Play Schema Part 2

Play is how children make sense of the world around them, and play schemata are repetitive behaviors that children engage in to better understand something. Let’s talk about some big play schemata you might recognize in your own kiddos!

Rotation Schema

A rotation schema is one we heavily explored in my toddler classroom. We pretty much found anything that could spin and brought it to school- ornaments, disco balls, rings, CDs, caps. Our students would sit for SO LONG and watch as we spun these items on the ground. We had lanterns and parasols hanging from our ceiling above the lunch table and we’d receive requests at every meal and snack time (in the form of little toddler points) to spin them. We’d go outside and roll hula hoops around the yard over and over and OVER again, endlessly! Children might also focus on the rotating wheels of a toy truck or spin around in circles, themselves, to better understand the concept of rotation.

Enveloping Schema

An enveloping schema looks like a child wrapping themselves or toys and other objects up in blankets, scarves, or paper. They may enjoy hiding in small spaces or making forts or they may constantly be swaddling a baby doll or pet. In one of my preschool classrooms we had a doctor dramatic play zone with ace bandages and there were a few children who especially loved this, they were probably working through an enveloping schema! 

Enclosing Schema

An enclosing schema is similar to an enveloping schema in that they’re both more or less about wrapping around something, but whereas in an enveloping schema a child is covering that item, the enclosing schema is containing it. They’re creating a boundary like a fence, line or border. You might notice this in small world play. I remember making fences out of wooden blocks for little plastic animals when I was young. Your child might also draw continuous loops or circles around something else on a piece of paper. 

Positioning Schema

You may have a child who ensures that their belongings are always in the correct place and spends time arranging toys in lines or shapes. They’re working through a positioning schema! I think some adults are likely to engage in behaviors like this too. I have a friend who once arranged all the pieces from a jigsaw puzzle into rows before we put them together, and another who lined up her M&Ms by color before eating them! You can introduce the idea of sorting and categorizing to your child to elevate their positioning play and get them familiar with fundamental STEAM concepts like sequence and patterns.