Tag Archives: children

5 ways to justify Surprise me Sundays

In the summer we had ‘Smokey Sundays’: something grilled on the BBQ, charcoal fired of course (often prepared by my husband). When it got colder, we transitioned to ‘Soupy Sunday’, where our dinner consists of a home- made soup accompanied by a (usually) home-made bread and finished with a home-made pudding (and the home-made here […]

Dare to be proud

Recently I read a blog from a friend in the Netherlands, in which he admitted to be proud of himself. It got me thinking. I think here in the US people easier admit to be proud than in the Netherlands. There is an expression in Dutch that literally translates as: “Act normal, that’s crazy enough.” […]

See the moon shines through the trees…

Nine years, plus three before our family move. That’s twelve years in the US.We’ve been married 19, so most of my married life I spent in the US. Kind of cool, now I think of it. I dream in English, feel like I belong here and miss only my family and friends.I keep forgetting about […]

And today? Today I just sat.

It was a regular Wednesday in the third week of school. Slowly, but surely, we all got into our normal routine and in the rhythm of the ‘normal’ week. Husband went to work like usual, kids went to school, and their afterschool activities as piano, Robotics, soccer, cross country and fencing. And I? I make […]

The powerful role of play – let’s look at education from a different perspective.  

Have you seen photos of the Google offices on the Internet? Did you feel a pang of envy? Beanbags, scooters, pool tables, putting greens, bright bold colors, sometimes even a slide. If you didn’t know any better, you probably thought you were looking at pictures of an upscale preschool. I tell you what I thought. […]

Line drying laundry as an easy way to reflect

I pride myself in being ‘earth conscious’: having solar panels, and energy efficient appliances, doing composting and recycling, and during the summer I line-dry most of my laundry. There is something deeply satisfying about doing laundry that way: I plan it in the morning, so the laundry has all day to dry. That first morning […]