If your child has started repeating specific movements or behaviors during play, chances are you’re witnessing a play schema! Play schemas represent patterns in children's play, offering insights into their cognitive and emotional development. What might seem mundane or silly to you, such as dumping things out or repeatedly lining toys up, is big work for their brain.
Here’s a short breakdown of the 8 common play schemas:
Transporting Schema:Looks like: moving objects from point A to point B, especially with a container like a bucket or wagon.
Connecting Schema:Looks like: linking objects together. This could involve building intricate structures or connecting toys in creative ways.
Enclosure Schema:Looks like: creating boundaries around their toys or enclosing themselves within a defined space, like a fort.
Trajectory Schema:Looks like: experimenting with objects in motion, such as rolling, throwing, or dropping items.
Enveloping Schema:Looks like: wanting to cover their toys or hide themselves.
Orientation Schema:Looks like: moving objects or themselves to see things from multiple perspectives and angles, such as upside down.
Rotation Schema:Looks like: taking great delight in watching things spin, roll, rotate, or being spun themselves!
Positioning Schema:Looks like: great interest in creating order, putting things back, lining things up.
It can be tempting to offer activities based on our own idea of fun, but your child will show you what they want to practice. When you see a play schema emerge, try not to “correct” or redirect what they’re doing, and instead, encourage them to keep experimenting through play.