Moving to Amsterdam

[AmazoniaBelly]

Hi,

My family and I will be moving to Amsterdam in late August. We will visit in a few weeks to check out where we will be living and such. I have a 4 year old daughter and a 1 year old son. I am really excited about the move and looking forward to meeting up with other families. We are American and have been living abroad for the last 7 years...so, the adventure continues.

I would love to hear from other mothers and would be grateful for any suggestions for both indoor and outdoor activities. I know we will be living in a place called Science Park?!!?

All the best,
rachel

[SuzymomofLaura]

Hi and
Science park is a part of Amsterdam still in development, but it is reasonably close to where I live http://www.scienceparkamsterdam.nl/

[sarahmck]

Welcome! I hadn't heard of Science Park before, but just looked it up. It's pretty far out, but I hope I'll meet you eventually anyway. I also have a 4-year old daughter and 1-year old son.

Where will your daughter be going to school? I assume you already know a bit about the school system here and the fact that the kids almost all start at their 4th birthday and are required to start by their 5th birthday. (Unless, of course, you home school, but that's quite unusual here and a bit of an administrative hassle to arrange.)

As for activities, there are loads of classes, from music lessons, baby/child gymnastics, dance class, football, etc. There are also indoor playgrounds, one of which isn't too far from Science Park. The zoo is also close.

Are you just staying for a year or two, or is this going to be a permanent move?

Sarah

[AmazoniaBelly]

Hi,

Thanks for both of your replies. We will be staying for atleast three years. I have both of my children at home with me, however, my daughter has expressed that she is interested in school. We will be coming to Amsterdam on the 22nd of June to check it all out. We have been offered a place at Science park to live...I think the plan is that we will take it so we can get to know the city better and take our time finding a place of our own. I hope it isn't too far out. In Leipzig, I actually have a bakfiets that the children and I use to get around. I would love to meet up in June if anyone has the time...I will be with my children while my partner visits with his future collegues. Do you know of any schools that you would recommend that are within a bakfiets ride from Science park?

[sarahmck]

I don't know the schools up that way. Most of my experience is in the south of the city, an area where many ex-pats with children live.

What type of school are you looking for? There's a sticky with some school info in it at the top of this forum (or at least there used to be, I didn't look before I wrote this).

It's not simple to just get into any school. Most of them, and pretty much all of the ones with good reputations, have long waiting lists. So be forewarned that it won't necessarily be easy to get in where you want.

We'd be happy to get together with you in June.

[SuzymomofLaura]

I'll join you! (have been wanting to meet you for a long time too Sarah )
How about the other Amsterdam MDC mamas? If there are any left, that is, I'm afraid I lost count. :
Angela? Are you back yet?

[AmazoniaBelly]

Hi,

I have read the sticky regarding the school types...I feel like I need to visit the schools with my daughter and see how she responds to each environment. The Dalton and Jena models look interesting....In Germany we have Montessori, Waldorf, Sudbury and conventional/private. At home we do a mix of all....we spend a lot of time outside in the park " going on adventures." My daughter is really verbal and fantasy-oriented. Sarah, is your daughter in school and if so what type?

Before I forget, I have another question. So, I love flea markets, second-hand, junk yards ect. I love buying old and refurbishing. What is this scene like in Amsterdam. A couple of my friends have told me that it is difficult to find "good stuff."

I am really happy that both of you responded. :

[SuzymomofLaura]

I too LOVE recycling used goods, my favorite store is this real big one in Naarden (quite near Amsterdam)
http://www.dekringloper.nl/kringloper.php
In my experience the secondhand stores (called kringloopwinkels) in Amsterdam are not really worth my time: too much real junk and overpriced too.

[AmazoniaBelly]

Wow...just booked our tickets ...so we will def be in Amsterdam on the week of the June 22nd.

I think I am going to try and make a couple appointments at a few schools to visit with my daughter. Would it be crazy for me to call and ask for an appointment (I speak english and german)? Do either of you have a tip as to how I can locate the schools in my area? I have looked at Science Park on google maps and it is tough to get an idea of how far of a commute it would be...you know,when I am thinking of how far I could travel to bring my daughter to school.

I think that there is a Montessori school in Science park. I started feeling a bit of anxiety yesterday because I thought about how this will be her first experience with school outside of the home...in a new language, in a new city ect. Do either of you have experience with this or know English speaking children that have transitioned into Dutch schools? Do you think that there are English speakers at a majority of the schools?

Hope your having a nice weekend!

[sarahmck]

My daughter is going to go to the vrijeschool, aka Steiner, aka Waldorf.

FYI, Montessori in America and in the Netherlands is not the same thing. As I understand it, it's very cognitive here. We were originally planning to send her to a Montessori until we started hearing things about how that's where people who really value academic ambition send their kids. Our daughter's pre-school teacher told us that a teacher at the Montessori that we were going to send her to said to her that imagination is the biggest barrier to learning. Um, no thank you. And at the open day at the vrijeschool, we heard a woman telling how her 6-year old was being criticized at his Montessori school for being to playful. Our daughter will begin after the Summer vacation, so I have no first-hand experience as yet.

I don't think you can expect to find many non-Dutch speakers at your average Dutch school. Unless your neighborhood attracts a lot of foreigners for some reason (I didn't really read the web site about it but got the impression that maybe there were a lot of visiting scholars or something?). Unfortunately, many of the ex-pat community send their kids to the British or internation schools.

My friend's daughter started at our Dutch pre-school in September. Both of her parents are English-speaking Americans. Granted, she appears to be rather gifted with languages, but everyone says that she's now indistinguishable from her Dutch peers.

I think you should definitely make appointments to view the schools. Keep in mind that school ends on July 3rd or whatever the Friday is right around then, so you'll want to do it early in your visit to avoid conflicting with special end-of-year activities.

As for finding schools, the stadsdeelkantoor (like a neighborhood city hall) should be able to give you a list of schools nearby.

Sarah

[AmazoniaBelly]

Dear Suzy and Sarah,

We will be arriving in Amsterdam on the 22nd, next Monday. We are staying in Hotel V frederiksplein....maybe it is in one of your areas? I would love to meet up on Tuesday or Wed...Again, My daughter Bela Nixe is 4 and my son Isha Sparrow is 16 months. Do you ever go to Tun Fun? That has been one recommendation. I was thinking of making an appointment to visit the Waldorf school. Would that actually fly? I just don't want to call up and ask for the impossible.

Well, I am open for anything....

Rachel

[sarahmck]

Hi Rachel,

We could meet on Tuesday or Wednesday morning. My daughter goes to pre-school in the afternoons. TunFun is fun, but it's a bit hard at these ages. My kids are the same age as yours and we were just there for a birthday party. They want to play in different areas and it becomes a bit complicated to supervise one's own kids, let alone talk to another adult.

I think meeting at the playground is always pretty easy. It's fenced in, has stuff for all ages, and there's even an attached café.

One complicating matter is that my son has shingles . He had chicken pox when he was 7 weeks old, so this was somewhat anticipatable. He can transmit chicken pox, but according to my reading, only via direct contact with his rash, which is located in one strip on his belly and back and is fully covered by his shirt. So it's up to you whether you're comfortable with your kids being around him. He's generally feeling well and I think it's on its way out, so hopefully he'll be considerably better in a few days' time.

As for the Waldorf school, I assume you mean the Geert Groote? That's the one that my daughter will be attending. They have two locations. I suggest that you call up next week, while you're still in Germany, and see if you can get an appointment. The administration is only open until the early afternoon.

Sarah

[AmazoniaBelly]

Hi,

You have made a good point...the playground idea sounds perfect. I always think about going to such places, I think the kid in me thinks it sounds fun, then I end up kind of stressed and worried about the little ones getting knocked down and such.

I am so sorry that your son is going through this. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be for him. I see no problem in meeting up...my children have both been exposed twice to chicken pox and for some reason, spots don't appear (well, once my daughter got 4 poxs behind her ear).

Could you send me the address of the playground so that I could map it on google? We could meet there Tuesday morning. I will bring my laptop to the hotel so I can check messages. I am excited!

[sarahmck]

Okay, so tomorrow morning? My boy's nap is the only thing that may stand in my way. I would normally just have him skip it and end up with an afternoon nap instead, but since he's been sick he's been taking two naps. However, he's already up from his morning nap today, so if tomorrow is the same it should give us ample time.

This is the playground I was thinking of: http://www.groot-melkhuis.nl/

My phone numbers are 020 3206375 and 06 13049551.

[sarahmck]

Oh, what a dope I am. Next Tuesday, not tomorrow. All the better.

[SuzymomofLaura]

Oh I'm sorry for your son, my mom had shingles a few months ago, and it was extremely painful, she said. Sarah, is it OK if I contact you on the subject next monday or so? I really want to come with my little DD (2jrs) but want to avoid her getting sick at all costs at the moment. If the spots have dried out by next week, it can't be transmitted any more according to my information, so then we'd be fine

[sarahmck]

Suzy, you're already in the clear. His spots are all drying up and will absolutely be gone by then.

[SuzymomofLaura]

Great! i'm looking forward to meeting you!
What time do you expect to get there?

[AmazoniaBelly]

Hi,

Excited to meet both of you and your little ones. Would you guys recommend that I take a tram or walk to the Vondelpark playground? We are staying at Hotel V frederiksplein ...I just looked at a map, it looks like I could easily walk there, though I just can't get a sense of it. What time shall we meet?

Rachel

[sarahmck]

I'm reading back over this thread to see where we chose the date and maybe I'm blind or something, but I can't find it. I see me saying that Tuesday or Wednesday would work and then I see myself saying okay, Tuesday. But did we choose that? Would Wednesday work? I ask because we just found out that one of my daughter's schoolmates is having an end-of-year playdate at her house for their whole (small) class, and I know she'd like to attend. So if Wednesday morning is also an option, that would be great. But if Tuesday is the only day that works, that's okay, too. I just may end up coming with only my son.

As for Fredericksplein to the Vondelpark, I would take the tram, or, better yet, the bike. I know you're only arriving on Monday, but a rental bike will make your visit easier and will give you a better idea of what it's like to live in Amsterdam. I can't advise you very well about the tram, since I avoid it at all costs. Hopefully this site can help you figure it out.

As for time, I'm up for anything, but earlier may work out better since my boy likes to nap in the late morning. If he is late for it it's okay, but it's nice if he doesn't have to.

Sarah