K is for...

K is a fun letter to explore with kids, expect when trying to explain that some things that sound like /k/ actually start with the letter c.  But it is interesting to note that many of the children know that kangaroo and kite start with k--I attribute this to wonderful alphabet books available to children.  Other great k words: kitten, kindergarten, king, kitchen, koala, karate, kiss, key and the ever popular kazoo!
Books

Off to Kindergarten  by Tony Johnston; illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Kite Day!  by Will Hillenbrand

Songs/Rhymes/Fingerplays

Three Little Kittens
Three little kittens,
They lost their mittens,
And they began to cry,
Oh, mother dear,
We sadly fear
Our mittens we have lost.


What! Lost your mittens,
You naughty kittens!
Then you shall have no pie.
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
You shall have no pie.

The three little kittens,
They found their mittens,
And they began to cry,
Oh, mother dear,
See here, see here,
Our mittens we have found.
What! Found your mittens,
You darling kittens!
Then you shall have some pie.
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
You shall have some pie.

I made magnet board pieces to use while I recited the poem.  I've decided I like using magnet board pieces because I can just add a sticky back magnet to color printed clip art...so easy!
The Kazoo Song (by Tammy Henry)
There is a sound that I can make
That drives my parents crazy
K-A-Z-O-O
K-A-Z-O-O
K-A-Z-O-O

And it is a kazoo!

There is a sound that I can make
That drives my parents crazy
K-A-Z-O-(blow kazoo)
K-A-Z-O-(blow kazoo)
K-A-Z-O-(blow kazoo)

And it is a kazoo!

Continue taking one away letter and blowing on the kazoo until...

There is a sound that I can make
That drives my parents crazy
(blow kazoo)-(blow kazoo)-(blow kazoo)-(blow kazoo)-(blow kazoo)
(blow kazoo)-(blow kazoo)-(blow kazoo)-(blow kazoo)-(blow kazoo)
(blow kazoo)-(blow kazoo)-(blow kazoo)-(blow kazoo)-(blow kazoo)

And it is a kazoo!

I couldn't resist doing this song with the kids when the words to a kazoo song popped in my head one night.  I bought a big bag of kazoos at Nobbies (from Oriental Trading)--72 kazoos for just $6.  I gave each child a kazoo and we practiced making noises with it before we sang the song.  It was a pretty crazy song with lots of kazoo blowing, but the kids really liked it!  After the song I told the children to take their kazoos to the "person who brought them"--this was two fold--we could finish storytime without kazoo noises and two, parents/caregivers might just "happen" to lose the kazoo before they got home.  One girl couldn't figure out how to make a sound come from her kazoo during the song.  After storytime I gave her some more hints and her face lit up when she finally did it!

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe
She had so many children she didn't know what to do.
She gave them some broth, without any bread
Then kissed them all soundly and put them to bed.


Enrichment Activities

Kiss Matching Game I used "garage sale" round stickers and a bag of Hershey Kisses.  I wrote an upper case letter, then a lower case letter on each sticker and put them on the bottom on the kisses.  Now it was a matching game for the children.  (Idea and detail instructions are here)

Keys  I had a staff member donate a bunch of keys they no longer needed.  The children got to explore the keys and I had rings and pipe cleaners for them to put them on.

Kites  I usually have the kids make and decorate a kite from construction paper and crete paper, but we had limited time to use the room on Wednesday, so instead they colored a kite page I got from the Internet.

Puppets  Because puppets are fun!