The importance of the play with rules for child development has been recognized by several authors. However, few studies have been carried out, to analyze the construction of knowledge within the context of social interactions, in specific games. The present study registered changes in preschool children’s performance while playing dominos, in particular: following game rules, the mastery of concepts, and interactions among participants. Over one year period, twenty preschool children played four types of dominos, each involving an increased level of conceptual difficulty. Although the children had no previous experience with that game, the error percentage for each type of domino was below twelve percent of the moves, and these errors were corrected by the children and the experimenter. The interactions provided opportunities for both the transmission and construction of shared knowledge.
Domino game; preschool children; zone of proximal development
