Q Words for Kids

Trying to come up with some q words for kids? Let’s quench your curiosity and quickly give you some quality ideas.

Grab a quesadilla, find some quiet, and let’s get started exploring this quintessential letter of the alphabet.

Note: this post has a little something for preschool, kindergarten, all the way through elementary, and if you stick to the end, there is a freebie that you won’t want to miss out on.

Why should I start teaching the letter Q at such young of an age?

Sometimes q is neglected a little when we work on alphabet letters with our kids or also when it comes to vocabulary for our older kids. But ‘q’ needs a little attention of its own. 

For younger kids, the letter itself can be confused with other letters in the alphabet such as p and q, or Q and O. Therefore, it’s best to take a little time and help kids to differentiate between the letters. 

For older kids, its a fun letter with lots of potentially new vocabulary to learn! 

How to practice the letter Q

First of all, with young learners, start with these basic objectives when introducing the letter q.

• Recognize the letter (uppercase and lowercase)
• Form the letter correctly (uppercase and lowercase)
• Understand that ‘q’ is typically paired with ‘u’ and makes the /q-wuh/ sound.
• Understand that q can also make the sound /k/ (as in quay)

Prewriting pages, letter formation pages, letter coloring pages, practice writing pages, flashcards, and games are all great ways to introduce the letter Q.

Once the letter is solidified in you kid’s mind, the fun is ready to being, because it’s time to learn words that use the letter q. 

Q Words for Preschool

While there are tons of wonderful words that start with q, with preschoolers, it’s important to start with easy options. Keep it simple.

Preschoolers are still working on letter recognition. So focus on learning what the letter q looks like (uppercase and lower case) and use simple word examples they are very familiar with. Here are a few examples of great preschool words that start with q along with sentences for context:

Preschool words that start with q:

• Queen – The queen lives in her castle.
• Quiz – The student will take a quiz.
• Quiet – Let’s be quiet so we do not wake the baby.
• Question – What is your question?
• Quilt – The quilt will keep you warm.
• Quickly – The boy ran quickly to his mother

Q words for kindergarten

Once students can recognize and are familiar with the letter q, you can add more kindergarten words that start with q to their vocabulary. Being sure to teach them that the letters q and u are typically paired together. 

Keep in mind, that while you are teaching the letters, you are also teaching vocabulary words. Seeing a lot of random words, with the letter qu, that are not used in their vernacular is not particularly beneficial at this point.

Start with common Kindergarten q words, then be sure to teach the meaning of any new vocabulary.

Here are some great kindergarten words that start with q:

• Quarter – A quarter is worth twenty-five cents.
• Quest – I am on a quest to find my lost toy.
• Quartz – I found a rock that was made of quartz. 
• Quake – I felt the earth quake.
• Quality – The quality of her work was excellent.
• Quantity – Quantity is how many we have of something.
• Quail – The quail is a bird within the pheasant family.

Things that start with q for elementary schoolers

For elementary aged kids, you can build their vocabulary and spelling skills with some of the following q words for kids: (I’ve also included helpful sentences to give your student as a starting point for understanding the meaning.)

• Quarrel – We had a quarrel over who would sit in the front seat.
• Quartet – The quartet had two trumpets and two trombones.
• Quench – After hiking it felt good to drink some water and quench my thirst.
• Quash – The teacher went out of her way to quash the argument brewing between her students.
• Queue – There was a queue of previews waiting to be played before the movie started.
• Query – She stared at me instead of answering my query.
• Quicken – We will quicken our pace so we can arrive on time.
• Quill – We found a quill from a large bird’s wing.
• Quince – We planted apple, pear, peach, quince, and fig trees in our orchard.
• Quirky – My quirky neighbor sings to her bird.
• Quote – My favorite quote is by Abraham Lincoln.
• Quiver – She felt her voice begin to quiver as she began her speech.
• Quadruple – Gas will quadruple in price before next year.
• Qualify – I hope to qualify for the next school olympics.
• Qualm – The only qualm is, I won’t be home in time for dinner.
• Quibble – It is quite childish to quibble about what to eat for snack.
• Quota – Each kid has a quota of pages that must be completed for each day.

The ultimate q words for kids list

Here is a long list of q words for kids along with a simplified definition of each (click the word to view the dictionary definition). See how many you can learn with your kids!

• Queen – a woman ruler
• Quiz – a short assessment
• Quit – to stop doing something
• Quiet – not very loud
•  Question – a statement that asks for an answer
•  Quilt – A blanket made from pieces of fabric
•  Quip – a witty remark
•  Quickly – to do something fast
•  Quarter – one of four parts
•  Quest – on a mission
•  Quality – certain characteristic
•  Quantity – the amount of something
•  Quail – a bird in the pheasant family
•  Quack – the sound a duck makes
•  Quarrel – to argue or bicker
•  Quench – to satisfy a craving
•  Quash – to stop or put an end to
•  Queue – people or things waiting their turn
•  Quicken – to get faster
•  Quill – a large feather from a bird

• Quite – truly or entirely
•  Quince – a fruit in the rose family
•  Quirky – peculiar
•  Quote – repeated words or phrase from an author or book
•  Quiver – to shake
•  Quadruple – four times or four parts
•  Quadruplet – a group of four
•  Qualify – to be found competent
•  Qualm – uneasiness, concern
•  Quibble – a petty argument
•  Quota – a certain fixed amount
•  Quaint – an old fashioned charm
•  Quandary – uncertain predicament
•  Quantitative– describing or measuring how much
•  Quarantine – isolating oneself for medical reasons
•  Quarry – a place where cutting and blasting for rock happens
•  Queasy – feeling nauseous
•  Query – to inquire of
•  Quietude – being calm, still, and quiet
•  Quirk – peculiar behavior

• Quizzical – odd or puzzled
•  Quorum – a chosen number of people
•  Quotation – something that is being quoted
•  Quadrilateral – a shape with four sides
•  Quagmire – a bog
•  Qualitative – having to do with qualities
•  Quick – fast
•  Quiche – a pie-like egg bake
•  Quinoa – a plant cultivated for its edible seeds
•  Quartet – a group of four performing singers or insturmentalists
•  Quaver – to tremble and shake
•  Quicksand – loose sand that give way when you stand on it
•  Quintuple – five or five parts
•  Quintuplet – a group of five
•  Quad – a section of land or campus
•  Quiescent – still and quiet
•  Quintessential – pure essence of something
•  Quotable – worthy of repeating
•  Quesadilla – cheese between tortillas

Activities for practicing the letter Q

(This list contains Amazon Affiliate links.)

1. Letter Q Practice Pack – Download the free printable Letter Q Practice Pack that is available in the Inspire the Mom’s free resource library. This pack includes q letter pages for preschoolers, vocabulary handwriting lists and letter tracing cards in both print and cursive, as well as a full q words list.
2. Sand tray – For letter formation and identification practice, use a sand tray OR a dish with sugar or cornmeal in the bottom and have your little ones trace the letter with their finger.
3. Letter Q Crafts – For your hand’s-on kids who are still learning to form letters, doing a couple letter q crafts might not be a bad idea.
4. Letter Q Book List – Grab some books for the letter q and enjoy a day of reading together.
5. Sensory Spelling Games – Check out this huge list of sensory spelling activities to use with q words (great for elementary aged students.) Activities include create things like legos, pipe cleaners, chalk, and even trampolines.
6. Q Coloring Sheets – Download some free q coloring sheets for your preschooler or kindergartener to reinforce this letter.
7. Write a Poem – With your older kids, have them create poetry using q words. For beginners, an acrostic poem would be a great place to start!
8. Play Word Games – With your older kids, pull out your Scrabble, Scattergories, or Boggle games and practing using all of your new vocabulary words.
9. Create a Word Wall – Put together you favorite q words and make a word wall with them.
10. Make Word Wrt – Create art using a q word, or multiple q words. Write them in bubble letters, or use paint, find an artistic ways to recreate your vocabulary words.
11. Play Vocabulary Bingo – Download a free vocabulary bingo sheet and write in your easy q words for kids, then enjoy an afternoon of learning new words while playing Bingo.

FREE Printable Letter Q Learning Pack 

I’ve got a FREE printable letter Q Learning Pack! It contains practice pages for preschool through elementary, as well as, a huge list of words that begin with the letter q. Great for homeschool or classroom use! All you have to do is sign in with Grow for this exclusive content!

Get it Now!

*This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.