Schemas in Play

A visual guide to how young children

explore the world around them
As an early childhood educator, you are a researcher who is
How to use this visual guide
examining how play is unfolding in your learning spaces! As a
researcher, you will observe and record evidence of learning
and figure out the next steps. Think about the children in your learning space as
you read through each schema.
Use this guide to:
Jot down any connections you make between what
Get a visual overview of the nine types of play you you read and what you see.
may be seeing
Discuss your thoughts with your class team. Are they
observing similar patterns?
Introduce schema play to your team
Observe again through new eyes. Do your observations
match your previous thinking? Did you learn something
Reflect on your current practices new? Does this tell you something more about the child’s
interests and curiosities?

Use our eight Schema Play Posters to bring everyone on

the same page!
There are nine common schemas you may see through play. In this guide, each has been broken down into two parts:

1. What you would observe in children’s play

2. What the child is exploring and learning through this schema

Nine Schemas in Play

Trajectory Connecting Positioning Transforming Rotational

Orientation Transporting Enclosing Enveloping

Trajectory Exploring force, momentum, movement, and direction

What you might see:

An interest in movement across a

Lots of throwing as one of the earliest and most space - pushing cars down ramps,
noticeable schemas. rolling balls, swinging bags.

Items being dropped from a Loves play that involves own body moving across
height, thrown across a room, space in different ways - sliding, swinging, jumping.
pushed over. Think of that child
who goes from place-to-place
destroying others’ creations!

Enjoys noisy play that involves banging and hammering.

Trajectory Exploring force, momentum, movement and direction

What the child is learning:

Gross motor skills Scientific thinking

Throwing, kicking, catching, pushing, and pulling are all Understanding cause and effect through physical action

part of this schema, which offers lots of opportunity for Exploring gravity, force and motion through dropping,

motor development. throwing, and knocking over objects.

Enhancing proprioception as the muscles and brain 
 Gathering information about speed and trajectory and

adapt to pushing, pulling, swinging, hammering, and how this can be influenced by weight, size, and shape.

punching movements

Improving hand-eye coordination and directional

awareness as children throw and catch. Building spatial

awareness.

Developing risk-awareness through risky play, such as

swinging and jumping off heights.

Connecting How things connect and separate

What you might see:

An enthusiastic use of tapes, staples, and strings

in the craft area! Tying items and objects together.

Building train tracks and using lego to connect, de-connect, or even knock

down. This may seem disruptive at times but it is part of the process of

understanding how things can connect and then be separated.

An increased want for holding hands when out and

about, or touching people when sitting beside them

(can lead to annoyance from peers).

Connecting How things connect and separate

What the child is learning:

Fine motor skills Spatial awareness

Developing hand-eye coordination and small finger
and hand muscles as children manipulate small
tools, construction resources, and fastenings.
Reasoning
Developing understandings of cause and effect
through trial and error.
Understanding space and location as they build
and construct.
Developing mathematical vocabulary associated
to measurement.
Scientific thinking
Exploring force through push and pull movements,
magnetic construction pieces, and manipulating small tools.
Positioning Intentional placement of objects

What you might see:

Careful thoughts on how and where things would

be placed is evident in loose parts and craft areas.

Lining-up objects in a particular manner. For example,

in small world and role play this could be lines of cars,

food, animals.

Lots of tidying and setting up of resources with specific intent in mind.

Can become upset when other children disturb positioned

items - this has been a thought-filled task after all.

Dislikes different foods on plate touching.

Positioning Intentional placement of objects

What the child is learning:

Math Fine-motor skills

Applying lots of math concepts - Creating patterns, sorting, Using pincer grip to pick-up and place objects helps

understanding shapes, using symmetry, and ordering develop fine-motor skills.

Developing their sense of logic through the placement 


Independence
of objects
Choosing particular items and placing them purposefully
Understanding how objects can be sorted and resorted,
can build organizational skills (bag packing, tidying).
according to shape, size, colour

Discovering how patterns can repeat

Exploring symmetry through creation with loose parts and

construction activities

Expanding vocabulary and positional language.

Transforming How things change

What you might see:

Mixing materials to see what happens! Exploring ways to cause change - poking, twisting,
Bringing water to the sand tray, mixing bending materials.
their food into their cup of milk
(yucky!), and dropping small items into
a pot and stirring are all examples of
this schema in play.

Use senses to explore

Colour mixing with paints and other drawing resources. and describe change.

Fascination with changes in the environment,

especially due to seasons or weather.
Transforming How things change

What the child is learning:

Scientific thinking Expressive arts

Experimenting and developing understandings of cause Understanding how new colours can be created.
and effect. Exploring how materials can be manipulated for
Making predictions and testing out ideas. aesthetic pleasure.
Developing observation skills as they note changes.
Motor skills
Sequencing Using utensils to mix, drip, and squeeze as they
Developing language of sequencing - first, next, then, effect change, develop wrist and finger muscles.
finally/last as children observe changes in life cycles
or experiments.
Rotational Turning, spinning, and rotating

What you might see:

Sink explorations - turning taps on

and off, watching the water vortex

down the drain.

Likes to twirl when walking, riding

bike in circles, games that involve

rolling own body or objects.

Fascination with cogs, wheels, dials, and knobs. Runs to washing machine when hearing it spin.

Spinning objects around or asking to be spun around.

In mark-making, you may see spirals and circles.

Rotational Turning, spinning, and rotating

What the child is learning:

Motor skills Scientific thinking

Building proprioception as child understands 
 Exploring cause and effect as they turn handles, dials, and

how their body moves in space knobs. Explore speed and force through spinning utensils

Developing balance and equipment.

Exercising gross motor and building arm and wrist

muscles when stirring, whisking, and swirling tools.

Improving fine motor skills through mark-making activities

- using wrist and finger movements that are clockwise and

anticlockwise when drawing circles and spirals.

Orientation How things look from different angles and viewpoints

What you might see:

Looking through legs, upside down,

hanging, and putting body in various
positions to see how things look from that
angle. Play can be perceived as risky.

Looking through objects to gain different views.

Walking backwards, twirling, and sideways to get around.

Peeking from under a table or climbing up high

to see from a height.
Orientation How things look from different angles and viewpoints

What the child is learning:

Motor skills Mathematical thinking

Climbing, crouching, and hanging upside down helps Inquiring into size and distance by using observation

develop gross motor movements, as well as awareness tools such as magnifiers, binoculars, and cameras

of body in space. Developing spatial awareness as children move

Exploring risky play to consider what is safe. around different locations, relating themselves to

objects near and far..

Perspective

Viewing the world differently from various points of

views and angles.

Conversing around perspective can develop

awareness of different views, and later be transferred

to ideas and opinions.

Transporting Moving self and things from place to place

What you might see:

You may find random items in pockets,

Filling bags, boxes, and
baskets with items and moving
them from place to place.
bags, and in the bottom of a pushchair.
This is not necessarily because they want
to take the items home - it’s forming
understandings that these are ways to
carry things around.

Finding items in unusual places, or items being lost.

Lots of busyness - it may seem like the child is

not focused as they flit from place to place.
C
A B
Transporting Moving self and things from place to place

What the child is learning:

Math Movement

Experimenting with volume, capacity, quantity, Exploring distance as they move themselves and items

measurement, and mappin across the space. Working out how hard to push or

Children transferring items into and between containers, carry their containers, explore which are more effective

working out how much can be held, how this changes for transporting, and make connections to real life

depending on container size, and how many items may contexts and roles.

fit inside as they estimate and count. Exploring the he relationship between 


Mapping the space as they move builds concepts of distance and movement is being 


measurement as they consider near and far. developed as they play.

Creativity

Exploring symbolic representation as they use

a crate as a train, a box for a shopping basket,

a paper bag as a picnic basket.

Enclosing Creating boundaries

What you might see:

Using blocks, toys, ropes, and similar items as

boundaries, as they create separation between
self and others.
Boundaries being created around small world and
role play - fences around animals, blocks used as a
perimeter for homes is created.

In mark-making, you will see an emphasis on closing

shapes. A distinct outline when drawing faces with eyes,
nose, mouth, hair, and ears.

Closely connected with the enveloping schema,

so similar behaviours may be seen.
Enclosing Creating boundaries

What the child is learning:

Math Literacy - emergent writing

Experimenting with measurement, sorting, quantity, 
 Emphasising on closing marks in mark-making can show

and estimating mock-lettering as children become more discerning with

Creating boundaries to gather materials and to work 
 the shape of letters

out how many pieces are needed Working on emergent writing skills

Sorting objects in enclosures - pigs in one enclosure, 


Fine motor skills
cows in another.
Developing control of mark-making tools
Developing their number sense as they need “one more” 

and building pencil grasp
or count the pieces they have used to create their

boundaries.

Exploring measurement as they compare longer, 


shorter, near and far. 3 Piggies

5
Enveloping Wrapping, covering and hiding away

What you might see:

Wrapping baby dolls up, ‘dressing’ In the art area, drawings can often be wiped out by
themselves in fabric and scarves, thick, dark scribbles which cover their creations.
covering things up. Often mistakenly interpreted as ‘angry’ play.

Hiding - under tables, in corners, and even squeezing onto small spaces! Causes panic and
again can be interpreted as child being uninterested/disengaging.

If you have missing objects - ask the

envelopers! Chances are they have
been keeping it somewhere safe.
Enveloping Wrapping, covering and hiding away

What the child is learning:

Math - shapes Motor skills

Exploring the use of 3D shapes Developing arm and hand muscles through wrapping
Creating understandings of volume and and mark-making. Building hand-eye coordination and
capacity as boxes are filled. finger muscles by tying ribbons and cutting tape.
Developing awareness of spaces as they hide
Problem solving
self in different places.
Working out how to use different materials and techniques
Object permanence for wrapping different sized and shaped objects.
Consolidating understanding that objects do not
completely disappear when not seen.
Recap
“Children have a very strong drive to repeat actions,
Schemas are: moving things from one place to another, covering
things up, putting things into containers, moving in
Built on from Piaget’s theories of active learning and
circles and throwing things - these actions can be
meaning-makin
A foundation for concept-based thinking and learnin observed running through their play.”

A way to make meaning and sense of the worl Louis et al, 2013
Mini-inquirie
Learner agency at its best!

“They are showing a ‘can do’ resilient attitude
and being resourceful, investigating different
ways to do things or finding out why things
happen in a certain way.”
operations, such as reading, writing and
Grimmer, 2017
“The early schema operations in young
children’s play are the foundations – the
prerequisite skills – to later complex
adding, and everyday operations such as
driving and cooking.” 

Siraj-Blatchford and Brock, 2016
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