Dear Future Family Member,

Welcome to our family! We are so excited to meet you and begin this incredible journey together. Our home is full of energy, love, and curiosity, and we can’t wait to share it with you.
As a driven and well-traveled family, we value new experiences and the chance to learn from different cultures. You’ll be a vital part of our household, helping care for our bright, intelligent child and joining us in our daily adventures around downtown Chicago. We understand how daunting it can be to step into a new environment, especially as a young woman in a different country, and we want you to know that we are here to support you every step of the way.
We’re also happy to help you experience the best of what our city and culture have to offer, and we look forward to learning about yours as well. We’re committed to making sure you feel at home, supported, and respected, and we look forward to creating wonderful memories together. We hope you’re just as excited as we are to start this adventure!

Warmly,
The Ledgisters

Morning Routine

- Breakfast (7:00 AM - 8:00 AM): The au pair helps prepare and serve a simple, nutritious breakfast for our child. This may include assisting with feeding and cleaning up after the meal.
- Morning Prep (8:00 AM - 8:45 AM): After breakfast, the au pair helps our child get dressed and ready for the day, ensuring our child’s clothes are clean, comfortable, and appropriate for the day's activities.
- Daycare Drop-off (8:45 AM - 9:15 AM): Depending on the family schedule, the au pair may be responsible for dropping our child off at daycare or engaging our child in a morning activity such as a reading time, play at home, etc.
Midday Routine
(9:15 AM - 4:30 PM) Au Pair will have free-time to relax, rest and study while our child is at daycare, fitting in chores relating to toddler care.
- Light Housekeeping: The au pair helps pick up toys, tidy up play areas, and maintain our child’s room, ensuring everything is organized and ready for play or learning time later in the day.
- Toddler Laundry: While our child is at daycare the au pair is responsible for washing, drying, and folding our child’s laundry. Clothes should be neatly put away in our child's room. This is done twice a weekly.

Afternoon Routine
Daycare Pick-up (4:30 PM - 5:00 PM): The au pair may pick up our child from daycare or preschool and bring them home. There is a vehicle available depending on the age and experience of the au pair; alternately we live in the city where there is ample public transport by way of trains & buses, including a bus stop right outside our house. We can also provide Uber/Lyft.
- Afternoon Walks/Playground (5:00 PM - 7:00 PM): After daycare, the au pair often takes our child on a walk or to the playground to burn off energy and enjoy outdoor time. On other days, the au pair may also be responsible for transporting our child to extracurricular activities such as football practice, or other age-appropriate classes, this might involve indoor playtime or storytime at home.
- Extracurricular Activities (5:00 PM - 6:00 PM)

Evening Routine
- Dinner (6:00 PM - 7:00 PM): The au pair may assist with preparing and serving dinner for our child, helping with feeding if needed, and ensuring our child eats a balanced meal.
- Bath Time (7:00 PM - 7:30 PM): After dinner, the au pair helps with our child’s bath time, ensuring proper hygiene and helping our child wind down for the evening.
- Bedtime (7:30 PM - 8:00 PM): The au pair supports the bedtime routine by helping our child brush teeth, change into pajamas, and settle into bed. They may read a story or sing songs to help our child relax and fall asleep.

Occasional Responsibilities
- Parent Work Travel: Occasionally, one or both parents may need to travel for work, and the au pair may be required to accompany the family or stay home with our child, providing full-time care. This would involve all-day childcare, managing meals, activities, and ensuring our child’s routine is maintained.
- Holidays/Vacation: During holidays, the au pair has the option to either enjoy and explore Chicago on their own, return home to visit family or accompany the family on vacation. If traveling with the family, the au pair will assist with childcare during the trip, but will also have time off to enjoy the destination.

- Free Time
The au pair will have scheduled free time during the day when our child is in daycare, and they will also have nights and weekends off, depending on family needs. Most times, we are all together on the weekends, and child care is mainly with us as parents. Flexibility is appreciated, especially during special occasions or travel, but the au pair's work-life balance will be respected.
If our au pair has plans, as we expect any young woman in a big city to have as she makes friends and explores, we ask that you give us ample notice especially on weekends, so that we can clear our schedules. Please also feel free to share your intended location with us, if you want an extra layer of safety (although this is not required). Of course, we value your privacy and autonomy as an adult.