Research on Numeracy-Enhancing Play

Overview

This document serves to outline a potential evidence base for American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) research into—and policy statement on—the benefits of math-based game play and early childhood numeracy. Below, we lay out the need and potential evidence to support games and early math learning, the benefits of parent involvement in learning, and the implementation of the solution.

Executive Summary

Early numeracy skills—children’s foundational understanding of numbers, counting, and magnitude—are critical predictors of kindergarten readiness and long-term academic success. The American Academy of Pediatrics has previously promoted parent-child shared reading as a mechanism to support early literacy, and overall brain development.

Evidence also demonstrates that structured, play-based math interactions between parents and children—particularly through number board games and routine numeracy activities—could show comparable promise as a feasible, low-cost strategy to strengthen early numeracy, reasoning and problem-solving skills.

This memo presents evidence supporting AAP engagement in researching and developing guidance on play-based math as a complementary approach to promote overall academic readiness and reduce disparities in early math achievement.

Problem: Why Early Math Play Matters

Kindergarten Readiness and Long-Term Outcomes:

• Early numeracy is a strong predictor of later academic achievement[1][2][3][4].
• Significant disparities in early numeracy skills exist, with low-income children demonstrating notably weaker number sense and counting skills compared to higher-income peers[5].
• These early gaps are addressable through targeted intervention during early childhood.

Play-Based Learning:

• Play-based approaches to learning are developmentally appropriate and support deeper understanding beyond rote instruction. Parent-child interactions during play create contexts for responsive, naturalistic learning—the same approach the AAP has championed in shared reading as supporting early cognitive development.
• Number games require minimal resources, can be integrated into daily routines, and engage families as active partners in their children’s learning.
• Early evidence indicates that brief, low-intensity game play can yield meaningful gains in numeracy skills.

Theme: Foundational Math Skill Improvement through Game-Based Play

Existing research demonstrates that structured number board games improve children’s foundational numeracy skills. In controlled studies, children who engaged in play-based number games showed significant improvements in number line estimation, magnitude comparison, counting accuracy, and numeral identification compared to control groups. These gains were sustained over time and observed across diverse populations, including low-income preschool and kindergarten-age children. The effects are replicable and suggest game-based math play is an evidence-supported intervention for not just the acquisition of specific math skills but also for the broader development of cognitive systems such as working memory, executive function, spatial reasoning and problem-solving skills, which contribute to longer-term success in and out of school.

Supporting Studies:

• Building Blocks and Cognitive Building Blocks: Playing to Know the World Mathematically — Sarama, Clements. American Journal of Play, 2009. 
• Racing dragons and remembering aliens: Benefits of playing number and working memory games on kindergartners’ numerical knowledge — Ramani, Daubert, Lin, Kamarsu, Wodzinski, Jaeggi. Developmental Science, 2020.
• Narrowing the early mathematics gap: A play-based intervention to promote low-income preschoolers’ number skills — Scalise, N. R., Daubert, E. N., & Ramani, G. B. Journal of Numerical Cognition, 2018, 3(3), 559–581.
• Playing linear number board games—but not circular ones—improves low-income preschoolers’ numerical understanding — Siegler, R. S., & Ramani, G. B. Journal of Educational Psychology, 2009, 101(3), 545–560.
• Promoting broad and stable improvements in low-income children’s numerical knowledge through playing number board games — Ramani, Siegler. Child Development, 2008.
• Learning from number board games: you learn what you encode — Laski, Siegler. Developmental Psychology, 2014.
• Number games, magnitude representation, and basic number skills in preschoolers — Whyte, Bull. Developmental Psychology, 2008.
• Fostering early numerical competencies by playing conventional board games — Gasteiger, Moeller. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 2021.
• Investigating Main Effects and Moderators of Linear Number Board Games: A Meta-Analytic Review — Nelson et al. Review of Educational Research, 2025.
• The effects of board games on math skills in children attending prekindergarten and kindergarten: A systematic review — Balladares et al. Early Years, 2023.
• Board Games and Mathematics: A Winning Strategy for Teaching Rational Numbers — Hilario et al. Proceedings of the European Conference on Games Based Learning, 2025.
• Expanding Possibilities for Spatial Reasoning and Mathematical Thinking with Board Games — Francis et al. delta-K: Alberta Teachers’ Association, 2025, 59(1). (Link is the full Vol. 59 No. 1 issue in the U of Alberta repository — confirm it opens to / contains the Francis article before publishing.)
• Kindergarten Children’s Number Sense Development through Board Games — Wang, Hung. International Journal of Learning, 2010, 17(8), 19–32.
• Does making tens add up: exploring game play to support math fluency — Bouck, Long. Preventing School Failure, 2022.
• The Number Sense: How the Mind Creates Mathematics (Revised and Updated Edition) — Dehaene, S. Oxford University Press, 2011.

Theme: Efficacy of Learning With Parents/Caregivers

The effectiveness of number games stems in part from the active role of dialogic interaction. When parents and children engage in number games together, they naturally use mathematical language—comparing quantities, discussing strategies, and reinforcing counting principles. This responsive, conversation-rich environment supports children’s developing number sense more effectively than passive exposure to numbers. Family involvement in these interactions is particularly important, as parent-child numeracy talk and engagement predict gains in number knowledge and early math competencies. More broadly, as the AAP notes in its literacy promotion, this type of positive, engaging parent-child interaction supports general cognitive development and promotes healthy social-emotional skills.

Supporting Studies:

• Causal Connections Between Mathematical Language and Mathematical Knowledge: A Dialogic Reading Intervention — Purpura, Napoli, Wehrspann, Gold. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2017, 10(1), 116–137.
• What counts in the development of young children’s number knowledge? — Levine, Suriyakham, Rowe, Huttenlocher, Gunderson. Developmental Psychology, 2011.
• Learning from number board games: you learn what you encode — Laski, Siegler. Developmental Psychology, 2014.
• Reframing Family Involvement in Education: Supporting Families to Support Educational Equity — Weiss, Bouffard, Bridglall, Gordon. Equity Matters, 2009.
• Home numeracy experiences and children’s math performance in the early school years — LeFevre, Skwarchuk, Smith-Chant, Fast, Kamawar, Bisanz. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 2009, 41(2), 55–66.
• Formal and informal home learning activities in relation to children’s early numeracy and literacy skills: The development of a home numeracy model — Skwarchuk, Sowinski, LeFevre. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 2014, 121, 63–84.

Theme: Ease of Implementation and Scalability

Game-based numeracy interventions are feasible to implement in real-world settings. Research demonstrates that classroom-based number games delivered by paraprofessionals yielded comparable gains to researcher-led interventions, suggesting scalability potential. Family engagement models integrating numeracy into home-based early learning programs show promise for reaching underserved populations and sustaining gains from pre-K through kindergarten entry. The low cost and minimal time requirements of game-based numeracy make it feasible for integration into existing early childhood, primary care, and home and family settings.

Supporting Studies:

• Taking it to the classroom: Number board games as a small group learning activity — Ramani, Siegler, Hitti. Journal of Educational Psychology, 2012, 104(3), 661–672.
• Effects of Early Mathematics Intervention for Low-SES Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Students: A Replication Study — Starkey, Klein, Clarke, Baker, Thomas. Educational Research and Evaluation, 2021.
• Integrating Mathematical Thinking Into Family Engagement Programs — Harris, Petersen, Wulsin. Mathematica Policy Research, 2017.
• “Shutting the Box”: Fostering Collaboration Among Early Grades and Secondary Preservice Teachers Through Authentic Problem Solving — Edwards. Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 2006. 
• Exploring effects of an early math intervention: The importance of parent–child interaction — Ribner, Silver, Elliott, Libertus. Child Development, 2023, 94(2), 395–410.
• With a little help from our pediatrician: An intervention to promote mathematics-related home activities through regular well-child visits — Tomasetto, LeFevre, Passolunghi, De Vita, Guardabassi, Brunelli, Ciotti, Biasini. Frontiers in Psychology, 2022, 13:1051822.

Footnotes:

[1] Jordan NC, Glutting J, Ramineni C. The Importance of Number Sense to Mathematics Achievement in First and Third Grades. Learn Individ Differ. 2010 Apr 1;20(2):82-88.

[2] Liu, Y., Peng, P., & Yan, X. (2025). Early numeracy and mathematics development: A longitudinal meta-analysis on the predictive nature of early numeracy. Journal of Educational Psychology, 117(6), 863–883.

[3] Benjamin Backes, Michael DeArmond, Elise Dizon-Ross, Dan Goldhaber, Alejandra Salazar (2026). A Widening Chasm: The Divergent Paths of High- and Low-Achieving Students in Algebra I After the Pandemic . CALDER Working Paper No. 339-0526. <a href=”https://doi.org/10.63302/PZZK7937″ class=”ext” data-extlink=”” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer” title=”(opens in a new window)”>https://doi.org/10.63302/PZZK7937</a>

[4] Duncan, G. J., Dowsett, C. J., Claessens, A., Magnuson, K., Huston, A. C., Klebanov, P., Pagani, L. S., Feinstein, L., Engel, M., Brooks-Gunn, J., Sexton, H., Duckworth, K., & Japel, C. (2007). School readiness and later achievement. Developmental Psychology, 43(6), 1428–1446.

[5] Jordan NC, Kaplan D, Nabors Oláh L, Locuniak MN. Number sense growth in kindergarten: a longitudinal investigation of children at risk for mathematics difficulties. Child Dev. 2006 Jan-Feb;77(1):153-75.