What Are Play Schemas?
Play schemas are patterns of repeated behaviour that children display during play. It is important to identify play schemas as they can sometimes be mistaken for "naughty" or destructive behaviour. For example, a child who constantly knocks over objects may be exploring a trajectory schema, learning about movement and force. A child who frequently empties drawers or boxes might be testing a transporting schema. Although these behaviours can be frustrating for parents, they are actually important for children who are exploring and understanding the world around them!
Schemas aren't always accurate as they simply reflect our current understanding of the world around us. When we encounter new situations or information that doesn't fit our existing schemas, we change our schema to fill in the gaps in our knowledge. For example, if a child has a schema that all furry, four-legged creatures are dogs, they might call a cat, rabbit, or even a squirrel a "dog", because their current knowledge doesn't differentiate between these animals. This schema fills in gaps in the child's understanding and learn to distinguish between different animals based on other characteristics like size, shape, and behaviour.
How to Identify Play Schemas in Kids
Play Schema is a fascinating aspect of early childhood development that can tell us a lot about how children learn and grow. By observing your child’s play, you can start to notice patterns and behaviours that align with specific schemas and help implement ways that can extend their interest, exploration and learning!
Although theoretically, the number of infinite number of schemas, here are the eight main play schemas that are commonly observed in early childhood:
1. Connecting Schema
Identification: Children are often seen joining things together, such as linking trains, building with blocks, or connecting items together.
Play Ideas/Activities to Extend Interest: Provide construction toys like Connetix magnetic tiles, LEGO, building blocks or puzzles that require pieces to be joined. Encourage activities like threading beads or pasta
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2. Orientation Schema
Play Ideas to Extend Interest: Offer opportunities for children to view the world from different angles. This could include playing on swings, using binoculars, or engaging in activities where they have to reach high or crouch low, like playing in tunnels or climbing frames.
3. Transporting Schema
Identification: Children frequently move objects from one place to another, using containers like bags, carts, or simply carrying items by hand.
Play Ideas to Extend Interest: Provide toy trucks, wheelbarrows, or baskets for them to transport items. Activities such as collecting and moving items during a treasure hunt can also be engaging. Take them to the beach and allow them to transport sand in a bucket to build sand castle!
4. Trajectory Schema
Identification: Children show interest in movements of objects through space, often observed in throwing, kicking, or dropping objects.
Play Ideas to Extend Interest: Engage in activities like ball games, water play where they can pour and splash, or drawing activities that involve sweeping arm movements. Building simple car ramps and allowing car or balls to slide down can also fascinate children exploring this schema.
5. Positioning Schema
Identification: This involves arranging objects in particular orders or patterns, such as lining up toys, organising blocks by size, or creating symmetrical layouts.
Play Ideas to Extend Interest: Offer opportunities for children to sort and categorise objects, such as arranging stones by size or colour. Puzzles, arranging cutlery, or building symmetrical structures can also be beneficial.
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6. Enveloping Schema
Identification: Children enjoy wrapping or covering objects or themselves, like putting toys in boxes, wrapping them in blankets, or hiding in a fort
Play Ideas to Extend Interest: Provide materials for wrapping, such as playsilks or paper to wrap around toys or objects. Activities like making a fort
7. Enclosing Schema
Identification: Children like to create boundaries or enclosures, such as drawing borders around objects, building fences with blocks, or creating small spaces like forts.
Play Ideas to Extend Interest: Encourage activities like building houses with building blocks or magnetic tiles or building fences around pretend play farm animals, drawing or painting within lines
8. Rotation Schema
Identification: This involves an interest in things that rotate or spin, such as wheels, washing machines, or even the child themselves spinning in circles.
Play Ideas to Extend Interest: Offer toys with wheels, spinning tops, or activities like stirring during cooking. Rotating on a swing or using a hula hoop can also captivate children exploring this schema.
Why Play Schemas are Important in Early Childhood
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Helps them explore and understand the world around them
By repeatedly engaging in specific actions, children reinforce neural pathways that are crucial for brain development and they build a deeper understanding of the world around them!
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Inspires curiosity and independent learning
When children engage in schema-based play, it encourages curiosity and independent learning.
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Allows parents/teachers to understand how to support a child's development
As a parent or educator, recognising play schemas can help you better support a child’s interests and developmental needs by providing the right toys and activities
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Promotes play based learning
Recognising and supporting play schemas can support play based learning! By understanding the importance of these schemas, parents and educators can create play experiences that are both enjoyable and educational for kids
Shop our range of educational and open ended toys that support your children's play based learning journey today!