Introduction
Participation in regular physical activity in the early years (0–4 years) is associated with numerous physical, mental and social health benefits such as favourable motor skill and cognitive development, cardiometabolic health, fitness and psychosocial health [The majority of Canadian toddlers and preschoolers are in some form of childcare arrangement and such environments provide a unique setting for physical activity promotion in the early years [To date, interventions to target physical literacy through outdoor play in childcare settings have been limited, but there is growing consensus about the importance of physical literacy-based physical activity opportunities for young children. Physical literacy experts have recommended that physical literacy-based interventions for preschoolers include opportunities for children to engage in free and outdoor play [The objective of this study is to explore the role of the PLEY project on Nova Scotian preschoolers’ domains of physical literacy (physical activity, physical competence, confidence and motivation, knowledge and understanding) using mixed-methods. A mixed-method approach allows us to build on previous reports of quantitative findings [