Ever wonder how children make sense of the world around them? After all, kiddos’ brains are developing rapidly and they’re encountering new sensory experiences every day. Without a way to organize and understanding what they’re experiencing, little learners could get overwhelmed quickly.
This is where the psychological theory of schemas enters the picture. Simply Psychology defines schemas as the “building blocks” of our mental model of the world. Another way to think of schemas are as “units” of knowledge. During childhood, schemas manifest themselves as repetitious actions. While the repeated activities children undertake may seem pretty basic to our adult brains, they are helping kiddos explore important concepts.
When do we see these schemas in child development? The answer may surprise you. Play is actually one of the most important times during which kids explore schemas. Let’s take a closer look at the value of incorporating schemas in kid’s play and what kinds of schemas to look out for as a parent and educator.
Examples of Schemas in Kid’s Play
First, let’s take a look at some specific schemas with which kiddos may engage. Of course, not every child will latch onto every schema, nor is there a “typical” schedule for when children may become interested in various schemas. These are just some of the behaviors you may see.
Say you’ve noticed your toddler start to drop items to the floor recently — whether they toss their sippy cup while sitting in their high chair, or drop their favorite toys over the back of the couch. At first, you may think it’s just the “terrible twos,” or else write it off as a random phase. However, it’s useful to understand that these behaviors align with the trajectory schema — and that your little one is actually exploring ideas like cause-and-effect and gravity.
According to the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years, here are some other schemas parents may notice their children exploring:
- Positioning: Arranging items in lines and groups.
- Enveloping: Wrapping up objects and themselves in various materials.
- Orienteering: Putting themselves and objects in different positions, like upside-down.
- Connecting: Joining things, like paper chains or toy train tracks.
- Transporting: Bringing objects from point A to point B in bags, boxes, containers, carts, etc.
- Rotating: Spinning themselves around, running in circles and making objects turn.
Schemas help us make sense of children’s seemingly random habits and proclivities to understand how they are learning to make sense of their place in the world.
How to Incorporate Schemas into Playtime
Let’s return to the example we outlined above: Your kiddos seem obsessed with dropping and throwing items from an elevation. Instead of ignoring this behavior — or even trying to curb it — consider incorporating it into play to help them explore it in a productive and safe environment. For instance, you could set up a miniature science experiment in which kids safely drop different items, like eggs, feathers, leaves and water balloons from a secure height.
This is just one example of how parents and teachers can harness schemas during play to help kids get excited about learning and explore whatever they’re naturally interested in at any given time.
Another example would be providing containers and scoops for kids in the yard and having them transport dirt or sand from one area to another for building. Another activity children interested in transporting might love would be water races, in which they try to fill up a bucket and carry it to the finish line as quickly as possible.
Recognizing schemas and incorporating them into your child’s play gives them a wonderful outlet to keep building up their mental model of the world — in a fun, engaging way.
