Learn Dutch: Beach Things – Picture Crossword for Kids

This crossword brings your child gently into contact with Dutch. The drawings show the buckets, spades and starfish, and your child says the Dutch word to themselves before setting each letter into the grid. In doing so they practise turning a remembered Dutch word into its correct written form — a lovely warm-up for anyone just starting to learn Dutch. At the crossing points the words meet on a shared letter, and that is exactly where small moments of "oh, it fits!" appear. Take your time, because this puzzle wants to be solved slowly. There is no timer and no score, only your child, the pictures, and the satisfaction of every Dutch word spelled correctly into place, box after careful box.

Look, think in Dutch, and write: your child finds the Dutch word for the pictured beach things and spells it into the crossword. Each word is joined to another at a crossing, so your child attends to every single letter. That practises Dutch spelling and firms up vocabulary. It is a feel-good puzzle — no haste, no contest, just one new word per picture. You can print it for free or open it online to play together, as often as the urge to puzzle returns and a few more Dutch words feel worth meeting. Dutch likes to join small words together, so a single word can grow surprisingly long.

Has your child caught the joy of naming and spelling in Dutch? Then keep going! The crosswords about the accessories and the ones with beach things hold fresh pictures, new Dutch words, and new crossings to puzzle over. And once your child is really in the swing of it, there is a whole free collection built around the beach things — free to print or simply to play online. That way learning Dutch stays varied and gives a little fresh pleasure each day, all at your child’s own pace. Have fun discovering, writing, and puzzling together!