Absolutely Meg! IMHO,creative, imaginative play is a major sign of a gifted child; far more than memorization. My DD has always had such an imagination and sense of humor (another sign). I will never forget her 'magic' shows at 6 months: hiding a toy baby bottle under herself in her carseat and asking "Where is it?". And as we played along and pretended (most of the time, because sometimes she did in fact trick us.) to be stumped, she would happily produce the missing bottle and squeal with delight. Even more telling was when I wouldn't play it her way and produce the hidden bottle just to see her reaction. Never once did she get upset but accepted she hadn't hid it well enough and the next time did an even better job. This example more than knowing her ABCs, numbers, objects, etc is an eye opening moment for us. It really showed her cognitive abilities and how advanced she was at such an early age.
And as for seeing it on Kindergarten-ready checklists ... why would you? The checklists are for the essentials needed to enter. What you described is signs of above and beyond. And btw ... great brag.
