Vocabulary Essentials for Pre-K/K

Some very simple vocabulary that Pre-K / K students are expected to know, and use in their sentences, includes names of occupations, body parts, and clothing items.

Occupations, like teacher, firefighter, policeman, as well as where they work, are also great prep for answering who and where questions.

And names of body parts and clothing items might seem basic. But does your child use them in sentences? And does your child use more advanced body parts, like eyebrows, or elbows, or forehead?

A great way to use these terms in questions, answers, and most importantly complete sentences with context, is to use them in daily routines and in play.

For body parts / clothing items, dress up is always a great option. Put on jewelery, or dress dolls, and practice the names of clothing, as well as where they go. Or, if your child does not like that, then just work on sentences while getting dressed for the day.

"This shirt ends at your elbow," or "This earring goes on your earlobe" or "this hat goes on your forehead, right over your eyebrow" are great ways to loop prepositions into body part / clothing item sentences.

Similarly, just teach your child different occupations when discussing family members. Mention the name of the occupation, and where such a person works. For example, "Aunt Di is a teacher. She works in the classroom," or "Uncle T is a scientist. He does experiments in a lab."

At this age, your child will retain vocabulary after hearing it in a targeted fashion just a few times. So, just one-two weeks of modeling these sentences, will have your child understanding them, and even saying them, more often.

Also check out this worksheet on body parts / clothing items, and this worksheet on occupations, on the Smarter Speech SLP TPT store!

Happy Talking!

Disclaimer : Smarter Speech is a pediatric speech therapy / speech-language pathology practice for toddlers and children providing in-home and teletherapy services in and around Mountain View, CA and Los Gatos, CA. Smarter Speech Blog aims to provide free speech and language tips for parents educators and therapists. However, this post is not providing speech-language pathology services. This is general information, not speech -language pathology or speech therapy. This article does not assume or create a client – SLP relationship. The author is not liable for any losses or damages due to actions or failure to act based on the content in this article. If you need assistance with a child’s speech or language needs, please contact a speech-language pathologist in your area.