Developmental Vocabulary List

This list is not thought to be complete or the only one to be used, but rather a base from which to choose what's appropriate for the child's situation.  You wouldn't want early words to be 'skyscrapers', 'fish', and 'pine trees' for a child living in the desert, but 'sled', 'snow', 'cold' would be appropriate for a child growing up in Alaska.  Teach what's meaningful, functional, and appropriate for your child's situation.  Children can't think abstractly very well until they are about 8 years old - it's developmental. 

These words are set up in categories because it's how we 'chunk' words in our memory.  Think 'dog' and you'll suddenly have other words related to 'dog' in your thinking . . . perhaps 'poodle', 'woof', 'doghouse', etc.

Have fun learning new words.