Play smart to exercise the brain
"Play is one of the most cognitively stimulating things a child can do," says Megan McClelland, an early-childhood-development researcher at Oregon State University who has led much of the research.
The key to games education is to start with a simple game and add increasingly complicated rules. For instance, Oregon researchers have developed a game called Head-to-Toes, which they use to assess preschool children's development. Initially, the child copies the teacher's movements, touching her head or toes. But later, the child is expected to do the opposite, touching her toes when the teacher touches her head.
While the game may sound simple, it actually requires a high level of cognitive function for a preschooler, including focus and attention, working memory to remember rules, mental flexibility (to do the opposite) and self-control.