representative and nearby Au Pairs to make sure they experience the local community and culture during their stay. Below are some of the activities Mackenzie’s cluster has been up to recently!
In the fall we visited an apple orchard, a common fall event in Michigan. We picked apples, enjoyed donuts and cider, and did a corn maze.
We visited the new Christmas market in Grand Rapids to see all of the vendors and shared lunch together. There were many festive activities to participate in, crafts, food to try, drinks, and desserts.
We welcomed a new au pair’s arrival by visiting a popular walking trail in the city and getting ice cream together.
Additional Resources for Families and Au Pairs in Grand Rapids, MI
Au Pairs will need to have their International Driver’s License in order to take a written test. If they pass that then they need to schedule a Road Test with a 3rd party company, which they will have to pull into a parking spot, back into a spot and also parallel park. If they pass the parking then they take a road test on surface streets first and then on the expressway.
https://www.michigan.gov/sos/resources/forms/what-every-driver-must-know
There is not much public transportation in the greater Grand Rapids area. There is a bus line in the areas close to downtown, but most of families live outside of the city. Most au pairs have access to a car that they use to get around or the utilize ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft.
- There are several colleges and universities in the area, but the most common classes that au pairs take are through Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC). GRCC offers English classes for adult learners geared towards students where English is a second language. The students do not have to apply directly to the school but instead to the program. They place into a class that matches their English level and are able to meet lots of new people through these classes. https://www.grcc.edu/programs/adult-education
Child Friendly Activities for Au Pairs and Host Families
Au Pairs will find that Grand Rapids offers a wide variety of exciting things to do and places to visit. There are many historical museums, art displays, scenic touring, and physical activities. Families can help Au Pairs find activities they are most interested in.
In Michigan we get some colder winters. It always makes winter better to enjoy some winter activities. Every winter there is ice skating downtown at the city center Ice Skating at Rosa Parks
West Michigan is known as “the fruit belt” and grows many different types of fruit really well. It is very common to go berry picking throughout the summer at one of the many orchards in the area – strawberries in June, blueberries in July, peaches in July/August, and apples in September/October. Popular Orchards
This is a very popular festival in Holland, a town by the lakeshore, that occurs every spring. There are many activities throughout the week including seeing the millions of tulips that bloom. Tulip Time.
West Michigan is well-known for it’s beautiful and clean beaches. The beach is a perfect spot on any sunny day in the summer. A bonus is that most of the beaches have small towns nearby that are fun to visit and walk through.
This is a garden and sculpture park that is a great visit. They have a children’s garden, expansive outdoor areas to walk around and experience as well as some indoor gardens. They have events throughout the year such as the butterfly exhibit in the spring or the Christmas Tree exhibit in the fall. https://www.meijergardens.org/