There are lots of words starting with ‘D’ that will add to your preschooler’s vocabulary and literary skills. In my article on the letter ‘B’, I mentioned that the biggest struggle with learning the letter ‘D’ is the differentiating between the lowercase ‘b’ and ‘d’. The following words are primarily ‘kindergarten’ level words, but they set the stage for more advanced language development.
I wouldn’t describe these as sight words, some of them maybe. But for the most part, with this lesson on the letter ‘D’ I am more interested in having my son recognize the lowercase ‘d’, making the /d/ sound, and growing his ‘d’ word vocabulary.
D is for …
- Dog
- Duck
- Doll
- Drum
- Door
- Desk
- Dinosaur
- Dish
- Dot
- Den
- Dig
- Dress
- Drip
- Drop
- Day
- Dad
- Dance
While the letter ‘D’ is less complicated to say than the letter ‘C’, it is a little trickier to write. None of these words have proven to be very difficult for my toddler to pronounce, and some of them he is able to recognize as sight words, such as ‘Dog’, but for others I want to ensure that he is using the /d/ and not the /b/ sound by accident. And most importantly, that he can recognize the difference between these letters when written. For this, I’m using some printable activity sheets, which you can download for free below.
‘D’ Word Playtime Activities
Here are a few interactive learning word games with ‘D’ that you can use that will delight and educate simultaneously.
- Sound Sorting: In this game, give your child a variety of picture cards featuring different objects, animals, and items. Ask them to sort the cards into two groups: those that start with the letter D and those that do not. To make the game more interactive, encourage them to say the name of each item out loud, emphasizing the initial sound, and place it in the correct category. This game not only reinforces letter recognition and phonics but also enhances their vocabulary and critical thinking skills in a playful and hands-on manner.
- Dance of Words: Get their bodies moving with a vocabulary-building twist on the classic musical chairs. Feel free to use your existing furniture for this one. Label a few seats with a dashing ‘D’ word, and few with words that begin with another letter. When the music stops, have your little ones run to a chair with a ‘D’ word. Then take one away, and repeat until all of the ‘D’ words are found. Play this game with one child or more.
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