Using Math Play to Build Language and Executive Functioning (with Clarence Ames)

We tend to think about math, literacy, language, and executive functioning as separate areas of development.

But the research shows they’re much more connected than we might think.

Early math skills are associated with later academic outcomes, and developing those skills draws heavily on language, vocabulary, and executive functioning.

And supporting early math doesn’t have to mean formal instruction.

A lot of it happens through play, conversation, books, games, and everyday routines.

That’s why in episode 269 of De Facto Leaders, I talk with Clarence Ames, an early childhood development researcher and curriculum designer specializing in early math and executive function, about what the research tells us about how young children develop math skills, and what adults can do to support them.

Clarence Ames has worked in Education Research, Implementation, and Policy for 15 years. He has a Master of Science in Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences from Utah State University, and a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Central Washington University. He is passionate about helping people develop the skills they need to become independent and self-sufficient, and his life goal is to empower students and teachers to create a system of education in which the only limitations on breadth or depth of learning are one’s own desire, passion, and motivation.

In this episode, we discuss:

✅ What research shows about the relationship between early math, literacy, vocabulary, and executive functioning.

✅ Why early math skills are associated with later academic and life outcomes.

✅ How play, books, games, and everyday routines can build math concepts without formal instruction.

✅What the research says about educational apps and screen-based learning, and why adult interaction makes a difference.