The relationship between content knowledge and play in Early Childhood Education (ECE) has been complex (Figueiredo, 2022). Acknowledging the relevance of content in ECE requires attention to the pedagogical appropriation of knowledge but also to the view of knowledge itself. When a sociocultural perspective is assumed, it is about using knowledge as a potential tool for transformation that allows the individual to build himself subjectively and intersubjectively (Pramling et al., 2019). Research has also highlighted how teachers’ lack or inadequacy of knowledge of a certain area of the curriculum can harm children's learning by leading to opportunities that are not explored (Siraj-Blatchford, 2010), while feeling security about their knowledge leads to a greater probability of recognition and learning enhancement in children's play experiences (Hedges & Cooper, 2018). ECE teachers tend to undervalue their content knowledge even though they use it to add depth to children’s learning during play and can use pedagogical content knowledge for organizing play environments (Oppermann et al., 2016; Figueiredo, Gomes, & Rodrigues, 2020). The particular case of introducing algorithmic thinking in ECE contexts in Portugal opened the opportunity to study this connection between play and content knowledge. Computational thinking and algorithmic thinking have been promoted in several educational systems as preparation for the challenges of the future, including uncertainty and openness. Algorithmic thinking, in particular, has long traditions in different scientific areas and can be connected to all curricular areas of ECE in Portugal (Figueiredo et al., 2021). With a focus on problem-solving together with thinking and creativity skills, teachers and curriculum developers are being challenged to foster algorithmic thinking skills starting from the preschool period (Strnad, 2018). Based on a common practitioner research approach, two studies were conducted on Portuguese ECE centers that explored play as a context to develop algorithmic thinking with children from 3 to 6 years old. The practitioners were unfamiliar with the concept and used the research on practice as a learning experience. The reports from those studies were combined with in-depth individual interviews with the teachers to explore how they perceived the relationship between their knowledge and their actions regarding children's play. Results from the content analysis on the combined data set show that a focus on play from a new content area perspective highlighted the role of the adult in supporting play and revealed areas where the adult intervention was relevant.

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