Games to Enhance Cognitive and Emotional Development in 4-year-old Children in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

This article aims to design a game guide to enhance the cognitive and emotional development of four-year-old children at the Ciudad de Cuenca Public School . This objective arises from the observation that a large proportion of students at this level have difficulty maintaining attention, expressing emotions, an consolidating basic processes such as memory, classification, and logical reasoning.  The proposal aims to offer teachers contextualized, play-based strategies that strengthen teaching through an active and participatory approach. The research adopted a mixed-methods approach with a descriptive and field design . The sample consisted of 25 four-year-old children for the second  level of preschool. An observation checklist , validated by expert review, was used, comprising indicators of attention, memory, logical thinking, imagination, self-regulation, socialization, and emotional expression. The data obtained were processed using frequencies and percentages for analysis. Initial pretest results showed that 40% of the children were at the "optimal" level, 48% "in progress", and 12% "on alert", highlighting greater difficulties in sustained attention and emotional regulation. After the implementation of the play-based learning guide , 76% reached an "optimal" level, 20% remained "in progress", and only 4% remained "on alert", demonstrating significant progress in the evaluated dimensions. It is concluded that the play-based learning guide is an effective pedagogical resource for stimulating attention, memory, empathy, and self-regulation, promoting comprehensive and meaningful learning in early childhood.