Frequently Asked Questions
Get answers to common questions about ThinkPlayful™, kindergarten readiness, early learning, and our research-backed approach to guided play. Can't find what you're looking for? Contact us.
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About the ThinkPlayful™ App
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ThinkPlayful™ is a cloud-based app for parents and kids together. Unlike many apps that involve a lot of screen time for kids, ThinkPlayful™ is designed to guide off-screen activities to support the foundations of learning - and especially while parents and kids have fun together. Our research and development is funded by the National Science Foundation.
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ThinkPlayful™ is designed for preschoolers ages 3-6+, with safe, collaborative learning technology aligned for each developmental level.
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Yes, ThinkPlayful™ offers a free educational games and activities. Download the app from the App Store or Google Play to get started.
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ThinkPlayful™ covers essential early childhood learning areas including early math foundations, language and literacy, executive function skills, and kindergarten readiness through research-backed guided play activities.
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Yes. ThinkPlayful™ was designed with the reality of connectivity in mind. The app offers offline functionality activities, making it perfect for anywhere without stable internet access.
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Absolutely. We take your privacy and security very seriously. We use secure systems and follow best practices to protect your information.
Kindergarten Readiness
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Kindergarten readiness goes beyond knowing ABCs and counting to 20. Research shows that self-regulation, social skills, and curiosity predict school success more than academic skills alone. Look for these key abilities: Can your child follow two-step directions? Separate from you without extreme distress? Focus on an activity for 5-10 minutes? Express their needs to adults? These social-emotional skills create the foundation for learning. ThinkPlayful's features build executive function and self-regulation through guided play that strengthens kindergarten readiness naturally.
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Focus on executive function skills rather than just academics. Your child should be developing: working memory (remembering multi-step directions), cognitive flexibility (switching between activities), and impulse control (waiting their turn). Language skills matter too — children who can express their needs, follow conversations, and ask questions adjust better to kindergarten. Early math foundations like number sense, pattern recognition, and spatial reasoning predict later achievement across all subjects. ThinkPlayful's approach builds these foundational skills through play-based activities designed for your child's developmental level.
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Emotional readiness often matters more than academic preparedness. Can your child manage disappointment when they don't get their way? Separate from you for several hours without extreme anxiety? Ask for help when confused? Interact with peers without constant adult intervention? These capacities develop through warm, responsive relationships — exactly what ThinkPlayful supports. Our WestEd evaluation found significant improvements in caregiver-child closeness (p < .05), which provides the secure foundation children need for school success.
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This decision depends on your individual child’s development across multiple domains — not just academics. Consider: Are they among the youngest in their age group? Do they struggle with self-regulation? Are social situations overwhelming? Consult with your child’s preschool teacher and pediatrician. If you do wait, use that year intentionally to build kindergarten readiness skills through quality preschool, play groups, or structured home learning. ThinkPlayful™ provides research-backed activities that develop the executive function, social, emotional, and early academic skills that predict kindergarten success.
Learning Through Play
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Research shows that learning apps are most effective when they facilitate parent-child interaction rather than replace it. Passive screen time doesn't build neural pathways the way back-and-forth conversations do. ThinkPlayful™ is designed around this science — our guided play methodology prompts parent-child interaction both during games and in everyday life after playing. Unlike traditional solo use apps, we create opportunities for the "serve and return" exchanges that literally wire your child's brain for learning. Learn more about our approach.
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The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 1 hour daily of high-quality educational content for children aged 2-5, with parent co-viewing when possible. Quality matters more than quantity. Interactive content that sparks conversation and parent-child engagement supports development, while passive viewing doesn't. ThinkPlayful™ is designed for interactive co-play—most of our activities guide off-screen experiences that strengthen your relationship while supporting learning.
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Guided play refers to playful activities gently steered by an adult or a guide while giving learners freedom to explore in their own way. University of Cambridge research found that guided play is as effective as traditional teacher-led methods for developing literacy, numeracy, and social skills — and may be MORE effective for mastering early math concepts. ThinkPlayful's activities embody this research-backed approach.
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Play IS learning for preschoolers—you don't need to choose between them. Brain research shows that playful learning with adult guidance builds neural pathways more effectively than direct instruction for young children. The key is quality adult interaction, not structured “school time.” Count steps as you climb them. Notice patterns in nature. Ask open-ended questions during play. These everyday moments together build executive function, language, and mathematical thinking. ThinkPlayful™ helps you recognize and maximize these natural learning opportunities with confidence.
Early Math Foundations
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Math anxiety starts early and often stems from adult attitudes. Avoid saying “I’m not a math person” or expressing your own math fears — children absorb these messages. Instead, make math playful and present in daily life. Count anything interesting. Compare quantities. Notice patterns. Ask questions that spark thinking: “Which pile has more? How do you know?” WestEd's evaluation of ThinkPlayful™ found significant reductions in math anxiety (p < .01) among families using our app, because we make mathematical thinking feel natural, not stressful.
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Early mathematical thinking predicts later academic achievement across ALL subjects, not just mathematics. Number sense, pattern recognition, spatial reasoning, and problem-solving create cognitive foundations that support reading, science, and executive function. It’s easy to focus primarily on literacy while underestimating math's importance, but the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics urges high-quality math instruction for 3- to 6-year-olds. ThinkPlayful™ integrates mathematical thinking into playful activities that feel natural, not like formal instruction.
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Early math goes far beyond counting. Key foundations include: number sense (understanding quantities, not just reciting numbers), one-to-one correspondence (matching one object to one number word), comparison (more/less, bigger/smaller), pattern recognition, spatial reasoning (shapes, positions, directions), and basic problem-solving. These concepts develop through hands-on exploration and adult-guided conversation, not by doing worksheets. ThinkPlayful™ activities build these foundations through games that prompt mathematical thinking and parent-child discussion.
Child Development & Brain Science
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A child’s brain forms over one million neural connections per second during the first five years of life. These connections are created through experiences, especially responsive interactions with caring adults. The “serve and return” exchanges — you talk, your child responds, you respond back — literally build brain architecture. This is why interactive play with family members supports development more powerfully than any screen time alone. ThinkPlayful™ creates opportunities for these crucial interactions while your child plays.
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Executive function is your mental command center — the skills that help us pay attention, remember instructions, control impulses, and switch between tasks. These abilities as a child predict academic achievement and life outcomes more strongly than IQ. Executive function develops rapidly during preschool years through activities that require planning, self-control, and flexible thinking. Play-based programs with structured adult guidance effectively enhance these skills. ThinkPlayful's guided play approach intentionally builds executive function through appropriately challenging activities.
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Parent-child interaction quality predicts academic success more reliably than socioeconomic status alone. The responsiveness, the words used, and the warmth literally shape how a child’s brain develops. The quantity and quality of adult speech to young children significantly impacts vocabulary development and later reading success. ThinkPlayful™ supports these interactions by prompting conversations, questions, and shared focus during play.
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Rich language experiences in early years create stronger neural pathways for communication and literacy. Brain imaging studies show that interactive dialogue — not screen time — builds the neural networks supporting reading. The words a child hears during daily conversations create the foundation for all future learning. Children who hear more words learn to read earlier and understand more complex ideas throughout school. ThinkPlayful™ activities prompt the descriptive language, open-ended questions, and back-and-forth conversations that build these language foundations.