Language Development
Language has been found to be stimulated when children engage in play (Bergen, 2004; Cavanaugh, 2008; Isenberg & Quisenberry, 2002; Tokarz, 2008). Ramani and Siegler (2007) found that Head Start children’s math abilities improved after they played numerical board games, in part due to the use of “math-related language” that occurs naturally during the games and that is an important precursor to math learning (Cavanaugh, 2008). Riojas-Cortez (2001) found that children’s play in a bilingual classroom helped to extend the children’s use of language experimentation in both languages.