Language, cognitive and social-emotional learning skills are all essential for literacy development and academic success. Research shows that play is the universal activity that blends cognitive, social, emotional, linguistic and motor components. Observing children’s play provides information about their knowledge, views of the world and mastered skills.Join Dr. Westby as you learn about the vital relationship between the dimensions of play, social-emotional functioning, language and literacy. Learn firsthand, how to effectively use the Westby Play Scale—a tool that offers a way to evaluate all young children’s (birth-5 years) symbolic play skills. Supported by 40 years of evidence-based research and organized by developmental level, this tool will breakdown the milestones children should be achieving with their play and language. You will also learn play practices and play strategies to improve language, cognitive and social-emotional skills, including:Higher-level thinking, problem-solving and creativityAdvancing language skills and text comprehensionAwareness of temporal, cause-effect and social relationshipsMotivation, self-regulation and empathyInterpreting and responding appropriately to the needs, desires, and roles of othersThese intervention activities will work for all young children, but special focus will be given to interventions for children with language learning disabilities, autism, socio-economic/cultural variations and ESL.