Information about Schemas
Everybody knows that children ‘learn through play’, but are parents aware of they type of learning that is occurring?
Jean Piaget defined several stages of cognitive development: sensimotor (0-2), preoperational (2-7), concrete operational (7-11), formal operational. It is in the preoperational stage where learning takes place through play. “Schemas” are the different types of play. Schemas are useful to understand why children use certain actions.
What are Schemas
Enclosure – Children love to lock themselves in places, whether it’s hiding in a box or pretending to be an animal in a cage. They love to enclose themselves or build a barrier around themselves.
Enveloping– wrapping toys, layering paper or fabric.
This schema is usually shown by girls, however some boys may display this as well. They love to dress and undress dolls etc. It can also be making clothes for dolls, anything they see they will try and put it on them. Sometimes they dress themselves up too and if they have a friend with the same schema they get on very well.
Connection– Solving jigsaws, tieing knots, joining things together. Lots of children love this type of schema especially when playing with cars, trains or plastic link toys.
Rotation– This schema concerns spinning around or playing with toys that twist and spin such as a car with wheels. You can also find that some children will walk in circles.
Trajectory– This schema can sometimes be confused with bad behaviour as it is the way children like to throw and pour things. Its also the way children like to climb on everything. This is not always a sign of misbehaving but simply them exploring this schema.
Positioning– This is the way some children ask for their foods to be put a certain way on their plate, such as not having the peas touch the carrots. This is very common among young children. They also like to line their toys up in a certain order. It is said that some schemas continue into adulthood.
Transporting– Some children love to put things into bigger things and take them out again or move things around. These children are called “transporters” and can be very messy. It is very popular with children aged 2 to 3.
What about children who like to hoard little things and keep them for themselves?
There are a number of inaccuracies in this article.. For example, the article states that “it is in the preoperational stage that learning takes place through play”. In fact, learning occurs through play throughout our lives. As well, it states that the enveloping schema “is usually shown by girls”. Dressing up in layers, wrapping ‘presents’ and burying items in sand are just a few of the activities within the enveloping schema that are enjoyed by most children.
Instead of listing all of the inaccuracies, I would just advise anyone interested in play schema to read a different article, as there are many excellent ones available on the internet.