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What is an au pair? An au pair is an educated young person from abroad who lives with you in your home for up to two years, cares for yourchildren and becomes a part of your family.

Flexibility An au pair can provide up to 45 hours per week of childcare on a schedule you decide, including early morning, evening and weekend coverage.

Trust Because an au pair lives in your home, mutual trust develops more quickly than with a daycare provider or nanny.

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To find out if hosting is right for your family, contact Local Childcare Consultant Jen Rodehaver.

303-956-6189 jen.rodehaver@LCC.culturalcare.com culturalcare.com/jrodehaver facebook.com/LCCJenRodehaver

KIDS' PLANET with Thorne Nature Experience

by Dr. Oakleigh Thorne, 11

Do you know the difference between a Common RavenandanAmerican Crow? Wehave bothofthesebirdspeciesinthe Boulderarea, so you need to be able to tell them apart. For example, a raven is much larger than a crow and has a heavier beak (see photograph). A raven also has a "shaggier" head. Don't worry, I'm not goingtotellyoua"Shaggy Ravenstory!"

Anotherway totellthemapartisbytheirvoice. You have probably heard a crow's "caw-cawcaw,"usuallyloudandclear, repeatedthreetimes or more. Sometimes their notes are short. Sometimestheyarelonganddrawnout. Araven, ontheotherhand,soundslikeahoarsecrow,ora crowwithbronchitis! Ravencallshavea"gargle" sound, usually at a lower pitch than a crow. I wish that you were standing in front of me right now because I can makeboth ofthese calls with my voice!Soif you're ever visiting Thorne Nature Experience, ask to see me and say, "Hey Oak, make calls like a raven and a crow." Ravens will often make other kinds of sounds, too. Some of these are rather weird. Ravens and crows can apparently communicate witheachotherthrough theirvocalizations.

At Thorne, we have a "stuffed" (taxidermied) raven, and also a raven's nest, in our classroom. People often ask us where we got this nest. One ofourteachersbroughtitback fromtheWestern Slope. Ithadbeenbuiltbyaravenintheirfriend's barn and they were about to tear it down since the birds had finished nesting. Instead, our teachercarefullytookitdownintact,placeditina big tarp, and brought it back to us. We built a specialshelfandputthenestonit.

Theshapeofthetailis verydifferentbetweena raven and a crow (see illustration). A raven has a wedge-shapedtailandacrow'stailisfan-shaped.

This difference is very clear when they are flying overhead.

Ravens and crows are very smart birds. They have even been known to solve problems. When I was a boy, I had a pet crow. It had fallen out of a nest somewhere when it was still very young, so I took ithome andgaveitfoodand water. For food, Iground upsomedog chowcheckers and made a soft paste that I could dab on the end of my finger and stuff in the crow's open mouth whenever it called outto be fed, which was often. That kept me very busy at times. I taught it to say "hello" (sort of a "yell-oh," likesomebody fromthe Midwest) and also "boy oh boy." My crow even learned to laugh. I think it was mimicking me! I just thought that it had a good sense of humor! I was convinced that my crow was indeed very intelligent.

Crows are often found in flocks, sometime very largeflocks. Thisis what werefer to as "a murder of crows," like we might say "a flock of geese" or "a school of fish." On the other hand, ravens are often found alone or in pairs, but sometimes in small groups. In the spring, they can be very playful. I'll often see a pair of ravens diving and playing with each other in the sky. Sometimes there are several ravens joining in this "game," like abunch ofschoolkids ontheplayground!

I hope you will keep an eye out for ravens and crows in your area and learn to appreciate them asbeing very special. They are tome!

Dr.Thorneisfounderandpresidentof ThorneNatureExperience(formerly ThorneEcologicalInstitute),anonprofit organizationheadquarteredinBoulder. For69yearstheyhavehelped "connect youthtonature!"Forinformationabout theirprograms, pleasechecktheirwebsite atwww.thornenature.orgoremail info@thornenature.orgorcall (303) 499-3647, ext. 100.