Firstly, What is a Schema? Put simply, a schema is a pattern of repeated behavior, usually seen in children up to five or six years old. Recent research suggests that some schemas may even continue a lot longer, possibly into adulthood. Generally, though, we associate schemas with typical childhood development in the early years. The …
When one of my daughters was small, she used to climb everything! She would climb on toys to get up the back of the sofa and then roll down onto the cushions. At the beach, she’d find cliffs or big rocks and try to scale them. In the supermarket she once climbed a gigantic pile …
Is your child going through the stage when they want to tip everything out? Do they seem to tip over anything and everything in their path? You might find this hard to believe, but the answer to get them through this stage quickly is to provide lots more filling and emptying activities in as many …
With just a few balls, you can create multiple learning activities that help children develop skills across the curriculum! In my 12 years of being a teacher of kids aged 3-6, I’ve tried so many ball games it’s untrue! In this post, I’ll describe my absolute favorites! The best 21 ball games for kindergarten are: …
Ever wondered why some young children seemed fascinated in wrapping up objects? Or you might have kids that love burying things or hiding objects out of sight? It’s called an enveloping schema, and it’s one of the most common schemas that you will witness in young children. An enveloping schema is a child’s interest in …
Many children line up toys and objects as part of their play, and sometimes parents or educators are concerned that this is a sign of autism spectrum disorder. Is lining up toys and other things a sign of autism? Taken in isolation, lining up toys in play is not an indicator of autism. It is …
Do you have a child that loves endlessly connecting Lego blocks and one giant tower? Or you might have a child that has a fascination with sticking objects to velcro, and will do this for a huge amount of time. It’s highly likely that these children are demonstrating a connecting schema. Put simply, a connection …
Do you have children that enjoy tipping everything out of baskets? Or a kid that likes spreading objects all over the place with their hands, arms, or feet? It is highly likely that these children are demonstrating a scattering schema. A scattering schema is not one of the more commonly talked about schemas, but nevertheless …
Do you have a child that spends hours putting things in pots? Or do you have one that loves climbing into any available box and hiding in there? More than likely these children are demonstrating a containment schema. Simply put, a containment schema is when a child is interested in putting objects into containers. They …
Schemas are repeated patterns of behavior that children exhibit in their play. There are nine schemas that are understood to be the most common in children’s play. These are: Trajectory Transformation Transporting Rotation Positioning Orientation Enveloping Enclosure Connection In this post, I’ll give you a brief overview of each of these 9 schemas. I’ll talk …