Loving family with young children could use some extra hands, in a rural village in the middle of the Netherlands.

Details

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  Description

  Our home is filled with love, laughter and lots of kisses, and we would like welcome you in it for a while! Our family consists of Jos, Elisabeth, Isaiah (10 years old), Matthijn (8 years old), Elim (6 years old), Tobin (4 years old) and our very cute little Davian (1 year old) . Jos works as a judge and loves running, playing silly games with the kids, BBQ with friends and taking long hot baths (we have a big bathtub, feel free to use it!). Elisabeth is a psychologist but nowadays a stay-at-home mom. Elisabeth loves her family, reading, cooking, silence, beautiful flowers and trees, hosting small dinner parties, a good conversation, singing and jumping on a trampoline. Isaiah is fond of Minecraft, books, history and playing with his Legos. When he grows up, he wants to be an astronaut, a military man and a policeman, or perhaps a preacher. Azarja loves cuddling, math, reading, dancing and going for walks and bike rides. Elim is an energetic, affectionate, little boy who is crazy about electricity, loves to play with the Duplo, drawing, crafting and takes old machines apart. Tobin is a very lively happy chatterbox who loves Spiderman and doing whatever his brothers and the adults are doing. And the whole family loves God!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Gardening

  Babysitting and creative play

  Help around the house
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  Interests

  

  Vegetarian or vegan

  

  Sustainability

  

  Self development

  

  Culture

  

  Charity work

  

  Plant care

  

  Writing

  

  Photography

  

  Performing arts

  

  Music

  

  Languages

  

  History

  

  Gardening

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Books

  

  Animals

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Nature

  

  Mountain

  

  Hiking

  

  Fitness

  

  Cycling

  

  Dancing
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We'll enjoy telling you about how things work in the Netherlands. Jos knows a lot about law, Christian theology, the army and politics. And I, Elisabeth, can tell you about social relationships and the way people function psychologically in the Netherlands. And of course you’ll be able so experience a Dutch family from the inside.
  We're also curious about your country of origin! We love how Workaway will hopefully help our children, by being in close contact with people from lots of different cultures, to grow into openminded tolerant people who know that our specific way of doing things in our little part of the world is not the only or the best way of doing things. So we'd be happy to learn new things from you :-).

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  Life with five young children can be quite busy! There is always laundry to fold, food to prepare, home tasks to do, and than the gardening, the vacuuming, cleaning the kitchen and so on. So we could really use an extra hand for a few hour ours a day with some tasks in and around the house. There are many different things to do, so we can talk about what things you feel like you’d be most happy with doing, and a time schedule that would fit your other plans and wishes for your time abroad. We’re very flexible!
  I like to do things together and if possible try to engage the children into doing chores with us, but some things you will be doing on your own, because we can’t for example both be in the garden with no one being with the children, and also because I try to delegate stuff that I don’t necessarily need to do myself, so that I can free my hands for tasks that only I can do.
  Sometimes I make a to do list, but since it’s impossible for me to know how long a task will take, I often don’t know if it’s all for one day or if some tasks will have to wait for another day. Of course it's great when you are a practical, independent, efficient worker, but there's no need to rush. I prefer our guests to work in a pace that allows them to relax instead of in a stressful hurry. Life is hectic and fast enough as it is, so I rather have a relaxed ambiance in our house than slightly more work done but stressed people running around. So take it easy, because I really hope your time with us will be a relaxing, joyful time!
  The world can sometimes feel a bit small as a stay-at-home mom, so I enjoy meeting other people from a different culture, learning from them, being inspired by stories and maybe exchanging local recipes :-).
  A good match to our family would be someone who really loves children (since we have quite a lot of them!) and who wants to engage in our family life and make a real connection, so that it’s really a cultural exchange and not just a stranger sleeping in our house in exchange for some help ;-).
  We have a preference for female workawayers, because you'll be spending most of the time with me, Elisabeth, and in our boys-only household, I could use some extra girlpower ;-). But if you are a man and you think you'll be a good match to our family, do send us a message!
  During the day, especially when the kids are at home, our house is very lively. We try to talk English with the kids as much as possible to include you in our family life. But after dinner we go upstairs for the childrens bedtime ritual which lasts almost all evening and after that, Jos usually works and I go to bed early. We really do like to have a good conversation and drinking some tea in the evening with our workawayers, but to avoid disappointment, we want to let you know in advance that we're not very available for social interaction in the evenings. So if you are a very extraverted person who craves company most of the time, we are probably not the right host for you. But if you like some quiet time in the evenings to read, watch tv or call friends and family, than we will probably get along very well :-).
  If you enjoy spending time with our family, like going for a walk together, that's wonderful, I'll enjoy that too and I'm looking forward to the pleasant conversations we could have! But make sure you have time for yourself too if that's what you need to stay happy. You would help me a lot by taking good care of yourself. If you’re a bit shy and uncomfortable saying what you want and need, I’ll truly do my best, but I don’t have a sixth sense ;-). So if there is anything during your stay that makes you unhappy, please let us know so that we can try to find a solution as soon as possible. It's only a good workaway exchange if it's a win-win for everybody involved!
  We see our children as loving, energetic, creative, sensitive and smart. We love them so much and try to raise them the best we can. But they are young, so apart from the harmonious, cheerful moments, the cuddles and the peaceful bookreading times, there are also times when they are suddenly mad for no apparent reason, test boundaries, throw tantrums, fight with each other and say NO to everything just because they love that word so much. And they don't always flush the toilet. So do know what you're getting into ;-).
  We have some instruments, like a keyboard, a ukulele and a guitar, so if you know how to make music, we'd love to hear you play!
  We're looking forward to hearing from you! How about a videochat to get to know eachother better?

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Dutch: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  We live in an old but thoroughly renovated vicars home in Asperen, a rural village surrounded by rivers (in which you can swim or go canoeing) apple trees and forts (the Hollandic Water Line touches our village). Our church dates from 1460, so there’s quite a lot of history here. We have a small guestroom on the ground floor for you, with a big window, a comfortable bed and a toilet nearby. We sleep on the first floor, so you won't de disturbed by children not staying in their beds at night.
  You are very welcome to join every family meal, but if our eating hours don’t suit your plans, you can also take something to eat at another time. We love good food and eat lots of vegetables (in the summer mostly from our own garden). We do eat a little bit of meat (not daily and preferably organic), but if you like to eat vegetarian, that can easily be arranged.

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  What else ...

  Most of our workawayers have spent their free time by going on city trips, reading, walking (alone or together with our family), bicycling or relaxing in the garden. There is a small city on walking distance (about 30 minutes, or you can go by bus), called Leerdam. Leerdam has a train station. We live in the centre of the Netherlands so you can easily make day (or longer) trips to Utrecht, ‘s Hertogenbosch, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and other cities.
  We promise we’ll do our best to make sure you will feel welcome in our family and that you have a good time in the Netherlands!

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  One

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  My animals / pets

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