The first day of July starts with a party! Today Ketikoti, the abolition of slavery, is celebrated everywhere in the Netherlands.

Summer Vacation
The summer vacation officially starts in the South of the Netherlands on Saturday July 5, up to and including August 17
For us - in the middle of the Netherlands - the first official vacation day falls on July 19 and the last on August 31
In the North of the Netherlands the vacation starts on July 12 and the last vacation day is August 24

On vacation we are often outside, playing in the neighborhood or further away. We travel through Rotterdam but also through the Netherlands. As always, you can read about our adventures in our July and August blogs.

We make a lot of Surinamese recipes this month, because it is the important month of Ketikoti and also because we all love to eat these dishes in Rotterdam. We also make ice lollies and a Rubick's Cube from fruits (so funny!).

There are no crafts on snazzie this month. But we draw, colour, paint and chalk a lot. Drawing is one of the things we like to do the most. When it rains during the holidays and we get wet through, we grab the pencils, but also outside under the parasol when the sun is shining hot :)) We show you what the monsters learn at school and we all think that's great fun!

We are going to read a lot of beautiful books, about art so that we can get inspired. They are our most beautiful, dearest books for young and older, but this is our secret! One bookespecially stands out for us and it is Is DAT kunst? (online on July 18) Just read it and you will understand it immediately. (It's also to be found in the library)

We hope that you will join us again in July, then we will make our own best works of art together!

We wish you a wonderful Ketikoti celebration and wherever you are - at home or abroad - (there is always room for pencils and paper) a great summer holiday!

photo: Rubicks Cube of fruit (20-08 online)