DutchInLaw

As Pippin and Bloom and I headed out the front door, we waved to two of our neighbors who were chatting by their doors. "We're going to the Varend Corso," I called. "Do you want to come?" One who has lived here for years laughed. "Oh, I've seen it about thirty times." The other, who's also a recent transplant to Maassluis, said, "I'm busy tonight, so maybe another time. But what is it?" "Um, a boat parade, from what I've heard. Plants, flowers, music, boats?" According to the website , the "Westland Flower Parade" has been an annual tradition for the last 15 or so years, and I have a soft heart for traditions. Especially brightly colored musical ones where I can take photos and feel connected to this country that has been my home for almost twelve years now.  I decided to bring the kids too, but not my husband, since massive community events are not his cup of tea. (A massive community event like

When I first started 'practicing' homeschool with Pippin, I had high hopes but not a lot of context. What could a 2.5 year old learn? What would they enjoy? I read about some children who could read at 3 years old, others who didn't learn until 6 but were strong in other areas. I hoped to use the Sonlight homeschool curriculum once Pippin got older, but the teachers guide and books started from the 3/4 Preschool year. At two and a half years old, he fell more under the category 'totschooling'. So I focused on materials that would be a fun and casual introduction to letters, numbers, and the world around him. I wasn't ready to commit to a curriculum or materials that would be expensive or exhausting, especially if homeschooling didn't work well for us. I also didn't have much of a budget, or access to homeschooling communities from our home in the Netherlands. What I did have was plenty of free time, a working printer, and fast internet. So I started s

This house is full of wobbly steps these days. Literal ones, in the form of my walking one year old who melts me with her hazel eyes and determination and the occasional casual THUMP as she lands on her little butt, gets up, and starts toddling off again. But there are more wobbly steps. Like me trying to clean the kitchen while avoiding the painful infection on the sole of my foot where an infected splinter punishes me for walking barefoot in the garden in one of the sunny days last month. Wobbly steps as D and I try to navigate the piles of junk in our attic because, as hard as I've been trying, I just can't clear it out. And every time I organize it (or, you know, take TEN GARBAGE BAGS to the kringloop in one week), it still spreads out again. Or I undo my previous organization so that I can move all of D's super cool, super manly power tools to a new storage room, and never put away what I moved out of that storage room. Wobbly steps as my big boy Pippin rides on

A Day in the Life - Homeschooling a 4 Year Old in Holland As introduction, homeschooling in Holland is a tricky business. Homeschooling anywhere is a tricky business, but in the Netherlands the educational stance on homeschooling is complicated, which adds an extra layer to the daily challenges of stimulating a child's mind and building their knowledge base (and maintaining personal sanity). Currently we have a (second) official letter processing at the City Hall, and within the next month or two we hope to get official confirmation and acceptance of our notification of homeschooling. More information on Dutch laws here .  It is possible that we would be denied (technically illegal, but possible), in which case there will be discussions at home, negotiation with the city hall, and who knows what after that. Other homeschool families have been denied and then negotiated their way to success, or given in and enrolled their children in school, or moved to Belgium, which has a mor