THIS STUDY ANSWERS the following questions: ‘In what kinds of environments do preschool children want to play?’ and ‘In what kinds of environments do boys and girls want to play?’ Methodologically, the study draws on grounded theory, with data collected among Finnish preschoolers through 15 creation sessions with 49 children from six to seven years of age. Children prefer emotional play worlds, where excitement and amusement can be experienced and where collaborative activities and nature are afforded. Girls created scary and happy play worlds and boys created worlds of aggression and care. Emotional worlds indicate: (1) rich and varied emotions; (2) a desire for physical activity and nature; and (3) common and divergent emotional worlds of the genders. The outcomes have been utilised in designing pilot playful learning environments (PLE) and they will be useful in developing PLEs and play to meet the challenges of education.
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