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What we learned about early Dutch education
We were happy to have Annebet from New2NL.com to give us an introduction to the Dutch school system. We had a great session with lots of great questions about Dutch education for young children.
We had a Zoom call that covered all kinds of early education topics including, educational philosophies (Waldorf/Steiner, Montessori, Dalton, etc.), preschools, how to apply to the schools, special needs education, programs for gifted children, schools for newcomers and much more. Attendees had the opportunity to learn more about how to find a suitable schools, understanding the options and the philosophy of before and after school child care.
Prior to the webinar, members were able to submit questions that Annebet answered during the call including:
- How to keep an eye on progress of your child without knowing Dutch.
- How we can help our child in his study/homework without knowing Dutch.
- When to register for basisschool?
#FBF: Maisdoohof (Corn Maze) Run!
In keeping with the Fall spirit, for #FlashBackFriday, let’s take a look back at our run through a local corn maze!
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22 Sept 2013. by Patricia Gonzalez. It was a cool, cloudy Saturday afternoon – the kind you get when autumn follows fast on the heels of summer as if determined to obliterate memories of 30-degree days. A fifteen-minute drive from Reeshof brought us to the Dutch countryside where the roads were lined with trees and every few hundred meters, farmhouses dotted the landscape.
Our little group gathered at a maisdoolhof (corn maze) in Dongen to go on a speurtocht (trailhunt). The instructions were simple: walk through the cornfield looking for letters and pictures. The letters, when combined, form a message. Sounds easy? Not quite. Once in the maze, (more…)
Delicious treats from the Christmas Cookie Party!
by Alisha Z. (tícKid!)
08 Dec 2018. The cookie workshop was a lot of fun. There was lovely Christmas music in the background for decorating different Christmas themed cookies.
There were snacks and drinks for everyone. All the people that were there made beautiful cookies with all the icing that was self-made. We also had plenty of cookie decorations. (more…)
TICKids: Het Spoorwegmuseum
In a follow-up of our post from yesterday on the Museumkaart, for Throwback Thursday, here’s a look back at our trip to the Spoorwegmuseum (entrance fee is normally €17,50 per person over 3 and free with the Museumkaart!).
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The popular mini-train ride!
16 March 2013
by Mala Raman
A small but enthusiastic group met at Het Spoorwegmuseum on a cold by dry winter day. Since all of the attendees were Museumkaart holders, entrance to the museum was free! And, to add to the excitement of the day, most arrived by train from Tilburg that dropped them off right in front of the museum’s doors!
The group was greeted with bag lunches and while everyone munched away, a small explanation was given about what was available to see and do at this very large, historic site.
Around and around we go!
For the most part, the group stuck together and the kids set the pace of the day. Luckily for this event, we had dry weather that allowed the kids to play outside for a while. The kids took a spin on the miniature train that did slow loops around a pond, under a tunner and over “road” crossings. After the testing out the slides and the climbing rock, the group went straight for the new exhibition, “Trial by Fire.” The Fire Test, like all the other rides in the museum, was a real experience. Movies, props and special effects turned the Fire Test into a super-exciting journey through history.
Afterwards, the group separated and families explored their favorite parts of the
The mini-train with the life-size train in the background!
museum including the overhead viewing of the old steam locomotives, the Steel Monsters ride, the Örient Express” theater show and, of course, the gift shop!
The group met up again for ice cream (and coffee for the older kids;) and talked about what the kids found most interesting. Of all the great exhibits in the train museum, the kids really loved the mechanical train (that you usually see outside shops) that took the kids on a stationary ride with motions and sounds to complete the experience!
After having a ton of fun, the group called it a day and headed home with tired, but happy, little people who won’t soon be forgetting their day at the Train Museum!
TICKids: Maisdoohof (Corn Maze)!
Getting ready for the hunt!
by Mala Raman
For the first TICKids outing of the club season, 4 TIC families met up at ‘t Fazantje Maisdoolhof (corn maze) in Dongen to complete a challenging quest within the corn 
maze. After a week of rain, we were very lucky with the weather and were able to enjoy very pleasant, sunny temperatures the entire afternoon.
The instructions were simple: walk through the cornfield looking for letters and pictures of emojis. The letters, when combined, form a message. Sounds easy? Not quite. Both kids and adults entered the corn maze armed with pen and paper to find all of the hidden emojis within the tall corn stalks.
Once in the maze, there were no signs to orient us, to remind us which paths 
we’d already trodden, which letters we’d already found. Even the tallest among us couldn’t see above the corn stalks and he was almost six feet tall! That didn’t
faze the children at all. Each took a turn leading the group as we wended our way through the trail, peered through leaves for those elusive clues, walked along and doubled back down pathways. The maisdoolhof proved a challenge for children and adults alike. Each family moved at their own pace answering most, if not all, of the questions.
ne by one, families emerged from the corn having successfully completed their 
“speurtocht” (trailhunt). After all that running around, we sat down together for a drink and lots of chatting. Finally, dinner bells starting ringing and one by one everyone said “tot ziens” until the next TICKids event!
Check our website for upcoming TICKids events!
Visit to Kessels Music Instrument Museum
by Andy Kelly
Living in Tilburg for the last 8 years, I had heard the story of Marietje Kessels, the poor 11 year old girl who was murdered in the Noordhoek church on August 22, 1900 with no one was brought to justice. The story I was told was that Marietje came from a rich factory owner’s house but I did not know her family business was the production of musical instruments. So, I thought it would be great to find out more about one of the most famous families from Tilburg.
The day started like all guests to the museum trying to find the entrance, I was glad to see Anne waiting for me at the entrance to the textile museum were she proceeded to show me how to get to the musical instrument factory. After going out the textile museum and up some stairs the group was brought into a little room, where tea, coffee and biscuits were served.
At this point, the curator introduced himself and began to tell the story of the factory and the Kessels family which I would find out go hand in hand. The museum is staffed by volunteers who love their work and it shows. An example of this was even though the curators English was not the best and sometimes he had to ask for the right word, he spoke with the passion of a man wanting to share his knowledge of a beloved hobby. So back to the tour, next on the agenda was a short film about the factory which turned out to be kind of an accident.
Mathijs Kessels, a man that worked in the sheet music industry and an 
accomplished composer, saw a market for his sheet music in an industrial town known as Tilburg. Due to the high levels industrialization, this brought something totally new to the lower class free time. The factory owners encouraged music playing within the lower-ranks as, in the words of the curator, playing a musical instrument was a lot better than sitting in the pub.
So, as with many things, Mathijs started a small printing house in Tilburg and for some reason, people started bringing their musical instruments to the printing house to have them fixed. And in true entrepreneurial fashion, he said, why not? Demand became so great for musical instrument repair that Mathijs decided to not only repair them but make them. He found a site outside of the city center (next to the big AH that is now a green field ) to build a grand house and a new factory. 
Business grew and his factory at one point could supply almost everything to kit out a full marching band.
As with most stories, what goes up must come down. Mathijs received a large order of 900 pianos that were made and delivered but for which were never paid. This caused the company to come close to bankruptcy at 
which point the bank stepped in and took control of the factory. This ended up with Mathijs being kicked out of his own factory and starting a competing factory right next door. In the long term, not a great idea as orders and invoicing were delivered to the old address. Matthijs passed away on the 21st of December 1932 and within 20 years, both the new and old musical instrument factories were out of business.
So with the film ending, we were led to the brass workshop and shown the
many stages of producing brass instruments. Being a mechanical engineer, it did bring me back to my student days. We were really shown how the instruments were made and the exhibit had a great i
llustration of showing this step by step. Next on the agenda was the wood instruments assembly area which included a saxophone to my surprise…
Well I don’t want to spoil the rest of the museum but I can recommend a visit. Half the fun is finding the museum and, if you have an interest in music or manufacturing, you’ll definitely be in the right spot.
TICKids: Sinterklaas
Article by Betty Wangsawidjaja
Sinterklaas kapoentje, gooi wat in mijn schoentje, breng wat in mijn laarsje, dank je Sinterklaasje!
If you’re living long enough in the Netherlands and have kids (like us) then you probably know this song by heart now. Our daughter sings this song EVERY DAY since early November until 5th December then she changes tune to Jingle Bells ☺
Sinterklaas is a very Dutch character loved by children and adults alike. His annual arrival by boat followed by a parade on his horse Amerigo, and the traditional festivities that come with it are a real treat. Once he’s in town, children lay out their shoes before bedtime, along with carrot for the horse, hoping that there will be gift left there by morning. The good kids are usually rewarded with chocolate letters, pepernoten and marzipan while the naughty ones anxiously wait to see if they’ve been given coal, again!
Our daughter follows this tradition and her school usually has Sinterklaas coming to greet the children but with so many of them in school nobody gets special attention. So we were very happy when TIC decided to have a personalised Sinterklaas party on 3rd December with each child given one-on-one moment with him.
It was fun to see the children being amazed by how much Sinterklaas know about them, their hobbies, their achievements, and of course their naughty moments. It was pure joy to see their happy faces when they opened their presents together. The adults have a good time too. We were busy checking out cards filled with Christmas traditions around the world while keeping ourselves warm with wine and hot chocolate. Needless to say this is an event worth repeating by TIC!
TICKids: Halloween
article by Emerald Clump-Busser
Who says Halloween has to be scary, when it can also be fun and merry!
Like many of TIC’s fun events, Halloween was one of them this year. On the 1st of November TIC arranged a kids event at the Heyhoef Reeshof. Every year the Heyhoef organises a Halloween lantern parade night with music and some fun activities including tricks and treats for the kids.
The TIC kids arrived at the Heyhoef dressed in cute and cool outfits. We had a pirate, a policeman, a knight, a fairy princess and three witches. The kids then got their first treat, a goody bag from TIC with different kinds of candy, or snoepjes, as they call it in Dutch. The weather was just nice for the time of the year and we were all ready to join the lantern parade except some of the kids didn’t have their lanterns yet. Thanks to one of our TIC members who knew where to find them, everyone soon had a lantern. As everyone was free to go their own way and enjoy the evening, some of our members went off to join the parade while the rest of us decided to just watch the parade walk by.
The Heyhoef shopping center was turned into a street theater. There were small tents where you could get a temporary tattoo or a face painting, hair makeover offer (frizzy hair), photographs taken, discounted stuffs from the stores at the Heyhoef and free cotton candy. There was also some whimsical, steampunk-inspired puppet carts. The music was no halloween music but country western and a few Beatles songs. But nevertheless it was a festive and lively atmosphere.
The lights, the decorations, the costumes, all the fun and laughter and the kids enjoying themselves is all you need to make a great TICKids event. Therefore stay tuned for the next TICKids event coming up next month, 3rd of December: the Sinterklaas event!
3D printing and tinkering workshop
On October the 11th TIC is organising a 3D printing and tinkering workshop. In a 3 ½ hour session, adults and kids will learn how to work 3D printers, laser cutters and engravers, and to build simple electronic devices (possibly even your own basic robot!). At the end of the day, anything you build becomes your souvenir (photos of some of the things people have created at previous workshops are attached).
For little inventors — children aged 4 to 12 — there will be a special kids program on site.
- When:
- Saturday, October 11 from 13.00 till 16.30
- Where:
- FabLab 013 (Stadhuisplein 354, 5038 TH Tilburg)
- Cost:
- Members: €35 per adult, €15 per child. Non-members: €40 per adult, €20 per child. The cost covers the training and a coffee / tea break. You get to bring home anything you make.
- RSVP:
- We have spots available for 12 adults and 6 children. The deadline for registration is Friday, October 3. To register, simply email til.int.club@gmail.com
Note:You don’t have to be tech savvy to join the workshop, just interested in learning how things work, curious about arts & crafts and enthralled by gizmos that whirr and spin. If you’re imaginative or creative, that’s just a bonus!
TICKids: Halloween Party
Getting ready to make a creepy spider web craft!
30 October 2013
by Aislinn Callahan-Brandt
Halloween has come and gone in the Netherlands, but not without a fun celebration by TICKids. Thanks to the volunteer efforts of Farrah, Aislinn and Patricia, 11 children with their parents were able to enjoy an afternoon filled with costumes, snacks, crafts, games, a story, and, of course, Halloween treats at The Harmonie in Tilburg.
The festivities started with a spider craft made from the kids’ handprints, with string to complete the spiders’ webs. To help set the Halloween mood, (more…)
Tilburg International Club 