Schematic play: what are play schemas in early years?
Find out what schematic play is and what it looks like to better understand children’s development and play patterns.
One of the key elements of early childhood learning is play schemas – repeated patterns of behaviour through which children explore and understand the world around them.
What are schemas?
Schemas in early years are repetitive actions that children engage in to try to help them make sense of the world around them. They help children to test ideas, develop concepts and practice important skills.
Common schemas to look out for:
- Transporting: Children enjoy moving objects from one place to another using bags, boxes, containers or their hands
- Rotation: Children enjoy spinning, either themselves or objects that turn, such as wheels, coins or hoops
- Enclosing: Making fences or enclosures for themselves or toys
- Trajectory: Throwing, kicking or dropping objects to discover how they move
- Orientation: Children enjoy looking at the world from different angles, perspectives and viewpoints.
What is the value of recognising schematic play?
By recognising common schemas, practitioners are able to offer children further opportunities to explore their natural interests. For example, if you notice a child is fascinated by the rotation schema you could offer spinning tops, wheels, and ribbons to make circular motions. This follows the child’s interests and helps to deepen the child’s understanding of how different objects spin, rotate and move.
Observing children to find out what they are interested in, as well as understand the patterns of their play, creates knowledge from which practitioners can enhance and extend children’s play and learning. For example, for children interested in the trajectory schema, offering objects of different weights and sizes will support children’s learning about weights, measures, and movements, encouraging curiosity, problem-solving and comparisons.
Recognising and supporting schemas in children’s play allows practitioners to better understand developmental needs and offer children experiences that nurture their natural instincts.
More support on schematic play in early years:
- Online course: Let’s Look at Schemas
- Factsheet: Gun and Superhero Play
- Parent factsheet: Supporting Schemas in your Home
- NDNA Quiz: Schemas in early years.
- EYFS
- Play
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