school for the girls...

..... means work for me.

Our decision to send our kids to a Waldorf School was a very conscious one. We checked out a couple of schools about 3 years ago, when Lara was getting close to the age of 4 and were having a hard time deciding. The closest school is the same one I used to go to as a child. This school has now become one of the what are known as 'Black Schools' here in Holland. It has nothing to do with actual black people, and I still think it's the worst naming choice in history (except for that guy who named his son Pilot Instructor) but it is what it is. What it means is that more than 50% of the children who go to that school were not born in Holland and usually do not speak the Dutch language as fluently as a Dutch native would. In the case of the school I used to go to the percentage has gone up to about 75%. While I am all for mixing cultures, hearing different languages, learning from each other's differences and being tolerant, I also find it really important that my children hear and learn proper Dutch, and unfortunately that has become something of a problem in these 'Black' schools.

Our next option was a school a little bit further away and we thought we had found our school. We enrolled Lara in pre-school there (two mornings a week from the age of 2,5 - 4). While she enjoyed her time there I kept feeling like this still wasn't the right place, and I knew that if I was going to make a decision about changing schools I would have to do it soon before Lara started going on a daily basis and got really settled. Reasons that that school still felt 'off' included the size of the groups (34 children in 1 class!), the amount of junk food that was served every time someone had a birthday (seriously, you would not believe the money some parents would spend on treats for everyone) and the sheer amount of plastic toys that were stacked clear up to the ceiling on nearly every wall to ensure any form of imagination/dreaming/natural discovery is discouraged. Also I must admit that I didn't feel comfortable with the other parents. It felt a LOT like high school all over again, with the cool group, the weird group, the jocks, the gossips..... not good.

  Then my dear friend Hellen, who has a daughter the same age as Julia, told me about the school she had attended as a child, and that she was probably going to have her children go to as well. It was a Waldorf school, and though I had heard of them before I didn't actually know a whole lot about them. All I knew is that it was where all the hippies took their children, and that the running gag is that when you've gone to school at a Waldorf school you can knit a fairy but you can't spell fairy. Safe to say I was a little unsure. It doesn't help that they're called 'Free Schools' here, making them sound like kids just hang out there doing whatever they want, which is probably dangle from the ceiling half the time and poke a pile of mud with a stick the other half.

 Then I began to find out more and more about how this particular Waldorf school I was considering operated, and that a lot has changed in anthroposophical education since my childhood. Mainly I learned that at a Waldorf school a child is encouraged to learn what they need to learn, in a way that works for them. For some that is with their head, for others with their hands, for some others with their hearts. Let's face it, we all learn best when we are able to experience something new with as many senses as possible, then do it ourselves and finally really get a feel for it and make it our own. They are also very aware that we are not just our body, we have a spirit and children don't just magically appear on earth after a miracle of nature. They believe we existed before we came to earth, but leave everyone quite free to fill in details as in what form or level of consciousness that might have been. They also celebrate Christian/Pagan holidays and are very close to nature. Children bake their own bread on Tuesdays, go for a walk in the neirby forest on Fridays and as the seasons change, so do the songs that are sung every single day.

Upon visiting the Wonnebald for the first time I was struck by the atmosphere. It felt so calm, warm and welcoming. Simple toys made from natural materials were arranged in inviting ways for play. A 'treehouse' stood in the corner of the classroom for the 4-6 year olds and you could tell the children were engaged in lots of arts, music, nature watching and story-telling. The other parents were so nice to me as well, and Lara immediately took to 'Juffie Marianne'. We were sold.

Lara and Julia still absolutely love their school and have many friends, and we haven't regretted our decision for a moment....
....except perhaps when I am yet again asked to make something by hand for my child that every other person would simply buy at the store for a Euro or two. They really get a kick out of these things. Each Christmas/Easter/Halloween/Sinterklaas/Summer Solstice I receive a note from school describing (very badly too I might add) what they would like me to make for my child this time so they can learn the value of receiving small gifts from the heart that took time and love to create. Or that, in my case,took more time and and a lot of yelling at inanimate objects to make.

The latest example: a special custom-made pencil case (that I received the wrong measurements for!) to hold all the craft/writing equipment Lara will need now she's begun to learn to read and write. I was sure happy to have that sewing machine I got earlier this year because if I attempted to make this thing by hand (like I made her tote for her gym clothes by hand when she first started going) I think you would found me running around the house wearing my underpants on my head and laughing maniacally... again.

music monday V0.9

Before I get to talking music I wanted to see if you guys remembered my wish list? Did I mention already that item #1 off the list has been crossed off? Well it has!! One of my mom's dearest friends, Elaine, sent some money over with my mom last time she came, with the purpose of using it for something I wanted. It was just about enough to buy this sewing machine which was on sale:

It's basic, easy to use and perfect for a beginner like myself to learn on. So far all I've done is basic mending on the stack of worn/ripped/torn clothes I had in the cupboard, which already was a huge blessing (some of that stuff hadn't been worn in a few years!). But today a new chapter in my youthful sewing career has begun, for I have started a Baby Quilt! I found this here tutorial online and figured I was man enough to give it a try. When I found all the right base fabrics and batting at the market this morning I knew nothing would stand in my way anymore, and I got to work. 

Also, while I was looking for my huge bag of fabric scraps I came by my 'lost' bag of crocheting materials, including the half-finished baby sweater I had started on in Febuary... so expect some crafting updates and pictures soon. 

Alright, on to the music business. 

Hold on to yer girdles because today I am taking you DANCING! Check out these old and new songs that never fail to get me moving.

1. Devendra Banhart - Lover. There were other vids to choose from on Youtube but this guy made me giggle.

2. Beirut - Elephant Gun. I was torn between this and 'Postcards from Italy', which is really my favourite Beirut song.... but I went for this instead because the video is so wonderful and has lots of dancing in it :)

3. Beck - Modern Guilt. I have loved Beck since I was a silly teenager. He writes some of the best tunes and lyrics out there if you ask me.



4.Roisin Murphy - Ruby Blue



5.The Pipettes - Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me. Saw these girls live in Amsterdam a few years ago, they're adorable.



I think I'll have to get back to the subject of dance another time this year... I came across soooo many more I would love to share while I was digging these up! What are your favourite dancing songs?

modern day magical transportation

Remember back in the day when we walked places, or rode a horse to get somewhere? Don't worry, neither do I... but I like to pretend I do because it gives me that strangely magical feeling of having been born in a different era. Of course we all get around in our 'steel motorized carriages' or, if you are Dutch or a health nut or slightly deranged, on your bicycle. So when I found a tutorial online for making amazing little cardboard horses by the amazing Ann Wood, I was able to be transported to a place and time where I have a noble steed parked outside my house, waiting for me to jump gracefully out the window and onto its back, happy to carry me anywhere I choose to go. I'll admit that for a moment in my little dream world the horse somehow ran us up in the air and over houses without having grown wings... a magic mare, beautiful and strong. This is what she looked like in my imagination, with a little help from Ann.

 

 Excuse the poor, poor picture quality... since the untimely death of our digital camera I have been doomed to using only my mobile phone camera. I really recommend you try making a little horse of your own, perhaps even an entire stampede as seen on Ann's website! They're very fulfilling and easy to make. Mine is currently to be admired amongst our Fall 'display' (three crocheted mushrooms and some acorns the girls brought home from school sitting on the living room mantle).

Touching back on the topic of transportation a bit: I felt like a taxi today. I was in the car from 12.30 to 3.30pm. 1: Home - school. 2: school - the home of a boy in the same class as the girls. His parents are divorced and his mother was supposed to pick him up but she had fallen ill, so his dad asked me if I would be willing to drop their son off at her house, clear across the city from school and my house. I did it, happy to be of service and yes, at the prospect to be able to maybe ask a favor in return someday. Not so much as a thank you from the mother when I dropped him off though! She just opened the door, looked at me, let her son in, looked at me again and I said I hoped she would feel better soon, she replied 'yes.', and closed the door. I feel another happy little note coming on!! Stay tuned for that one....

So where were we. Oh yes, 3: boy's home - sister missionaries. One of our sister missionaries hurt her ankle  last week and they had called a few days ago if I would be able to drive them to an appointment today in Rijswijk. So 4: sister's appartment - Rijswijk. 5: Rijswijk - the Bidjai residence, to pick up my daughters. 6: Bidjai residence - home. I'm sure you found that just riveting to read, I know how to keep my readers happy!

new life

Welcome to the world little Ella Jane. I'm so happy to be your aunt! May you always find joy in the seemingly little things in life, but which we all know to be true wonders. Ella was born to my sister and her husband only about an hour ago and she's their second child with the wonderful Benson being the first. If they give me permission I'll post pics of all four of them ASAP!

I love vintage pictures like this one. My mother used to have a birthday calendar full of exactly these prints hanging in the bathroom (the dutch just love to remember about upcoming birthdays when getting down to 'business') and I would flip through it over and over again, never being able to decide which one was my favourite. Here is another on I really really love from that era.

I try to draw sometimes.... but somehow it never turns out even remotely as lovely and delicate as these. I was drawing earlier tonight in fact. I'll show you what I managed to create.

Oh yes. Feathered and watching you.