Abstract
ABSTRACT This study investigates children's engineering construction and design and math knowledge in play activities in a preschool setting in a hot country, Oman. It contributes to studies examining the relationships between play and STEM learning by showing that children experience engineering and mathematical concepts in play activities. The study draws on Vygotsky's (1967) notion of play as an imaginary situation to analyze children's strategies in play activities. It is situated within approaches that point to the link between imagination and cognitive development using ethnography as a research methodology and taking an interpretive paradigm to data analysis. The data included observation notes and video recordings of children's interactions in play activities. The findings indicate that free playtime enables children to express their ideas about constructions (building), measures, and functions of materials. It also highlights how teachers' conceptualization of play is shaped by contextual factors (hot weather). It suggests that teachers can develop children's conceptual development in math by taking an intentional teaching approach to playful activities.
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