HOMEINLEIDEN HAS BEEN AWARDED A SUBSIDY

Brilliant news this month: HomeinLeiden has been awarded a subsidy of € 5000 by the Oranje Fonds to help fund our initiative! The Oranjefonds, the largest social fund in the Netherlands, aims to promote and support initiatives for social cohesion and to facilitate contact between people from different social groups. No wonder they like us then.

With the school holidays upon us, it's easy to feel daunted by the prospect of weeks with the children. especially since some places are closed over the summer. However, there's still plenty to do! If you are pregnant or have a small baby, there's a new Bumps to Babies Group on Monday mornings at 11.00 at the V&D upstairs café: the first meeting is the 3rd August. For more details email Sarah on sahara2121@yahoo.com : the lovely Vogelwijk playgroup on Wednesday mornings also continues throughout the summer. Most helpfully, all Leiden museums are free for children for July and Augus, with lots of great activities such as a huge tipi in the garden of the Volkenkunde museum, and Viking activities at Oudheden. Visit the websites (see Museums) for more details. The various buurthuizen throughout the city also have special summer activities: check out What's On This Week for some more ideas. If you are expecting, why not sign up with your partner for the Active Birth Workshop on 13 August? See flyer or www.comfortablebirth.com for more details.

Want to meet other parents? Why not leave a message on our new Meeting Point, and make a play date soon! And if you need a break from the little ones, why not join us for a drink at De Burcht pub, 8pm onwards, Thursday 30 th July. Need a babysitter, or have a great one to recommend? Place an ad on our new Find a Babysitter function .

Website of the Week

www.buienradar.nl Want to get the barbecue out, but wondering whether it might rain? Check out this website: it give you real-time local images of the weather with predictions for the next few hours, so you can literally plan when to leave the house to avoid the showers! On the homepage you can click on Leiden on the map and it will zoom in for a local picture. Warning: it can be addictive. my husband frequently goes missing during thunderstorms, only to be found behind the computer calculating storm duration.

Parenting Book of the Week

How To Talk So Kids Will Listen And Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. Originally written in the 1980s, this differs from most 'how to' parenting books in that it offers a completely different approach: treating your children as reasonable people! Its chatty, American approach isn't for everyone, but I have found it invaluable in giving me new ways to solve problems, reduce rivalry, praise constructively, and generally communicate with recalcitrant children. Their Siblings Without Rivalry book is also absolutely fantastic at helping create good relationships between your children: with some real eye-opening insights into the way we unwittingly create rivalries despite the best intentions. You can get it on the internet, or ask Ans to order it for you at the Mayflower Bookshop ( www.themayflowerbookshop.nl ).