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The purpose of this paper was to qualitatively identify and categorize the diverse characteristics of rough-and tumble play (R&T) with physical contact between players among 3-to 5-year-old children in preschool. Previous categorization of R&T has been, to a large extent, based on observations of school-age children. Thus, it is interesting to examine how younger children engage in R&T in preschool in order to obtain more descriptive data regarding the forms of physical activity play and the age-related trends through childhood. Analyses show that previous categories of R&T are applicable for indoor R&T in preschool. However, tumbling has emerged as a distinct category. This new insight contributes to the more accurate categorization of younger children's R&T with physical contact between players, which can support the practitioner's ability to make informed observations of individuals' participation in R&T.

Play is a fundamental activity for experiences, learning and development among children in their early years. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions' play environments, their features and design, are therefore of great importance for the opportunities provided for children to create and engage in a wide range of play. This study examines how children utilise features in the ECEC outdoor environment (spaces and materials) to engage in different types of play. Children (3-6 years, N = 86) were observed in two-minute sequences during periods of the day when they were free to choose what to do. The data consists of 935 randomly recorded two-minute videos, which were coded second by second to register the type of play occurring, the space in which it occurred and the materials children used. The results indicate a dynamic relationship between the outdoor environments and the play in which children engage and point out the complex nature of playground design, where planning for the predictable, and at the same time opening up for the unpredictable, is important.

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