Ideas on how to support children’s schemas
As we know schemas are repeated patterns of behaviour and children may display one or more of these schemas at some point in their childhood. It is important that practitioners and childminders identify these and provide the necessary resources to support children’s schemas. Childcare settings today are more aware of schemas, this is due to practitioners understanding what they are and how to identify them.
When it comes to supporting children’s schemas think about what else you could do or provide the children with to support their schema. Some schemas may be represented physically, verbally or in drawings. You may notice that schemas are identified across a range of activities and experiences.
We are going to concentrate on how practitioners can support children’s rotation and trajectory schema.
Rotation Schema; Children are fascinated by anything that goes around eg wheels or anything that is shaped round.
Children will be fascinated by things that go around or by anything that is round. They may enjoy watching the washing machine go around and around or spinning a wheel fixed to a wall. This schema can also be about children drawing circles or round scribbles.
What activities or resources can you provide children with to help support their schema?
- Fix an old bike wheel to the wall so children can spin this around.
- Provide children with various mark making implements
- Add large trucks to construction areas that have large moving wheels on them
- Add a sand mill to your sand area
- Fix felt tip pens to cars or trucks
- Large nuts and bolts
- Story basket to read more about this click here
Trajectory Schema. A child that displays a trajectory schema is interested in how things work and how themselves move eg by throwing, dropping, climbing, jumping or playing with running water.
You will find that children displaying a trajectory schema may be running around or jumping off objects, in these instances, children are exploring how objects work under the influence of forces. Children will love climbing and balancing on beams, young children will enjoy throwing objects from their highchairs.
What activities or resources can you provide children with the help support their trajectory schema?
- Set up an obstacle course
- Provide children with large blocks to build with and jump off
- Large cardboard tubes for children to post objects down
- Make paper planes
- Blowing bubbles
- Activities involving pouring water
- Rolling balls down a slide
As children’s schemas play a huge role in their development it is worth spending time understanding the concepts, this will give the practitioner’s the knowledge in how to facilitate children’s schemas when they identify them.
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