Speculaas and Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) December 5th is one of the most treasured days in the Netherlands, the day that Dutch children get gifts from the red-robed and white-bearded Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas), who arrives from
Dutch heritage
Skates, Dutch hats, and wooden shoes
Many Americans think that winters in the Netherlands are very cold, and therefore the Dutch do a lot of skating. Maybe famous 17th century paintings like the one above, created during a little “Ice Age”
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Black history
Sojourner Truth’s Ain’t I A Woman: Teaching History with Shadow Puppets
In my last post I shared how to make a front-facing shadow puppet of Aretha Franklin that can sing. In this post I will show you how to make a side-facing puppet of the celebrated
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Dutch heritage
Dutch “Sand Cookies”
Did you know that the English word “cookie” is derived from the Dutch word “koekje?” (hear the pronunciation). The history goes al the way back to 17th century, when the Dutch had a colony on
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Dutch heritage
How to Make Wooden Shoes out of Paper
What you need yellow poster board from your local craft store (for size of an 8 year old at least 24″x 13″ or 65x35cm) scotch tape stapler two pieces of thin elastic How to make
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Dutch heritage
How to Make a Dutch Hat out of Paper
In 2001, when I had to dress up my eight-year-old daughter Sara in Dutch costume for a third grade event, I found instructions for a Dutch hat on an origami listserv. The lady who
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Dutch heritage
How to Make a Dutch Costume out of Paper
This is my daughter Sara at a 3rd grade class presentation about holidays around the world. The children were asked to tell something about the country their ancestors came from, and to include something
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Dutch heritage
How to Make a Dutch Boy’s Cap out of Paper
What you need two sheets black A4 or letter sized poster board (8 1/2 x 11 inch). scotch (= non-shiny) tape The patterns Print out the patterns and check if they measure as indicated. If
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Dutch heritage
Simple Dutch Treats to Bring to Class
Cheese Cubes The Dutch are famous for their dairy products: they drink lots of milk and eat (and make) lots of cheese, with different flavors. The cheese that everybody knows abroad is the mild Gouda