The Dip

Last week was really intense, so it makes sense that I was a bit low on energy this week. Thankfully, that is all it was! Normally, this time of year, I would expect to get sick. That hasn't happened in over a month! Must be a new record!!

I managed to finish up the bed project for the twin boys in town. That one lasted over a year. Nice to finally be done! We are all really happy with how it turned out. Now I will finish up Claire's knife block, and then start on some projects for our new friends in the Cube House around the corner.

Amélie is having some kind of growth spurt or something. She has been acting rather strangely. Not sure what the reason is. Lots of mood swings, talking gibberish, and other odd behavior. At least she is eating well!

Yesterday we went for a nice walk in the forest to see all the trees that fell down in the storm. There we a lot! The girls had a lot of fun walking on them and going through the mud puddles with their new rain boots. They walked for over an hour and I didn't carry them at all!

Another Boy's Bedroom.

It is officially springtime in Vaassen!

Working on Claire's knife block.

Little explorers.

Too Intense

I worked a bit too hard this week, so now I am taking some time to rest. School is pretty intense with all the new teacher stuff I have to do, taking on most of the prep work for my section, and developing some new projects. Kind of a lot for just two days a week.

I do enjoy the job though, and it is really nice getting support for my ideas from colleges and management. The idea even came up to go to High Tech High in San Diego at the end of March as it embodies my ideas for the future of education. Not sure if it is really practical for me to go at this point, but at least I can try to put the ideas into practice.

I started working on Claire's knife block, and got everything ready to install the new bed tomorrow. Also busy with getting the next projects lined up. Our new Turkish friends in the cube house around the corner need some things. Nice that there is interest!

On Thursday we had a big wind storm. Lots of trees blown down. The whole country shut down. Roofs were blown off houses and people even blown down the street. Strange to see. A few died. Glad we still have our trees! The neighbors want some of them cut down...

We got a great new bean bag for under Amélie's bed!

I turned the box into a tiny house...

Back to Work

Naomi and I started teaching again this week. She was pretty nervous about it, but it went fine. Thankfully, she will be cutting back on her tasks this Wednesday. This will give her some time to recover.

I had an interesting week at school. On Tuesday I had the idea of getting rid of Math as a subject. I think it should be integrated into other subjects, and the skills immediately applied. The basic problem is that students are not able to take what they learn in one subject (math) and apply it to another subject (physics). The subject teacher has to re-teach the skills anyway.

I would like to develop an integrated, project based approach to this problem, combining the sciences and math at the middle school level. Once things get a bit tougher, then the kids can split up into their different subjects.

Anyway, I talked to the administration and a few teachers about it, and we all agreed to set up a pilot program. We will start with one combined project this year, and hopefully a full blown pilot this coming school year. Nice that they were so supportive and enthusiastic about my idea! The main challenge will be convincing the more traditional teachers...

Getting distracted from their new game...

Week One

We did a lot to get things into shape this week. After a month of guests, it is nice to have our house to ourselves! I have been cleaning out and organizing the workshop. Today I will make space for a new floor - Mahogany this time!

I also added some soft-close tabs to the drawers in the kitchen, and Naomi has been busy with getting rid of our big white cabinet by the stairs. On Friday we went to Utrecht to get the car serviced and to look for a bean bag for under the girl's new bed. Can't find much in stores, so we will have to order something online.

We had a really nice time on Wednesday visiting Clifton and Karmen in Rotterdam. After a tasty lunch in an American cafe, we wandered the streets and did a bit of shopping. It was really windy, but luckily not too cold or rainy. Fun to be in the big city again!

Nap time in Rotterdam - even a changing room floor works for these two!

Lunch at the American cafe.