Amsterdam 5 days

if you are there on a Wednesday then go to the Edam cheese market. get there early to get a good seat. you can go by Localbus.nl. Gouda has theirs on Thursdays. I believe this would be a train ride.

we will be in Amsterdam in September and have been told that the resistance museum is quite worthwhile.

We enjoyed a brief visit to the Kattenkabinet: https://www.kattenkabinet.nl/en

I would recommend the Rembrandthuis, which is one of my favorite museums. The description of "house museum" doesn't do it justice as it has demonstrations about the printing process and mixing paints and such, and an interesting perspective on his and Sasha's business technique.

The Resistance Museum is the best I've seen yet.

Outside Amsterdam: Muiderslot is supposed to be interesting.
For your children you could look into: This is Holland, Amsterdam Lookout, Amsterdam Eye Filmmuseum, WONDR Experience, Upside Down Amsterdam.

I would suggest Hoorn, which is a charming small city located north of Amsterdam on the water. I loved my visit here back in 2018 - Hoorn is really lovely and nowhere near as crowded as Amsterdam will be in August. I went by car (I have a friend who lives there and she drove us up) but it's a very easy day trip by train or bus.

The harbor is fun to walk through to see the boats - in fact, you can rent a water taxi to take you out into the harbor. The Westfries museum is wonderful, and something I think kids might enjoy. There is also a old fashioned steam train that you can take that travels between Hoorn, Medemblik and Enkhuizen. You can find more information here: https://www.stoomtram.nl/en/

we will be in Amsterdam in September and have been told that the resistance museum is quite worthwhile.

jules, it definitely is. I have been to a number of resistance museums and Amsterdam's is by far and away my favorite.

If your family enjoys zoos, I can heartily recommend Artis Royal Zoo. Located right in Amsterdam, across the street from the excellent Resistance museum, this sweet compact zoo is charming with very intimate close-up exhibits and beautifully landscaped gardens. I especially enjoyed sitting on a bench watching the penguins. Last time I looked it was covered by the IAmsterdam card.

How about a canoe trip through the wetlands just outside of Amsterdam? Rick features a canoe trip in one of his Netherland videos and recommends Wetland Safari https://www.wetlandssafari.nl/nl/english/ in his Amsterdam and the Netherlands guidebook. Sounds like a fun and easy family day trip.