The aim of this article is to investigate children’s playful shared movements on the preschool playground and to understand their doings when they perform apparently new and unexpected movements in these meetings. Video observations and field notes from two preschools constitute the empirical material, and we have analyzed three situations from the video observations to investigate the research question. The findings indicate that children in playful movement interactions use their habits to create moments that introduce something new and unexpected, what Daniel Stern (2007) conceptualizes as critical now moments. These now moments are opened up by imaginings, transformations, and excitement. In these moments, children can be creative and curious, leading to opportunities to experience growth in how they use their body and the place. Whether now moments led to creativity, growth and development, seemed to depend on the emotional attunement between the participants.

Various aspects of the preschool environment may either promote or restrict children’s moderate- to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), for example through opportunities for outdoor play. The aim of the present study was to determine associations for preschool environmental quality with outdoor time and MVPA in preschoolers. In total, 358 Norwegian 2–6-year-old children had 1–3 valid 14-day periods of accelerometer-determined MVPA (ActiGraph GT3X+) and corresponding logs of preschool outdoor time collected during 2015–2016. The children were enrolled in 30 different preschool departments for which we assessed environmental quality using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R). Associations for preschool quality with outdoor time and MVPA were determined using multivariate pattern analysis. We found strong inverse associations between preschool quality and outdoor time (51.4 % explained variance), and weak inverse associations between preschool quality and MVPA (5.4 % explained variance). Associations were strongest for the “Space and Furnishings”, “Personal Care Routines”, “Language-Reasoning”, and “Interaction” subscales of ECERS-R, in particular for aspects of safety practices. Children enrolled in departments rated as high quality spent less time outdoors and less time in MVPA. Thus, recognized quality aspects of preschool environments, in particular safety practices, might restrict children’s movement opportunities.

I denne artikkelen presenterer eg ei undersøking som har sett på kva som karakteriserer dei potensielleromma gutar og jenter skaper på barnehagens leikeplass, og diskuterer kva rørslemoglegheiterdei gjev. Studien er felt-basert, og videoobservasjonar av fem år gamle barn i to barnehagar er bruktsom metode. Funna viser at dei potensielle romma kan bli tematiserte som idrett, arbeid og familie. Idesse potensielle romma er det ein tendens til at gutar skaper rom kor dei aktiviserer kroppane sineog dempar det verbale, medan jentene skaper rom der dei dempar kroppane sine og aktiviserer detverbale.

I artikkelen undersøker vi kva former for samspelskvalitet som kjem til syne hjå personalet i norske barnehagar observert med ECERS-R. Studien baserer seg på observasjonar frå 29 barnehageavdelingar der det standardiserte observasjonverktøyet Early Childhood Education Rating Scale – Revised (ECERS-R) vart nytta. Observasjonane vart gjennomførte tre timar på føremiddagen og avslutta med samtale med barnehagelærar på kvar av avdelingane. Funna viser at personalet vektlegg eit samspel med barna som er prega av varme, omsorg, tryggleik, barns medverknad, barns fridom i leik og kommunikasjon i kvardagssamtalar. Samstundes viser studien at personalet i mindre grad ser ut til å vektlegge utforskande, resonnerande og filosoferande samspel. English abstract Quality in the interaction between staff and children in Norwegian kindergartens observed with ECERS-R The purpose of this article is to investigate the quality of the kindergarten staff’s interaction with the children in Norwegian kindergartens using ECERS-R as an observation tool. The method is observations of 29 kindergarten departments using the standardized Early Childhood Education Rating Scale – Revised (ECERS-R). All observations were completed within three hours in the morning and followed by a conversation with the kindergarten teacher in each department. Our findings indicate that most staff members show a warm and caring interaction with the children. We also observed that most staff prioritize supervision, children’s participation, freedom in play and communication in everyday conversations. Staff seems to a lesser extent to prioritize explorative, logical and philosophizing conversations with children.

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