Today, I found a piece of Dutch East India Company heritage at the bridge which joins Sloten to...
After two weeks of Job Swap a legacy has formed. I discover that a lot of old words and...
Lots of smoke come from the roof. Any moment now the flames could go through the roof...
Skype works. We just skyped with the kids in New York.
The first questions posed to us were...
Last week I visited two schools in Manhattan: PS 89 and Central Park East II. Both schools had...
Bad joke or reality? Michael, what do you think? What do the kids at your school...
We're back in Mokum (nickname for Amsterdam). I'm in the eight grade, with teacher Helma...
Dutch performer Ellen ten Damme steals the show performing in an incredibly sexy prince...
Recognition, and a very pretty...
Yes it’s true. I shook hands with princess Maxima (the wife of the Dutch crown-prince). I...
This morning it rained in New York. I went to Harlem with the underground. No, no need...
The first school day after the summer break. A new school year, a new class and a new...
It was great fun crossing the island by bike with Michael, to visit all playgrounds. I didn’t get...
Are the words eekhoorn (squirrel) and acorn related? I haven't been able to answer that question...
I took the watertaxi over the Hudson to New Jersey today. From the Hudson, you can only see...
Got up at 5:20 AM with the whole family to say goodbye. A great start of the...
The children are very excited about my trip to New York. Everyone wants to come along in the...
I love to be on the water. Floating with my rowing boat in Waterland, north of Amsterdam;...
Talked to Michael on the phone for the first time. That was nice. New York is coming close...
October 17, 2009 09:06
After being in Amsterdam a couple of days, Michaels also starts with making coffee each morning he gets to school.
He likes his coffee with milk and sugar. I give him a couple of bastogne cookies from the cookie jar.
This morning again a dent was made in one of the apartment blocks. I really like the paintings on the inner walls that get exposed because of this. It gives me joy but also makes me a little sad when they're already gone in the afternoon.
Today is the last day of the 'children's book week'. The past ten days, pupils have been reading and bringing books with them about food.
Several kids gave presentations in the gym.
In one of her classes, Marjolein, one of our teacher showed how we at the Amstelmeerschool try to enrich the vocabulary of our pupils. She semantisized the word cluster 'doing dishes' using the three e's (enact, explain and expound).
Michael had a short skype session with his own class just before the end of classes (15.15 in Amsterdam, 9.15 in New York).
It's great to see how useful well-practiced class rules can be. Initially the kids in Manhattan were a bit rowdy. Then, when Michael starting counting down on his fingers (without speaking!) from four to zero, everyone went silent at the other end of the ocean.
October 15, 2009 22:40
A number of swappers met in cafe ´t Blaauwhooft on Bickers Island to say hi to Michael.
It felt very comfortable for Michael and I to see Ilona, Hille, Alexandra, Isabelle, Leo and Khoi again. We discussed a walk we could take in the Kennemer Dunes with Jowien, and an impossible reunion with the Americans on Iceland.
The cafe used to be the office of Hendrik Jonker´s machinery factory. Behind the bar, there´s a stained glass window with old pictures. These pictures stirred our imagination.
Jan Bicker
After a couple of beers we’re pretty sure that an old family member of Jonker boarded a Manhattan-bound ship in 1647, made by boat builder Jan Bicker. And he then became the forefather of the Yonkers neighbourhood in New York.
October 15, 2009 10:18
From time to time it was hilarious. Kerin speaks the Queen’s English. She audibly pronounces almost every letter. When she says ‘singing’, you can almost discern a ‘k’ at the end of the word. Little English kids sometimes write ‘singink’.
I spoke perfect English during my first days in New York. Almost nobody understood me. I started to roughen up my English and spoke American. And what do you know: everybody understood me from then on.
Michael Parrish
35 years old from New York
Third grade teacher at PS 89 on Manhattan, New York
October 17, 2009 23:20
I literally stopped by bicycle when I saw this. It is a three story bicycle rack!
October 17, 2009 01:47
I saw an amazing lesson today at the Amstelmeerschool. The lesson took place in a classroom where many of the children were learning Dutch as a second language. The Amstelmeerschool uses a program/technique called Met Woorden in de Weer. It is an extremely explicit and engaging way for children to learn vocabulary. As you watch this first video, you will notice the teacher repeating the words that she would like the children to remember. She is also giving the children definitions by using the words in context and real life situations.
Towards the end of the lesson, the teacher asks the children if they remember some of the word that they have learned. You can see how eager the children are to participate.
Second Video
Afterwards, the teacher introduces a poster with the new words. You can see the main word (in the umbrella) and all the words that are related to it underneath.
Third Video
After the lesson, Alex explained to me the theory behind this method of teaching vocabulary to children and how his school uses it through in all classrooms (grades K through 6). Walking through the school, I was able to see evidence of this. Each class had a variety of posters with new vocabulary that has been taught.
October 16, 2009 14:03
Russell Shorto is really responsible for me liking history as much as I do. His book The Island at the Center of the World is amazing.
On the flight over to Amsterdam I began reading Explorers, Fortunes and Love Letters: A Window on New Netherland. I was pleased to discover that the first essay was written by Russell Shorto.
In this essay, Shorto talks about how he came to be so interested in New Netherland. He also mentions that he currently works at the Dutch West India House and that when his children were little enjoyed playing in the playground behind the building. Here are photos of the building and the playground:
Today I visited the Dr. Rijk Kramerschool, located in the heart of Amsterdam. I had...
Tonight I had my first Indonesian meal. I had something called a rice table. It was about 12...
The bicycle parking lot next to the ferry has thousands of...
It was wonderful to be at the Amstelmeerschool. As I rode my bicycle up to the building...
Amsterdam is an amazingly beautiful city. Alex and his wife met me at the airport when I arrived...
I managed to take videos of children in my class. I am now trying to find a way to...
Today I went down to South Street Seaport to get a glimpse of the Half Moon. I was hoping...
One of the first questions this morning was, “Is Alex here today?” To this I explained that Alex...
Today was the first day of school. There was a buzz of excitement in the air as the children...
The day before the first day of school is so special. I am happy that Alex was there to...
Today I went into P.S. 89 and began to unpack the classroom. This is the first...
Over the past week or two, Alex and I have been able to talk on the telephone. It...
Last week I had a chance to go to the Museum of the City of New York. Practically...
