Letter of the Week: X

August 19-23
Letter of the Week: X
Theme: Pirates

So…  ‘X’.  Finding a theme that fits nicely with the letter ‘x’ is… well, it’s tricky!  I found a super cute craft turning an ‘x’ into a pirate.  And pirates have the whole “x marks the spot” thing (not to mention those cross bones that look like an ‘x’).  And who doesn’t like pirate play?  Did you know there is an entire day dedicated to talking like a pirate?  Yup.  September 19th is International Talk Like A Pirate Day.  You can learn all about it here.  But I digress…

Back to our letter of the week:  ‘X’ is a consonant; one of the lesser appreciated ones.  From a speech perspective, ‘x’ is a borrower…and a greedy one at that.  It borrows its sound from ‘k’ and ‘s’.  The tongue is doing double duty to make this sound, quickly moving from the back-tongue /k/ forward to /s/.  ‘X’ is a quiet sound (no voice).  Hold your hand to your throat as you say it; no vibration from the vocal cords.

In therapy:  We will be reading 'x'/pirate themed books, doing an ‘x’/pirate themed art project, playing Toss Across (Xs and Os!) and Pop-Up Pirate, as well as exploring the letter name, letter sound and letter symbol for 'x'.

Suggestions for home:  Pick out the ones that appeal most to your child (and you!).  Sprinkle ‘x’ throughout the week.  Most important, have fun!

BOOKS

• My “xyz” Sound Book (Sound Box Books) by Jane Belk Moncure
• A Box Story by Kenneth Kit Lamug
• Jessica’s X-Ray by Pat Zonta
• Not A Box by Antoinette Portis

The Measured Mom found a list of 10 ‘X’ books here.

Pirate-themed Books:

• Penelope The Purple Pirate by Melissa Northway (also an app)
• The Day I Became A Pirate - An Interactive Book App For Kids
• Check out these 10 children’s books about pirates from Fun-A-Day

FOOD
Eating the Alphabet - X:  Yes, I admit, creativity is needed here!  I did come up with a couple ideas.  Can you think of others?

     Chex or Kix cereal          Chex mix          Trail mix         

     Use thin cuts of cheese to make ‘X’s on crackers

Feeling adventurous?  Plan a cooking activity with your child and make ‘x’ sugar cookies or ‘x’ jello jigglers.  Have your child help mix!

ACTIVITIES

Scavenger Hunt:  how many ‘x’ things can you find around the house, while shopping at the market, in a magazine or store ad flyers?  Hint:  look and listen for the ‘x’ within and at the end of the word.

Field Trip:  Zoo/Aquarium - can you find any animals with ‘x’ in their name?

I Spy:  look for the letter ‘x’ in a variety of texts (books, magazines, newspaper, road signs, license plates).

Sensory Play:

• Play Tic Tac Toe with sidewalk chalk (Xs and Os!)
• Fill old squeeze bottles (like condiment bottles) with water and “write” Xs (squirt the water) on the sidewalk

For pirate fun:

• check out the Fat Cat Pirate Chat app to talk like a pirate
• draw your own pirate adventure with Pirate Scribblebeard’s Treasure app
• introduce basic map skills by making a “treasure map” – don’t forget “X” marks the spot!
• check out ‘stuff for junior pirates’ from the official Talk Like A Pirate site
• Pirate theme children’s activity ideas here, here and here
• Pop-Up Pirate game

I'd love to hear what 'x' and/or pirate fun you have!  Leave a comment and share.

This post contains affiliate links.