and just not enough time to teach them. unless the fringe word is incredibly meaningful to the child, it’s more efficient to focus on teaching core words simply because they can get a lot more use out of them.
i love to get kids started on core words like “eat” and “go” and “play” because you can use them in so many different situations. if we were at the zoo we might talk about the fringe word “elephant," but if the child knew the core word “go,” then we could use at the zoo, at school, at the playground…. the possibilities are endless.
core words simply give you more bang for your 