Posts

Happy Mother's Day! (Picture: Arianna Ardia)
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Happy Mother's Day!

Moederdag or Mother's Day in the Netherlands is always the second Sunday of May: this year on May 8th. What, how, since when, ideas for Mother's Day, what to write in Dutch on a Mother's Day card. And... a drawing. Download and let your kid(s)…
Keukenhof Gardens open till May 18th
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Keukenhof Gardens open from today till May 16th

Enjoy the fabulous sea of flowers of Keukenhof Gardens. With 32 hectares and approximately 7 million flower bulbs Keukenhof is the world’s largest flower garden and probably the most beautiful spring park in the world.  Keukenhof Gardens…
Linnaeushof, Europe's biggest playground, is open
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Linnaeushof, Europe's biggest playground is open again

Speelparadijs Linnaeushof: the biggest playground of Europe! So close! Linnaeushof is located in Bennebroek, a 15 minute drive from Haarlem and Leiden, just some more from Amsterdam and The Hague.  During the whole season (April till…
Important facts for the first step to elementary school (Photo: Leóny Lasschuit)

Important facts for the first step to elementary school

  In this article I focus on the first step towards the (regular) education: Elementary School Where should I start picking a good elementary school? Once your child is 4, it's time to attend school. But before the 4th anniversary…
Drongo Festival (Photo BIMU)
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Drongo Festival

Drongo Festival: "Languages for your Future", Professional information on multilingualism and playful experimentation with language-jamming, 27 September 2014, Public Library in Amsterdam.  Linguistic matters, as "displaced people"…
I know you mean well but perhaps you might want to try these lines instead (Photo: Shutterstock)

I know you mean well but perhaps you might want to try these lines instead

I didn't realize I have been riding on a dark cloud to strangers, acquaintances or even friends when I respond my usual remark of “but why shouldn't I be positive? Why shouldn't I be happy and be grateful and be alive while dealing with cancer?” I…
Five forms of childcare in the Netherlands - Part 2: Nanny Care/Childminder Care (Photo: Arianna Ardia)

Five forms of childcare in the Netherlands - Part 2: Nanny Care/Childminder Care

Are you looking for high quality childcare for your baby or toddler? Or thinking at changing type of childcare? Read more about the five most common types of childcare in the Netherlands in a series of five articles. Today part 2: Nanny Care…
World Breastfeeding Week 2014 and special invitation for our Haarlem breastfeeding mums (Photo: Breastfeeding Chicago)
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World Breastfeeding Week 2014 and special invitation for our Haarlem breastfeeding mums

The World Breastfeeding Week 2014 is this week, between Aug 1-7. The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action WABA has announced the slogan and theme for WBW 2014: BREASTFEEDING: A Winning Goal - For Life! This year's WABA World Breastfeeding…
Letter To the Young Mum in the Mammacare Waiting Area
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Letter To the Young Mum in the Mammacare Waiting Area

Yesterday in the waiting area I noticed you. You came out of the doctor's office, the same room that I came in a few minutes after. But in that fleeting moment that I was waiting to be called, I saw you. Your back lounged, partly seated…
12 things parents raising bilingual children need to know (Photo: Rachel Ranting)

12 things parents raising bilingual children need to know

1 – It doesn’t happen by magic Children do not become bilingual “by magic”. There is a persistent myth claiming that “children are like sponges when it comes to language” and that they will learn all languages they hear regularly…
Dutch crèches refusing non-vaccinated children
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Dutch crèches refusing non-vaccinated children

At least 5 crèches in the Netherlands now refuse children who have not been vaccinated, according to a survey conducted by RTL News. Of 560 daycare organizations that responded to RTL’s questions about vaccination policies, 118 said…
Clothing industry revises children's sizes (Photo: NOS)
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Clothing industry revises children's sizes

Dutch children are on average 2 kilos heavier than they were 12 years ago, and their waists are 4 cm thicker, according to research institute TNO. "The current children sizes, of 12 years ago, are too small nowadays. Children have become…
Duch toddlers' songs - Olifantje in het bos

Dutch toddlers' songs - Olifantje in het bos

Olifantje in het bos Laat je mamma toch niet los! Anders raak je de weg nog kwijt, en dan krijg je later spijt. Olifantje in het bos Laat je mamma toch niet los!   Don’t know the music? Our mini members Luca & Laura…
English lessons to bilingual children in Haarlem and surroundings (Photo: Gerlinde de Haas)
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English lessons to bilingual children in Haarlem and surroundings

Haarlem is a great place to grow up for children and although there are many internationals living in Haarlem, there is currently no international education in Haarlem. Once at school, multilingual families often experience that the primary…
Five forms of child care in the Netherlands - Day care

Five forms of childcare in the Netherlands - Part 1: Day care

Are you expecting your first child soon? And are you looking for high-quality childcare for your baby? Or are you an expat family that has arranged childcare already, but would you like to reconsider whether this form of care still fits you…
New rules for day care tax reduction in 2014 (Photo: Arianna Ardia)
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New rules for day care tax reduction in 2014

Working and having or expecting to have kids at the day care in 2014? Be aware that from 2014 there are new rules for the Childcare Payment Request to have tax reduction. If you are working and paying taxes for childcare in the Netherlands…
4 & 5 May: Remembrance Day and Liberation Day (Photo: Melanie Caitlin)
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4 & 5 May: Remembrance Day and Liberation Day

The Netherlands is unique among the other European countries in having two national ceremony days originating from the Second World War: Remembrance Day – ‘Dodenherdenking’ and Liberation Day – ‘Bevrijdingsdag’. On 4 May there…
Flower Parade Bollenstreek 2014 (Photo: Arianna Ardia)
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Flower Parade Bollenstreek 2014

The Bloemencorso Bollenstreek, or Flower Parade of the Bollenstreek (Bulbs Area) is one of the most famous parades in the world. More than a million people come to see the beautiful flower praalwagens (floats). The Flower Parade Bollenstreek…
The government has extended the leave regulation (Picture: Arianna Ardia)
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The government has extended the leave regulation

If a mother dies during giving birth to her child, the father will get from now on her maternity leave. This should ensure that the newborn can count on the care of a parent in the first period of his life. This plan of the Minister of Social…
Striptease as company outing of day care in Aalsmeer
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Striptease as company outing of day care in Aalsmeer

Day care teachers enjoying together a striptease of a tattooed male specie. Funny? Maybe, but as a mum of 3 todds my first thought was: not mine! Day care KieKeBoe in Aalsmeer held a particular company outing: a striptease. At the end of…
Duinrell: a fun day out or family vacation
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Duinrell: a fun day out or family vacation

Duinrell is an amusement park located in Wassenaar, close to The Hague and Leiden, approximately 40 minutes driving from Haarlem. It’s wonderfully located in the forest and dunes and nearby a wide beach and the park itself is one of the most…
#babysuiting. Craze sweeps the internet (Photo: MommyShorts/Instagram)
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# babysuiting. Craze sweeps the internet

Babysuiting: Babies dressed in adult suits are the new hype on the internet. The babysuiting trend was started by MommyShorts blogger Ilana Wiles, who said she ‘woke up and decided to make babysuiting a thing’ on Instagram. Since…