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Over, Under, In and Out One of our goals as parents is to help our children learn the ideas and information which help them understand the world around them. The words that define relationships in space are vitally important because they are part of the basic framework for future learning. Children pick up many of these words in daily interactions but they may not understand others. A child needs to understand the concept of "beside" before he/she can move on to recognizing and repeating patterns. "Behind" and "in front of" are used by parents and teachers throughout the day. How often have you told your child to look "under" a piece of furniture to find a lost object? Use the links below to discover which spatial concepts your child knows and which ones he/she may need more practice with in order to really internalize. There are steps to truly understanding a concept. The first step is for you to receive correct feedback from your child when you have used the word. Begin by looking at "On and In (1)" and ask, "What animal is 'on' the dog house?" To help your child progress even further, you can demonstrate these relationships with objects in your home. We have also included a page of animals for you to print and cut out to use. You could take the dog and ask your child to place it "on" the table. If they can do this, they have learned to follow a direction using the word. This is the second step in internalizing the concept. To check and see if your child understands the concept and can use the word without prompting, let them place the dog on an object and tell you where it is. When a child can use the word in everyday activities, you will have helped them learn one more vital concept. Feels great, doesn't it? Make these concepts come alive. Print out our animals page. Help your child cut, fold, and tape the animals together. Encourage her or him to move the animals around and describe their spatial relationships. For plain old coloring fun, here are drawings to print: Dog | Cat | Birds | Turtle. Back to Top Copyright 1998, 2000 Jerry Jindrich. All rights reserved. Revised 4/8/07. ... . ... Spatial Concepts with moveable animals: Dog, Cat & Birds* Different Sizes* Birds* Spatial Concepts with still scenes: On and In (1) On and In (2) Inside and Outside Up Down Behind and In Front (1) Behind and In Front (2) Beside Under Over Over and Under (1) Over and Under (2) Above and Below Top and Bottom Top, Middle, and Bottom Upside-Down Between Around Together Apart Empty and Full Near and Far Big, Bigger, and Biggest Small, Smaller, and Smallest * Requires Flash 4 Player

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