This paper reimagines mixed-play pedagogy as a culturally grounded form of contextualized scaffolding within Ghanaian early childhood classrooms. Drawing on a visual qualitative case study that used photo-elicitation and classroom observation, the study explored how three preschool teachers in Accra design and facilitate play-based learning amid material scarcity and curricular expectations. Guided by sociocultural theory and enriched through culturally sustaining pedagogy, the research conceptualizes mixed play areas not merely as physical spaces but as socio-pedagogical ecologies where children, teachers, and materials co-construct meaning. Findings reveal that teachers enact scaffolding through improvisation, peer collaboration and integration of local materials; transforming play into a vehicle for cognitive, social, and cultural learning. These adaptive strategies reflect teacher agency and a responsive pedagogy rooted in local realities. The study advances the construct of contextualized scaffolding, conceptualized as a collective, culturally embedded and resource-sensitive process that redefines quality learning in the Global South. It argues that effective play-based learning emerges not from imported models or abundant resources but from teachers’ capacity to mediate knowledge through culturally resonant practices. The paper contributes to early childhood education discourse by theorizing a localized model of play facilitation that foregrounds equity, inclusion, and pedagogical creativity in resource-limited contexts.