The Netherlands -- School-age

Netherlands

Holland Flag Map

Official Name: Kingdom of the Netherlands
Unofficially known as Holland

Government Type: Constitutional Monarchy

Capital: Amsterdam

County's inhabitants: Dutch

Abbreviation: NL

Currency: Euro

Official Language: Dutch
The West Frisian language is the official language in the northern province of Friesland

Population: 17,337,403 (2021)

Netherlands Map

The Netherlands is in Western Europe. The North Sea is to the north and east. The Netherlands is between Belgium and Germany.

Location Netherlands

The Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Kingdom of the Netherlands consist of the Netherlands on the European continent, special municipalities and islands in the Caribbean.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands consist of four countries: Netherlands, Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten.

The special municipalities of the Netherlands: Bonaire, Saba and Saint Eustacious (called Caribbean Netherlands).

Netherland Antilles

History

The Netherlands with no mountain ranges or natural borders has a history of battles and long wars with its neighbors. When the Romans took over the area starting in 57 BCE the Netherlands was inhibited by two Germanic tribes - the Batavians (inhabited the southern part) and the Frisians (inhabited coastal region). The Romans ruled over the Netherlands for 450 years building roads and towns.

They were overthrown by Germanic Tribes: the Franks, Angles, Jutes, and Saxon settle in the land. The Franks were the chief invaders and world rule during from the 4th to the 8th century. In 768 Charlemagne became King of the Franks and expanded his empire to include the Netherlands from the 8th to the 9th century.

From 800 to 1000 the Vikings arrived and raided towns and cities along the coast.

The Spanish ruled parts of the Netherlands for centuries and influenced the country by spreading Christianity. The Netherlands became the possessions of the powerful Hapsburg family. The Dutch would fight the Eighty Years' War and finally gained independence in 1648.

France under Napoleon would invade the Netherlands. Napoleon made his broth Louis king of the Netherlands later the Netherlands would be absorbed into the French Empire. The Netherlands would claim independence from France in 1814. For 25 years Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands would join together as one country called the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Belgium would break away forming its own country in 1839. Later Luxembourg would become an independent country in 1890.

During World War I the Netherlands remained neutral. When World War II began in 1940 the Netherlands tried to remain neutral. Germany would invade and occupy the Netherlands for five years. With thousands of Dutch deported to work in Germany and thousands were killed for resisting the Germans or trying to help the Dutch Jews.

After the war the Netherlands was a founding member of the European Economic Community (now the European Union) and the United Nations.

In 2002 The Euro replaced the Dutch guilder as the official currency of the Netherlands.

Flag of the Netherlands

Flag of the Netherlands

In the 16th century William I, prince of Orange joined with Dutch nationalist and became the leader of the independence movement against Spain. The Prince of Orange tricolor flag was orange, white, and blue and was the first flag adopted by the Dutch. The color red would replace the color orange. The red, white, and blue tricolor flag has flown since then in the Netherlands

Government of the Netherlands

The Netherlands is a Constitutional Monarchy. The prime minister of the Netherlands is the head of the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands. The monarch is the head of government and appoints ministers who become part of the cabinet.

The Dutch parliament is called the States General. It has two houses. The Lower House has 150 members that are elected by the people every four years. The Upper House has 15 members that are elected by local councils for a four-year term.

Land

The climate in the Netherlands is wet with cool summers and mild winters

The Netherlands is a very densely populated country with over 17 million people. The population density of the Netherlands is 1044 people per square mile (412 people per square kilometer).

The Netherlands is one of the world's flattest countries. The land is mostly a flat and soggy bog with reclaimed land (polder) from the sea that is protected by dykes. Over half of the land is less than a few feet above sea level. The North Sea would have washed much of the land away if the Dutch had not built dams, canals, and dikes to protect the land. In the southeast you will find hills. Much of the non-developed land is covered by grass, which is used for grazing.

Animals

The Netherlands is crowded with people so animals make their homes around canals, dams, and dikes. The Netherlands marshes and wetlands are major migration stops for European birds.
Birds of the Netherlands pictures

A variety of fish live in the canals and estuaries. An interesting species that is common in the canals is the eel.

Small animals such as rabbits and muskrats are found in the countryside. Larger animals are found in the national parks and reserves.

Explorer

Dirk Hartog is a Dutch explorer who visited the Australian coastline in 1616.

Rembrandt Video

Van Gogh Video

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)

Who Was Vincent Van Gogh
Videos, crafts, color pages and more at the Van Gogh museum in the Netherlands.

Van Gogh Sunflowers in a Vase

Draw a Sunflower Tutorial and Sunflower Drawing Coloring Page

Draw a Wheat Field Tutorial

M.C. Escherh Video

M.C. Escher (1898-1972)

Tessellation: One shape or more fitted together in a repeated pattern with no gaps and no overlapping.

Can't Wait to Tessellate -Cyberchase Video

Create a Simple Tessellation

Make A Fish Fish Tessellation

Tessellations

Tessellations coloring pages

Tessellation worksheet

Tessellation Video

The Netherlands Is Famous For

Windmills were important for pumping water out of the lowlands and into the rivers. There are over 1000 windmills in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is a small country next to the North Sea, is also has a lot of lakes, rivers, and canals. The North Sea is a threat as a large part of the Netherlands is below sea level. Before the steam engine windmills were used to ensured that water was drained and the land was not flooded, not least the drainage of the polders (reclaimed land from the sea)

Dutch Wooden Shoes Clogs

Wooden Shoes were worn by the Dutch as much of the land is below sea level creating boggy wet land. Leather shoes would get ruined easily and would not adequately protect a person's feet.

The Netherlands is world famous for its tulips. The flowers most exported from the Netherlands are Tulips.

Tulips flourish in the Netherlands. Tulips grow so well in the Netherlands because of the climate and soil. The weather in the Netherlands is fairly stable. Because of the water there is good fertile land that is a combination of a sand and clay-like mixture. Tulip bulbs are planted in the late fall months and they will bloom in the spring. The Netherlands a perfect country for tulips.

Tulips originally come from the Ottoman Empire (today Turkey).

Where Did Tulips Originate?

Netherlands Products

The top exports of the Netherlands are: refined petroleum, broadcasting equipment, packaged Medicines, computers, and photo lab equipment

The Netherlands is the largest exporter of trees, live plants, cut flowers, and flower buds.

Game

Hul Gul
A dutch children's game played with buttons.
Each child will need 10 buttons or any small items that can be held in one hand (dry beans, coins, pebbles). A small bag.

Each player receives 10 small items. You can give each child a bag to hold his game items in. The first player puts some of his game items in one closed hand, then he holds out his fist toward another player who says "Hul Gul." (What’s in your hand?) The first player answers "Hands full"

The second player guesses how many of the 10 game items the first player is holding in his fist. If the second player guesses to many he must give the first player some of his items to equal his guess. (ex. 1st player has 4 buttons, 2nd player guessed 6 buttons. 2nd player will give the 1st player 2 buttons). If the second player guesses too low he will have to give half of his game items to the first player. When one of the players runs out of game pieces the game ends. The player with the most game items wins.

Read

Things to Do

Dutch (Netherlands) Friends
Print the templates to create a Dutch Friend.

Netherlands Flag

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World

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