S Words for Kids
Searching for some superb S words for Kids? If so, I’ve got a spectacular list of smart words that begin with the letter S that are sure to satisfy your search.
The great thing is, there is a sensational amount of S words to choose from. Today, I’ve going to share some of the best S words for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary aged students.
Also, be sure to get the free special S Words for Kids learning pack printable that is available to download at the end of this post!
What are the Sounds of letter S?
Before getting into our S words for kids. Let’s answer the question, ‘What are the sounds that letter S can make?”
To begin with, the S makes an /s/ sound as in: sincere, simple, and sweet. Then, if the letter S comes after a vowel, another S, or a voiced consonant it is propounded as a /z/ sound as in: was, becomes, and clothes.
These two sounds (s and z) are created in the same way. The only difference is, the /s/ sound is unvoiced and the /z/ sound is voiced.
Consonant blends for letter S include: sc, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, sq, sw, and st. Then there is also the ‘Sh’ combination that makes the /sh/ sound as in sheep, ship, and shout.
The Sound of S:
- /s/ as in: sun, sweet, sister
- /z/ as in: beds, logs, moves,
What Are Some Good Letter S Words for Preschool
Are you doing preschool at home and are wondering what some good letter S words for preschoolers might be? In short, S words that demonstrate the simple /s/ sound and are familiar to the child are good words to start with.
Since preschoolers are still working on letter recognition its good to give them one sound to associate with each letter. For S, start with words that use the /s/ sound as in: snowman, sofa, and sun.
*Note: Check out these resources for preschool letter recognition: Preschool Learning Folder & Preschool Daily Skill Builder.
Letter S Words for Preschool:
- Sad – She was sad because her best friend moved away.
- Sit – My teacher asked me to sit quietly in my chair.
- Six – Jenny is six years old.
- Snow – The snow was sparkly and white.
- Spider – The black spider crawled up the wall.
- Socks – My socks are new.
- Salt – I refilled the salt and pepper shakers.
- Sand – The sand felt hot on my feet.
- Sandals – I wear sandals during the summer.
- Sun – The sun is bright.
- Salad – My mom eats a salad with every meal.
- Snowman – We built a snowman and gave his a carrot nose.
- Saw – I saw a cat hiding in the barn.
- Sing – Jill likes to sing in the shower.
Letter S Words for Kindergarten
Once your kindergartners are comfortable with the all the alphabet letter and their sounds, you can start to introduce the consonant letter blends for S (including ‘Sh).
*Note: If your kids need more practice with letter sounds, vowels, consonants, and reading, Check out the printable Kindergarten Daily Skill Builder (Its great for daily practice or morning work).
Here are some words that begin with letter S for kindergarten as well as, some words that end in S for kindergarten:
Letter S Words for Kindergarten:
- Set – Will you set that plate on the table?
- Sail – They will sail across the lake.
- Salt – I like to put salt on my potatoes.
- Say – I try to say nice things.
- Said – My mom said that we are going to church tomorrow.
- Safe – This is a safe place.
- Stick – I used a stick to stir the paint.
- Shapes – We are learning our shapes at school.
- Store – The store was crowded.
- Sand – My brother and I built a sand castle at the beach.
- Seed – I planted a watermelon seed in our backyard.
- Sea – Dolphins live in the sea.
- Snake – I saw a snake while I was hiking.
- Shirt – I am wearing my green shirt today.
- Seven – My sister is seven years old.
- Shovel – I used a shovel to dig a hole.
- Shelf – She put my toys back up on the shelf.
- Star – I know how to draw a star.
- Step – Watch me step across the stones!
- Slippers – I put my slippers on when my feet get cold.
- Shoes – My shoes are dark blue.
- Shell – I found a beautiful shell on the beach.
- Scarecrow – The scarecrow stood in the cornfield and kept the birds away.
Words that end with the letter S for Kindergarten:
- Gas – We need to get gas in our van.
- Bus – The bus is ready to leave.
- Yes – My mom said yes.
- His – His arm hurt after the fall.
- Mess – Your room is a mess.
- Miss – We will miss you when you are gone.
- Kiss – I kiss my mom every day before I leave for school.
- Pass – Every day we pass the grocery store on our way home.
- Dress – The dress was yellow with white polka dots.
- Guess – Her guess was right.
S Words for Beginning Readers
Most of the early reader books are going to be utilizing easy three and four letter words. These short simple words are great for practicing letter sounds and simple spelling rules. Here are some kid-friendly, easy S words for your beginning readers:
Three letter S Words for Kids (CVC S Words)
- Sad
- Sap
- Sag
- Set
- Sip
- Sum
- Sit
- Son
- Sop
- Sat
- Saw
- Sod
- Sax
- Set
- Sob
Four letter S Words for Kids
- Said
- Sick
- Sure
- Sail
- Some
- Such
- Same
- Show
- Size
- Sale
- Sold
- Step
- Sell
- Stay
- Soap
- Stop
- Sand
- Salt
- Stew
- Seem
- Sort
- Shop
- Self
- Spin
- Span
- Shed
- Solo
- Slot
- Seed
- Soak
- Sack
- Sing
- Shin
- Sent
- Send
- Save
- Shot
- Seek
- Suck
- Sole
- Soul
- Sake
- Song
- Seal
- Shoe
- Slow
- Safe
- Scan
- Swim
- Slid
- Sour
- Sack
- Slam
- Surf
- Sign
- Soda
- Soup
- Star
- Skin
- Soil
- Soft
- Sink
- Sank
- Sage
- Sung
- Scar
- Slab
- Spur
- Saga
- Suit
- Slip
- Snow
- Silk
- Ship
- Salt
- Swap
- Snap
- Spun
- Skip
- Swan
- Slap
- Sofa
- Spit
- Spot
Sensational S Words for Elementary Students
I love that there are so many S words we can use for elementary students. It makes teaching the letter S easy and fun. With that being said, there is a slew of great words that begin with S for elementary students, but here are a few suggestions to get the ball rolling for you:
S Words for Elementary Kids:
- Stage – She went on stage and gave her speech in front of the entire school.
- Sheep – The sheep grazed in the meadow.
- Small – We love in a small house at the edge of town.
- Smell – The roses smell lovely.
- Shark – I saw a shark at the aquarium.
- Sleep – I need eight hours of sleep.
- Speak – Speak the truth in love.
- Stamp – Fran put a stamp on the envelop before she mailed it.
- Scissors – I need a pair of scissors to cut out these pieces.
- Sanitizer – Please use hand sanitizer after you pet the animals.
- Strawberry – I love strawberry ice cream.
- Scooter – I have a bike and a scooter.
- Spoon – He used a spoon to eat his pudding.
- Satisfy – I need some water to satisfy my thirst
- Sober – He has sober for ten years.
- Shine – Let your light shine.
- Stable – The horse is resting in her stable.
- Swift – I appreciate your swift reply.
- Sparkle – I like to watch the diamond sparkle in the sun.
- Sweet – She has a sweet personality.
- Selfish – The boy was selfish and would not share his snack.
- Success – Todays fundraiser was a total success.
- Scenic – We took a scenic drive out in the country.
- Smooth – The road was smooth.
- Sting – I got a bee sting.
- Soccer – He plays soccer very well.
- Shampoo – Her shampoo smelled like coconut.
- Screwdriver – He used the screwdriver to fix the light fixture.
- Salsa – I have a mango salsa recipe.
- Sandals – I wear sandals in the summer.
- Sugar – This recipe calls for two cups of sugar.
- Script – The actors followed their script.
- Sincere – She gave him a sincere apology.
- Syringe – The nurse used a syringe during the procedure.
- Social – People use social media to build their businesses.
- Smart – She is a smart little girl.
Superior S Words for Kids
Do you have upper elementary kids who are vocab savvy? Check out these spectacularly superior S words for them to learn:
- Sympathetic – She spoke with a sympathetic tone.
- Superior – They advertise that their product is superior above all.
- Salvaging – They tried salvaging what they could from the wreckage, but there wasn’t much left.
- Stupendous – The finale was absolutely stupendous.
- Spectacular – We watched the spectacular fireworks show.
- Significant – The took a significant loss when the stock market crashed.
- Shenanigans – The boys were chided for their afternoon of reckless shenanigans.
- Sojourn – He visited as many sites as he could during his two-month sojourn in the US.
- Serendipity – Their love story was nothing less than a wondrous serendipity.
- Savvy – He is very tech savvy.
- Scintillating – The scintillating conversation with his professor inspired him to write a book.
- Saintly – Mother Teresa was often referred to as saintly.
Things That Start with Letter S
Need a few helpful lists of things that start with the letter S? Look no further, this is a great place to find foods, animals, places, and objects that begin with the letter S. What other things that start with S would you add to these lists?
Objects that start with S:
- Sand
- Salt
- Saddle
- Sailboat
- Salami
- Sandals
- Sandwich
- Sauce
- Saxophone
- Scales
- Scepter
- Scissors
- Sculpture
- Seeds
- Shark
- Shell
- Shingles
- Shirt
- Sink
- Shoe
- Shovel
- Skates
- Skeleton
- Sloth
- Slippers
- Snow
- Soap
- Socks
- Sofa
- Soil
- Spatula
- Sponge
- Spoon
- Square
- Star
- Stick
- Suitcase
- Swan
- Sweater
- Sword
Foods that start with S:
- Sausage
- Shrimp
- Sandwich
- Steak
- Spaghetti
- Sardines
- Salad
- Squash
- Salmon
- Scones
- Shortcake
- Sage
- Spinach
- Sweet Potato
- Soup
- Strawberry
Animals that start with S:
- Skunk
- Sheep
- Snail
- Salmon
- Sparrow
- Snake
- Seal
- Sea lion
- Scorpion
- Squid
- Squirrel
- Seahorse
- Stingray
- Spider
- Salamander
- Shark
Places that start with S:
- Salisbury
- Samaria
- San Diego
- Santa Fe
- Saskatoon
- Savannah
- Salvador
- Saudi Arabia
- Seattle
- Salem
- Siam
- Siberia
- Springfield
- Spain
- Syracuse
- Syria
Activities for Teaching Words that Begin with Letter S
(This list of ideas contains Amazon Affiliate Links.)
- Read Books for Letter S – Reading is a spectacular way of teaching kids their S words. Look around your house for some books for letter S or take a trip to the library and see if you can find some books that highlight the letter S in some way (usually by repetition). Two of my kids favorite S books are, The Spiffiest Giant by Julia Donaldson and Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton
- Get Free Printables for Letter S – Find some free printables for letter S. These can be worksheets, coloring pages, puzzles, word searches, crossword, you name it! OR you can download the free S Words for Kids Activity pack that is available at the end of this post (which has printable S activities for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary).
- Make a Word Map – Write your new S word in the middle of your paper (or brainstorming map) and come up with other words, ideas, or pictures that you can think of, that is related to the S word in the middle of the paper.
- Play Pictionary – This game is played like charades, but instead of acting the word out you draw it out for people to try and guess. To do this game with your words that begin with letter S, write the S words on a stack of cards (each student will get a card with one S word on it for them to draw).
- S Word Acrostic Poem – Have your student pick an S word and write an acrostic poem for it. This is where you write your word vertically then write a sentence starting with the letter given. (See more acrostic poem ideas for kids.)
FREE Letter S Activity Pack
If you are looking for free letter S printables, I’ve got a free Letter S Activity Pack for you to use. This resource includes letter S preschool pages, tracing cards, vocabulary sheets in print and cursive, AND an S word list. All you have to do is sign in with Grow for this exclusive content!
Get it Now!
Additional Words for Kids Resources
What are your favorite S words for kids?
This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.