Today on the A to Z challenge, it is the letter X. This is the one letter that worried me the most on this challenge. Not only are there a limited number of words that start with X that I can write about, this letter falls on a day when I typically talk about a parenting issue.
My husband suggested X-rays but I haven’t ever had one, and neither have the kids so that would be a short topic. I guess I could have talked about the X-box but instead, I decided to talk just about the letter X. Yep. We are talking about the 24th letter in our alphabet.
This letter is easy to teach in the terms of how to write it. Just two quick strokes and you can do either a capital or lowercase X. (And once you learn how to make an X you can work on your pirate map as we all know “X” marks the spot.)
However, when it comes to words that start with X, you end up with X-ray or X-Box. Other words such as xylophone, Xerox or Xavier have a Z sound instead of an X. That certainly makes it hard to explain to your preschooler.
So I guess the best way to teach the letter X is to tell your child that X is unusual. The actual sound of the letter X is a combination of the letters “k” and “s.” It often comes in the middle or end of a word such as in fox, fix, ax, and box.
You know as I reflect upon it, there is not much to say about the letter X other than it is a tricky one to teach in the area of pronunciation. And now that the letter X is done, there are only two more days in this challenge.