Children with this schema will make elaborate farms with animals in fields, gather objects into boxes and other containers and put outlines and borders round their drawings. The railways track will be constructed as a loop, never just a straight line and the duple bricks will be arranged as a wall around the edge of the board. Children with this dominant schema may enjoy emptying spaces/containers as much as creating and filling them. Play ideas: A good selection of farm animals with plenty of fences and gates. Railway and road tracks that can be made as loop, with vehicles of course. Construction toys like lego/duplo, stickle bricks and wooden blocks for making enclosures. At bath time or in a water...
I'll start with my favourite play schema - transporting. In a busy nursery setting this was the one I dreaded. Transporters like to gather up objects and take them elsewhere, so when a piece of jigsaw is suddenly missing, or another child's shoe (just one!), the transporter may need to be questioned, not that they'll remember because they will have been busy transporting things all morning, quietly creating mayhem. Sometimes they have impressive abilities to hold several unrelated objects in their hands. Their pockets bulge with their stash of bits and bobs. Often the object is of little importance although later on it can have symbolic meaning e.g. a wooden brick may be a loaf of bread (preferably in a...
A schema is a pattern of play in young children which can be observed as they explore their world and make sense of it. Some children have several schemas while others have a very dominant preferred one. If your pre school child regularly does something distinctive in their play, the chances are you can think of it as an uncontrollable play urge, also known as a dominant schema. When you understand how these are manifested in their play, its fascinating to see how your child is learning about their world and processing it. Here as some of the most commonly seen schemas: Trajectory Rotation Enclosing Enveloping Transporting Positioning Connecting Positioning Orientation Transformation I'll discuss each of these in a separate...
Over the years I've come to the conclusion that teachers teach very little. Children have an innate ability and desire to learn and good educators develop the children's skills by providing the right opportunities at the right time.
What do you still have from your christening day? I have these pretty candles, a napkin ring and a bracelet, which of course no longer fits me.
We're off to a christening soon and hoping that the little girl will still have her christening gifts in years to come, but also be able to play with them now.
Yummikeys make a perfect gift for such an occasion. They're unique and can also be personalised with engraving on both sides of the crocodile key, and they're fun from the day you're given them.
