Even before leaving his/her home country, an Aupair should begin to consider the type of classes he/she is interested in taking to fulfil the educational requirement. Shortly after arriving in the United States, the Host Family and the Aupair should set up a work schedule to provide time for the Aupair to fulfil the educational requirements. In addition, the Host Family should also:

ü      Schedule consecutive hours of free time each week so that the Aupair can sign up for classes or other activities. If the Aupair has found a class that he/she would like to take and it is mutually convenient, the schedule should be planned around the class days and hours

ü      Facilitate transportation for the Aupair to and from educational activities including the monthly cluster meetings. If Aupairs do not have access to a car or can not find a ride with a friend, Host Families must drive the Aupair or make sure that the Aupair is familiar and comfortable taking public transportation (assuming this is available).

ü      Offer, along with the Local Coordinator, support and advice. Some Aupairs have a good idea of with classes they want to take, but little idea of how to go about registering, or are overwhelmed by the registration process. Other Aupairs have little idea of what they want to study and need a little more help.

Local Coordinators will have a resource file of information about classes that are available in the community and he/she will know what classes were most enjoyed by previous Au Pairs. Universities in the U.S. can be extremely expensive. Community colleges, adult education courses and other accredited institutions offer interesting courses, which are less expensive and less academically rigorous than those, found in a University.

Classes held at local businesses, computer stores, sewing centres, community recreation departments may not count toward the educational requirement. Classes, which are strictly of a recreational nature, such as aerobics or a gym membership, do not count toward the educational requirement. Driving lessons also do not count toward this requirement. Aupairs are encouraged to take academic or career related classes that will help them in the future. Some exceptions may be made regarding sporting classes if the Aupair aspires to become a teacher or coach of a sport.

The Aupair should be prepared to begin taking classes shortly after his/her arrival. If the Aupair procrastinates too long, he/she may not have time to complete the full educational requirement. Aupairs can use one of two methods to calculate credit hours for classes:

·        Classroom Weeks Method: requires 12-24 weeks of classes

·        Classroom Hours Method: Aupairs should spend 45-90 hours in class