This post provides a bird’s-eye view of topics addressed in the Dutch Owl blog. In general, each post belongs to one of the following categories: My child reads on their own, aka Reading, Mastering Dutch, aka Language exercises, My young …
Few ways to boost spelling
Even though my passive Dutch is decent, helping our children with spelling was what I’ve always dreaded. It’s absolutely not possible that I would pronounce words that they write down. I’m sure you’ve already heard that if your Dutch is …
Let’s enjoy Redactiesommen (Verhaaltjessommen)
Redactiesommen (also known as Verhaaltjessommen) are simply word problems. Think of a granny who buys 2 lolly’s for each of her 5 grandchildren. Yes… she needs 10 lolly’s, since we have five groups of two lolly’s each, and 5×2 is …
5 tips to master reading comprehension (Begrijpend lezen)
Reading comprehension (Begrijpend lezen) is the ability to read a text and understand its meaning. If you find it important to help your child with this skill, check this post for useful hints. Just in case you’re looking for an …
Books about Dolfje Weerwolfje
Dolfje is a boy, who on the night of his seventh birthday discovers he is actually a werewolf. Luckily, his foster family is very open minded about it and they support him in all possible ways. Soon Dolfje finds out …
Is this book suitable for my child’s reading level?
It is important that a child’s reading experience is successful, as this will not only improve their reading skills, but also help them view reading as pleasurable. Your child is perhaps happy to share which topics are appealing to them. …
A, B, C book categories (A, B, C boeken)
Children sections in Dutch libraries have bookshelves marked as A, B, and C. Have you ever wondered which one you should look at? A bird’s-eye view Dutch libraries use this classification to make books easily accessible for children and their …
AVI levels (AVI niveaus)
You may have noticed that books in Dutch libraries are organized by level: M3, E3, M4, E4…. This post explains what these numbers mean and why they come in handy. What sort of level is that? Fundamentally, it’s not pleasant …