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

  • 291 “me gusta”
  • Última actividad: 18 mar 2024

DISPONIBILIDAD

  2024 

 Estancia mínima:  Al menos una semana

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Detalles

  • Descripción

    Descripción

    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 (7 years old), Azarja (6 years old), Elim (3 years old) and our little Tobin (2 years 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 mostly a stay-at-home mom. Elisabeth loves her family, reading, cooking, silence, the beautiful flowers and trees in our garden, hosting small dinner parties, singing and jumping on a trampoline. Isaiah is a smart and sensitive chatterbox who is fond of Minecraft, books and playing with his Legos. When he grows up, he wants to be an astronaut, a military man and a policeman. Azarja loves cuddling, math, reading books, music and playing outside. Elim is an energetic, affectionate, stubborn toddler who loves to play with the Duplo and do whatever his big brothers do. And Tobin is a very cute curly toddler who likes to cuddle and climbe on everything. And the whole family loves God!

  • Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje

    Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje

    Jardinería
    Cuidado de niños y juegos creativos
    Ayuda doméstica
  • Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje

    Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje

    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 :-).

  • Proyectos con niños

    Proyectos con niños

    En este proyecto podría haber niños. Para obtener más información, consulta nuestras directrices y consejos aquí.

  • Ayuda

    Ayuda

    Surely we can manage but as a family with four small children, it is always busy. I, Elisabeth, enjoy being a mom and housewife, but I haven’t slept enough for quite some years now and it feels like I’m always running from chore to chore when Jos is off to work. So we would be very happy with someone caring and gentle who helps out during the busiest times of the day (like getting the kids ready for school in the morning). Someone who entertains the children while I can finish some overdue chores, take a nap or just have some me time. And who does some light tasks in the house or in the garden while I spend time with the kids without having to tell them: ‘mommy is busy now’.
    It would be lovely if you would like to engage in our family life, are patient with fussy, cranky small children (they do have their difficult moments! but mostly they are lovely ;-)) and bring a cheerful personality with you.
    Also 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 :-).
    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 because little Tobin is frequently awake during the night. 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 now that we have a small baby, we're not always available for social interaction. 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 :-).

    To make sure you’ll have everything you need to decide whether of not our home could be what you are looking for, here is even a lot more information:
    A typical workday at our house would be like this: you either wake up early to have breakfast with the rest of the family (we don’t demand that, you can eat at anytime you want, but we do enjoy it if you join us for family meals!) or you can sleep a bit longer if you want (on some
    days I might need some help getting the children ready for school). In the morning I usually try to do somethings that I can’t do with kids around, so then your job would be to play with the kids for a while, mostly the youngest because the eldest two are quite independent and spend a big part of the day at school. I’ll be present for things like diaper changes or solving fights. Don’t worry, we won’t just drop four kids in your hands and leave ;-). We hardly ever leave one or two children alone with a workawayer and if we do only for a short period of time, and only if we already know each other well enough and are absolutely sure that everybody involved feels safe and comfortable with it.
    Apart from babysitting, there are tasks like folding laundry, gardening, vacuum cleaning, cleaning the kitchen after dinner, help preparing the table before dinner and so on. 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, efficiënt 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 householding/babysitting ratio is usually on average around 50/50, but it can change depending on your personal preferences or skills. There all always different tasks to do, and help in any field is welcome, so do feel free to let us know if you like to do more or less of something.

    At some times of the day it would be highly appreciated (of course exemptions can be made) if you were present to lend me an extra hand, for example when I prepare dinner, but a lot of tasks, like hanging the laundry when the machine is done, aren’t bound to specific hours. So apart from things like gardening, it’s difficult to plan specific work hours. It’s more fluid and on the go in our household. Also, activities that you might want to do can depend on the weather. There's no use sticking to a strict daily schedule if it means you have to to go on a bike trip when it's raining and work inside when the sun is shining! So usually we don’t use strict daily schedules, but if that would be something you would like, we will try and find a system that works for both of us.
    After dinner, we would be happy if you could unset the table and clean the kitchen a bit. We go upstairs shortly after dinner to bring the children to bed.

    In a young family, there are always more tasks waiting to be done and there are always kids who want to play some more. But that is not your ongoing responsibility! I often encourage our guests to protect their boundaries and free time, because we've been blessed many times with amazing, loving workawayers who were very helpful and hardworking by nature and I don't want our guests to feel obliged to do more then they should. If you feel like you’ve done your fair share it’s perfectly fine to leave some tasks of the todolist for another day, you can just tell us and go out for a bit or spend some time in your room if you want to be undisturbed.

    The kids are usually very enthusiastic about our guests, especially the youngest two. They would probably want to sit on your lap the entire day if they could! At moments when we don't really need any babysitting, you can always say no to them, you don't need to be available all the time. 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, so I’ll won't have to worry about your wellbeing ;-). If you’re a bit shy and uncomfortable saying what you want and need, I’ll truly do my best to help you with that, 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 excange 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. We don't require lots of babysitting experience (perhaps you would like to gain some experience while staying in our family with the presence of a safetynet of a parent always present?) but do know what you're getting into ;-).

    We're looking forward to hearing from you! How about a videochat to get to know eachother better?

  • Idiomas

    Idiomas hablados
    Inglés: Fluido
    Holandés: Fluido

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    Este anfitrión ha indicado que está interesado en compartir su idioma o aprender otro.
    Ponte en contacto con él para obtener más información.

  • Alojamiento

    Alojamiento

    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.

  • Algo más...

    Algo más...

    Most of our workawayers have spent their free time reading, walking (alone or together with our family), bicycling, sitting in the garden or by going on trips. 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!

  • Un poco más de información

    Un poco más de información

    • Acceso a Internet

    • Acceso a Internet limitado

      Acceso a Internet limitado

    • Tenemos animales

    • Somos fumadores

    • Puede alojar familias

  • ¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?

    ¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?

    Uno

  • ...

    Horas esperadas

    Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Número de referencia de anfitrión: 486643455361

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