Talk About It: The Letter C

The big idea: C often says /k/, a sound that starts in the back of your mouth.

Today we're learning C. For toddlers the goal isn't writing it. It's hearing the /k/ sound at the start of words like cat, cup and car, and connecting it to the curvy shape of C. (C sometimes says /s/, like in "circle," but /k/ is the one to start with.)

Questions to ask

• "Put your hand on your throat and say 'cup.' Can you feel the sound in the back?"

• "Does cat start with /k/? Does dog?"

• "Can you think of a C word? Cat, car, cookie, cup, carrot!"

• "Can you make a C with your hand?"

• "What does a C look like? A curve, like a bite out of a cookie!"

Show it in one minute

Make a C with your hand and your child's hand. Then take a cookie or cracker, take one bite and hold it up: "Look, a C!" Trace a big C in the air together: "Start at the top and curve around."

Keep it going

Play "C or not C" in the car or at the store. Say a word and your child gives a thumbs up if it starts with /k/. Keep it silly and quick.

Want to learn more?

• Letters and Sounds: Practical Ideas for Parents, from Reading Rockets

• The Alphabetic Principle, from Reading Rockets

• Phonological and Phonemic Awareness: Activities for Your Pre-K Child, from Reading Rockets

Shop these items

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• Today's book: My Five Senses by Aliki

• From our set: Magnetic alphabet flash cards

• Shop everything for Week 3: My Body

• Starter supplies: the basics we use most weeks

• See every week in our Amazon storefront

More for this week: see all our My Body activities, Letter C activities and Number 3 activities.