The role of pretend play on children’s cognitive development has garnered interest recently. This study examines theefficacy of a pretend play intervention on the self-regulation and language skills of four- to five-year-olds. Pretend playincludes a pretender projecting a mental representation onto reality. The sample consisted of 60 children who wererandomized into two groups: (a) Pretend play; and (b) Art activities. The intervention included sixteen 30-minute sessionsover 13 weeks, in groups of six children. Each session included: (1) storybook reading; (2) role-playing; and (3) review.During storybook reading explicit phonological awareness and vocabulary instruction were provided for 18 words in eachbook. Role-playing involved giving children props to partake in pretend play. Review consisted of revising the PA andvocabulary of the target words. The improvements that occurred in the children’s self-regulation and language skillscontribute to a better understanding of pretend play in educational settings.

Recently, there has been increased interest regarding how pretend play contributes to children’s cognitive develop-ment. This study examines the efficacy of a pretend play intervention on self-regulation and language skills of 4- to 5-year-oldsand explores parents’ perceptions about children’s engagement in pretend play. The small-scale intervention includes eight 30-minute sessions over 6 weeks, in groups of five children. Each session included: (1) shared storybook reading; (2) role-playing;and (3) review. During shared story-book reading the children were read two books with explicit phonological awareness andvocabulary instruction for 18 words in each book. Role-playing included providing the children with props, which allow forengagement in pretend play activities. Several measures were used pre- and post-intervention to evaluate children’s self- reg-ulation and language skills. The improvements that occurred in the intervention are considered alongside other cognitive andeducational factors to better understand the role of pretend play in educational settings.

The impact of play on childrens cognitive skills has gained interest lately. This study examines the efficacy of a pre-tend play intervention on the self-regulation and language skills of four- to five-year-olds with English as an additionallanguage. During pretend play an individual uses ones imagination to project a mental representation onto reality. Thesample included 151 children who were randomized into three groups: (a) Pretend play; (b) Art activities; (c) Typicalcurriculum. The intervention included sixteen 30-minute sessions in groups of six children. The design of the pretendplay intervention is based on storybook reading with an adult, and subsequent role-playing with props related to the story.During storybook reading explicit phonological awareness and vocabulary instruction were provided for the target words.In terms of the results, the children in the pretend play group had significantly higher post-test phonological awarenessscores than children who were exposed to typical curriculum.

This study examined relations between teacher-child closeness and conflict in preschool and children’s behavior problems, social skills, and executive function (EF) in kindergarten, and explored if these relations are moderated by parental education. The study also sought to examine the relation between teacher-child closeness and conflict and the subscales of children’s behavior problems and social skills. The sample consisted of 126 preschool children (M = 56.70 months, SD = 3.89). Regression analyses revealed that teacher-child conflict predicted children’s social skills, specifically assertion, engagement, and cooperation. Parental education moderated the association between teacher-child conflict and EF, and also emerged as a marginally significant moderator of teacher-child closeness and behavior problems. The findings thereby indicated differential relations between teacher-child closeness and conflict and children’s outcomes. With regard to future research, it may be important to consider other aspects of the teacher-child relationship and classroom environment as well.

This study examined the extent to which early cumulative risk predicts a range of behavioral and psychological outcomes (i.e., depression, future orientation, risky behavior, educational attainment, and socioeconomic outcomes) measured at ages 15 and 26 and whether executive function (EF) and/or behavioral regulation mediated and/or moderated these associations. Data for this study came from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development and included a sample of 1,364 participants (52% male) born in 1991 and followed through age 26. Results indicated that early cumulative risk was related to depression and risky behavior at age 15 as well as depression, income, future orientation, and educational attainment at age 26. Furthermore, both EF and behavioral regulation mediated relations among cumulative risk and academic achievement at age 15 and between cumulative risk and income and educational attainment at age 26. Finally, three significant interactions emerged for age 15 outcomes, indicating that EF and behavioral regulation may change relations between cumulative risk and depression, reading, and future orientation. Implications for future research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

This study examines the relations between parent–educator communication and preschoolers’ numeracy, literacy, and executive function (EF), and explores if these relations work through the home numeracy environment (HNE) and the home literacy environment (HLE). Children (51.33% female, M = 57.52 months, SD = 3.62) were enrolled in a state-funded prekindergarten program (n = 211) or in another community-based preschool program (n = 52). Analyses revealed a significant relation only between parent–educator communication and numeracy skills in the spring of preschool (β = -.14, p = .002). Unexpectedly, higher parent–educator communication scores in the spring of preschool were related to lower numeracy skills at that same time. Furthermore, the indirect effects for the HNE and HLE were not significant for all outcomes. The findings suggest that it may be beneficial for educators to engage with families early in the academic year to support children’s numeracy skill development.