Concepts to Teach Preschoolers

We teach words to our little ones.

"Chair," we say pointing to a chair. They repeat it. So simple.

But, we also want to teach concepts to our children. 

A concept is a general idea about a thing or a group of things. 

What concepts should we teach to preschoolers?

I'm glad you asked. 

Colors, shapes, and numbers are all concepts. Sometimes it can be tricky to teach the color red. 

"Does Mom mean pillow?' our little lambs wonder as she points to a red pillow. I would say, "Red pillow" after my children understood pillow. "Red cup, red blanket, red heart," I would continue, making sure to add the noun itself. 

​What are other concepts to teach preschoolers?

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Here are some concepts to teach your children in the young years (beyond colors, shapes, & numbers): 

• Full Name
• Parent's Name
• God
• Jesus
• Heaven
• Birthday
• Basic Feelings: glad (happy), sad, mad (angry)
• Thankfulness
• Times of the Day: Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Night
• Weather: Sunny, Cloudy, Rainy, Snowy, Hot, Cold
• Seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
• Family Members (Mom, Dad, Brothers, Sisters, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents)
• Parts of the Body (Eyes, Ears, Nose, Hands, Feet, Elbow, etc.) 

Children should also be taught to categorize, or put things into groups like food, animals, clothes, toys, or furniture. 

Another thing that preschoolers learn from Mom is to recognize patterns and put things into a sequence of events.

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Here are more concepts to teach your children in the young years: 
Day, Night
On, Off
Loud, Soft
Hot, Cold
Hard, Soft
New, Old
​Same, Different
Early, Late 
Under, Over
Up, Down
Front, Back
Above, Below, Beside (next to)
In Front of, Behind
Closed, Open
Over, Under, In the Middle
First, Next, Last
In, Out
Inside, Outside
Backward, Forward
Top, Bottom
Before, After
High, Low
Big, Little
Largest, Smallest
Large, Small
Tall, Short
Wide, Narrow
Fat, Skinny
Long, Short
Fast, Slow
Empty, Full
More, Less (fewer)
Many, Few
Part, Whole

What a delight to introduce our little lambs to the world around them. 

Happy Homeschooling!
​Meredith Curtis

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