Dutch for Kids offers online Dutch lessons to children all over the world. And there are a few places in the world that are just a little extra special to me personally.

The Netherlands, of course, where I grew up. Spain, where we now live with our family. And Aruba. ❤️

I lived in Aruba for a while when I was a child myself. I still remember having private Dutch lessons there to make sure I kept up with my Dutch. And funny enough, all these years later, that is exactly what I now do for children living in Aruba: helping them develop their Dutch, wherever in the world they go to school.

At Dutch for Kids, we have been teaching online Dutch lessons to children in Aruba for many years now – and we absolutely love it.

Learning Dutch in Aruba

One of the things I love about Aruba is how multilingual the island is. Children grow up surrounded by different languages. You hear lots of Papiamento, of course, but also Dutch, English and Spanish.

That is something really special, but it also means that Dutch does not automatically become every child’s strongest language.

Some children mainly speak Papiamento at home. Others grow up in an international family or attend an international school where most of their education is in English. At the same time, Dutch is still very much present in everyday life in Aruba.

And that is exactly when some extra support with Dutch can be really helpful.

For example, we teach children who:

• attend an international school in Aruba;
• mainly speak Papiamento or English at home;
• understand Dutch but find it difficult to speak it themselves;
• need some extra help with Dutch reading, spelling or writing;
• may want to study in the Netherlands later;
• or simply want to speak Dutch more confidently with family, friends and people around them on the island.

Because all our lessons are one-to-one, we can really look at what each individual child needs.

How does Dutch for Kids work in Aruba?

Our online Dutch lessons are very easy to follow from Aruba. Your child simply logs in from home and has their lesson with the same Dutch teacher every week.

And I have to say: teaching children in Aruba never gets old.

Sometimes you are sitting behind your computer, looking outside at grey skies and rain. Then your student in Aruba logs in and you can see the sunshine, palm trees moving in the background and almost hear the sea breeze.

At moments like that, I sometimes think: I am definitely sitting on the wrong side of the screen. 😉

What does an online Dutch lesson look like?

• Lessons via Google Meet
• One-to-one Dutch lessons
• The same teacher and lesson time each week
• Based on Dutch educational goals
• Reading, spelling, grammar, vocabulary and speaking
• Lots of interaction and age-appropriate materials
• Themed lessons
• Personal guidance at your child’s own level
• Lessons for young children, primary school children and secondary school students

We teach children from kindergarten age all the way through to the final years of Dutch secondary school.

This means we can grow alongside a family for many years.

Some children start with us because their parents would simply like them to become more confident speaking Dutch. A few years later, we may suddenly be working together on reading comprehension, spelling or Dutch at secondary-school level.

That is one of the things I love most about our work.

Growing up multilingual in Aruba

Many children in Aruba grow up with several languages from a very young age. At Dutch for Kids, we see that as something really positive.

A child does not have to choose between Papiamento, English, Spanish or Dutch. All of those languages can exist alongside each other.

What we do often see is that children understand Dutch quite well, but speaking, reading and writing it themselves can be more difficult. This is especially true when Dutch is not the language they use at school every day.

That is why we always start by looking carefully at the child’s current level.

What can your child already do? Which language do they speak at home? Which language is used at school? And most importantly: what will your child need Dutch for?

For one child, the focus may be mainly on speaking and vocabulary. Another child might need more support with reading and spelling. And another student may be preparing for a possible move into Dutch education.

There is no single route that works for every child.

From Aruba to studying in the Netherlands

For many families in Aruba, this is an important reason to keep developing their child’s Dutch.

Children growing up in Aruba have so many possibilities for the future. Some may choose to study in the United States, others may stay closer to home, while some decide to move to Europe.

But we also see many young people from Aruba eventually choosing to study in the Netherlands.

And when that happens, having a strong foundation in Dutch can make a huge difference.

Being able to chat with family and friends in Dutch is very different from being able to follow a Dutch course, understand a long text, write an academic assignment or confidently give a presentation.

That is why, with our older students, we also work on skills such as:

• reading comprehension;
• spelling and grammar;
• writing;
• vocabulary;
• speaking;
• academic and school-related Dutch;
• and Dutch at secondary-school level.

Our aim is to make sure that Dutch does not become an obstacle later in life, but instead opens another door.

Perhaps your child will never choose to study in the Netherlands. And that is absolutely fine.

But how nice is it to know that the option is there?

My own connection with Aruba

Aruba will always be a special place to me.

I lived there as a child and had extra Dutch lessons there myself. Now I am an adult, living in Spain with my own family, and together with our team I teach Dutch to children all over the world.

And whenever I visit Aruba with my own children, there is one thing they absolutely love: they can speak Dutch everywhere.

They can ask someone a question in a shop, have a little chat or understand what other children are saying. To them, it feels completely natural.

And every time, it reminds me how special language really is.

Language allows you to feel connected to more than one place at the same time.

You can feel at home in Aruba and speak Dutch. You can grow up speaking Papiamento and learn Dutch alongside it. You can attend an international school and still make sure your Dutch continues to develop.

That is exactly what we believe in at Dutch for Kids.

Online Dutch lessons in Oranjestad and across Aruba

Because our lessons are completely online, it does not really matter where in Aruba you live.

We teach children in Oranjestad, as well as families living all across the island.

All your child needs is a laptop or computer and a good internet connection. At their regular lesson time, they simply log in and meet their teacher online.

The time difference between Aruba and the Netherlands is also very manageable. And because our team consists of Dutch teachers living in different parts of the world, we can usually find a lesson time that works well for your family.

Learning Dutch in Aruba with Dutch for Kids

Whether Dutch is your child’s first language, they mainly speak Papiamento or English, they attend an international school, or they are already thinking about studying in the Netherlands one day, we always look at the individual child in front of us.

What can your child already do?

What do they find difficult?

And where would you like them to be in a few years?

From there, we make a plan together.

And who knows? Perhaps soon one of our teachers will be sitting behind her computer while the rain is pouring down outside, while your child logs in from sunny Aruba with palm trees in the background. 🌴

That always makes us smile.

Meet Dutch for Kids for free

Would you like to find out more about our online Dutch lessons for children in Aruba and discover what level would be right for your child?

Book a free introductory meeting with Dutch for Kids.

During the meeting, we would love to hear more about your family, which languages your child speaks, where they go to school and what you would like them to achieve with their Dutch.

After that, we can arrange a free trial lesson with a teacher who is a good match for your child.

That way, you can discover whether Dutch for Kids is the right fit for your family, with no obligation.

Perhaps we will see you soon in our online classroom, joining us from sunny Aruba! 🌴