Abstract: This paper, entitled as CHILD AND CHILDHOOD: CONCEPT FORMULATIONBASED ON EXPERIENCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS FROM PATOS IN THE STATE OF PARAIBA, aimed to formulate concepts about child and childhood based on preschool teachers’ testimonies, from township public schools in Patos in the State of Paraíba. The questions and reflectionspresented here incite an issue proposition that guides this research: what is theearly childhood educators’ conception of childhood feeling? What is the space of playful pedagogies in Early Childhood Education and what are the conceptions of childhood known by teachers. The methodology had a qualitative approach in which a questionnaire, with open-ended and closed- ended questions, was used as an instrument of collecting data. Ten teachers, who work in Early Childhood Education institutions, were interviewed. Thetheoretical approach was based on references of authors who discuss aboutchildhood through contextualization in different perspectives. Among them areAriès (1978), Benjamin (1987), Derrida(2005), Kramer (2007) and Larrosa (2002). The findings show childhood conceptions that are based on childhoodmemories presented by the teachers related with their professional practices. In conclusion, a unique idea of childhood is not possible, but rather the idea of various types of childhood built from multiple experiences of the adult and his look-back analysis. Thus, there are innocent, pure, unprotected, fragile,marginalized, forgotten, playful, cognitive, motor and needy childhood in thesame classroom. Childhood is a historical and social construction from ananalytical review by the adult. Finally, the expectation is that the results willserve as a basis for organizing and elaborating new concepts on child and childhood. These concepts point out ways to overcome difficulties faced byeducators in their experiences working in preschool schools.

Keywords: Child. Early Childhood Education. Childhood. Playfulness. Teachers.