Schemas in Early Years
Schemas in Early Years
Using the concept of schemas in Early Years is a great way to help your child develop, while also integrating some creative, unique ways to keep your child happy.
Repeated activities can actively help your child grow and learn new things. A lot of people think that the types of schemas in early years are just random things kids do. But the truth is that these repeated activities are types of schemas that are beneficial for your kid’s brain development.
With that being said, we are here to learn about what is schema play, how it works and why is it so important.
What are schemas and why are they important?
A schema is a pattern of repeated actions, which children use to later develop into learnt concepts.
Schema’s use the ‘trial and error’ method of learning, and are adopted by children as an effort to make sense of the world around them.
It’s important to understand Schemas in Early Years, and parents need to know the roles for various types of schemas in play.
Since every child is different, there are multiple types of schema to focus on.
Understanding schemas will also help to show you how children think, what kind of interests they may have.
All these little details can end up playing a major role as your child grows and develops.
Children use play as a way to create logical, systematic and methodical collections of information. They get to interact with things and repeating those activities offers a much better base for them.
Learning the schemas in Early Years and how children develop makes it easier for us to understand our children and what they may like. In doing so, it becomes easier for us to support them in the long term.
Get your Schemas Poster
Help your staff and parents better understand schemas with this bold schemas poster.
From Just 99p! Click image below to find out more.
Types of schemas in early years
As we mentioned earlier, there are different types of schemas.
Children can demonstrate multiple schemas or none at all. Something that appeals to one child might not be as appealing for other children, which is something to focus on.
So, what are the 9 schemas? Here’s a quick list:
Orienteering
This is a schema where kids tend to position either objects or themselves in a variety of positions and places. As the name suggests, this is extremely important because it adds a sense of exploration and orientation.
Transforming
This is a schema focused on exploring the various material states. An example is when children tend to study how a solid transforms into a liquid and then back into a solid.
Connecting
This is when children dismantle something and then they try to put it back together. It’s a great way to learn how some things work and what their role is,
Transporting
Transporting is all about moving and carrying items from one place to the other. Children tend to use bags or containers to perform this task.
Enclosing
The enclosing schema appears when children add a boundary to play areas. The idea is to have a border to play within and not go over it.
Rotating
Rotating appears whenever children like swinging things around and spinning items in general. It’s a very important aspect to take into consideration as much as possible.
Enveloping
Enveloping is another schema play that involves children covering either objects or sometimes themselves. Having an interest in wrapping stuff is what this schema is all about.
Positioning
Positioning is where children enjoy grouping and lining items.
Trajectory
The last one of the Schemas in Early Years is trajectory. In this case, children enjoy dropping items from high places and creating lines in space as they jump up and down.
Which is the most common one of the Schemas in Early Years?
The enclosing schema is very common because kids use it specifically to feel safe. As we mentioned earlier, the main focus when it comes to this enclosing schema is for kids to surround themselves with various items and create boundaries. In order to do so, a child will use various items to create a fence around their desired play area. Sometimes they can use containers, boxes, pillows, anything that they can in order to maintain that sense of safety and protection.
Many kids use the enclosing schema especially if they are fearful of something or they don’t want to be disturbed by anyone.
This can be a heavily involving, physical activity and something that kids enjoy because it allows them to be creative. Generally, kids can use a variety of resources in order to bring these ideas to life, and that’s what makes the enclosing schema such a different option.
Using Schemas in Early Years
Schemas are great because they encourage children to try out new things, experiment and learn.
In many cases, the types of schemas in play can be used by children to express themselves and show what they are interested in.
What age do children demonstrate schemas in their play?
Schema play can appear early on in the life of a child, but it can also take quite a bit of time.
It’s common for schema play to be shown by toddlers, but it can easily go onward when your child is 3-4 years old, maybe even more. It depends on the child and their interests, but it’s safe to say that these types of schemas in early years can be very exciting. Plus, children get to learn a lot from them, so it’s the best of both worlds.
Conclusion
As you can see, Schemas in Early Years are a great manifestation of children’s interests.
In addition, repetitive play like this can lead to faster and better brain development, not to mention kids get to express their ideas and learn a whole lot of new things. Which is why Schemas in Early Years can be extremely fun and certainly one of the things to encourage, especially in the case of toddlers.
Click to learn more about how children learn through play.
Need Help With Your Childcare Marketing?
Learn 99 Proven Ways to boost your marketing and get more children through your door.
This book provides simple strategies and tips that you can implement straight away to take the stress out of your marketing.
Order your copy now on Amazon.
