Letter of the Week: Q

March 24 - 28quilt my mom made
Letter of the Week: Q
Theme: Quilt

I grew up with quilts.  Quilts that were used.  A lot.  Quilts my grandmother made.  Quilts my mom made.  Heading to the park?  We grabbed a large quilt to spread out on the grass.  Curling up on the living room floor for a special movie night?  Grabbed a comfy quilt to get cozy.  Nap time - definitely quilt time.  I remember making a quilt for my doll when I was learning to sew as a girl (and being quite proud of that quilt).  And when I headed off to University as an undergrad I was armed with a quilt my mom had made for me when I was younger.  As we tackle our second to last letter of the alphabet, we are going to celebrate quilts!

‘Q’ is a consonant.  From a speech perspective, ‘q’ is a borrower.  'Q' is usually immediately followed by 'u'.  Together, they borrow the /k/ a nd /w/ sounds to make /kw/.  (Images from the LiPS Program by Lindamood-Bell)

                            

The tongue scrapes the back of the roof of the mouth (/k/), immediately followed by the lips rounding (/w/).  'Q' is a quiet sound.

In therapy:  We will be reading 'q'/quilt themed books, doing ‘q’/quilt themed activities, and exploring the letter name, letter sound and letter symbol for 'q'.

Suggestions for home:  Sprinkle ‘q’ throughout the week.  Pick out a variety of activities that appeal to your child (and you!).  Kids learn best through active and meaningful experiences.  And multi-modal learning helps make stronger and more diverse connections in the brain, which helps with retention and recall.  Most important, have fun!

BOOKS

• My “q” Sound Box (Sound Box Books) by Jane Belk Moncure  [Kindle Edition]
• The Quilt by Ann Jonas
• The Kindness Quilt by Nancy Elizabeth Wallance  [Kindle Edition]
• Mooshka, A Quilt Story by Julie Paschkis
• The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston
• Oma's Quilt by Paulette Bourgeois
• The Quilting Bee by Gail Gibbons
• The Quiltmaker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau
• The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco
• The Boy and the Quilt by Shirley Kurtz
• The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy
• Quilt Block History of Pioneer Days by Mary Cobb
• Luka's Quilt by Georgia Guback
• Quilt Alphabet by Lesa Cline-Ransome

FOOD
Eating the Alphabet - Q:  Consider adding some “q” foods to your menu this week.  Here are a few ideas:
     quiche     quark cheese     quesadillas     quinoa     quince

Feeling like some foodie fun?  Make edible "quilt squares"!  Use cream cheese, peanut butter or "squeeze" cheese to make designs on soda crackers.  Or use frosting on graham crackers. 

ACTIVITIES
Scavenger Hunt:  how many ‘q’ things can you find around the house, while shopping at the market, in a magazine or store ad flyers?

Field Trip to the Zoo/Aquarium:  can you find any animals with ‘q’ in their name?

Be a letter detective:  hunt for the letter ‘q’ in a variety of texts (books, magazines, newspaper, road signs, license plates).

Sensory Play:

• quilt the letter Q art project, like this one from No Time For Flashcards
• make a family photo quilt
• make quarter rubbings: place a quarter (coin) under a piece of paper and use the side of a crayon to rub over it until the picture appears
• sing the alphabet song to the tune of "Farmer in the Dell" (e.g. Q says /kw/, q says /kw/, every letter makes a sound, q says /kw/); for letters that make more than one sound, you can put both sounds into the song (e.g. for A put both a as in apple and a as in ape)
• put some quinoa in a large pie plate and let your child do some letter tracing/drawing
• Q-tip watercolor painting
• for Q-themed learning worksheets, check out the Romping & Roaring Q Pack by 3 Dinosaurs

Do you have other fun ‘q’ ideas?  Take a moment and leave me a comment.  I’d love to hear!
 

This post contains affiliate links.