As crianças e suas produções culturais em contextos brincantes no retorno presencial à creche.

This article presents the findings of a master's research aimed at comprehending the cultural expressions of children aged 3 to 4 within playful contexts during their return to a daycare center within the Municipal Education Network of Santo André (São Paulo). An ethnographic approach is used, drawing from Sociology of Childhood and Pedagogy of Childhood. Data collection employed participant observation, field diary entries, filming, photography, and interviews with class educators as data generation tools. For data analysis, the content method was employed, utilizing Laurence Bardin's categorical analysis technique. The outcomes underscore the potency of children as culture creators, achieved through collective reelaboration alongside their peers. Additionally, the study highlights that while the theme of Covid-19 minimally appears in the children's games, family dynamics and media/literature references surfaced more frequently. However, these results do not imply that the children remained unaffected by events or that these events did not influence their lives. As per the educators interviewed, the return to face-to-face interactions in 2021 necessitated the relearning of communal living and play. In conclusion, this research underscores the pivotal role of daycare centers as educational spaces that promote interaction and play, provided educators attentively heed children's expressions and critically reflect on their practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]