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.
We have a new baby arriving this autumn so this is a topical subject in our house. Here are a few ideas to help an older child to be able to adjust to a new sibling
Consider the timing of when you tell them about the baby. For younger children 9 months is an incredibly long time to wait etc
New baby books - age and stage appropriate
Play more with dolls, premmie nappies, discuss
Meet some babies etc
Plan nursery together
Emphasise big brother sister importance
Prepare box of little activities
Coping with a third pregnancy: We're expecting our third baby this autumn. This is my third pregnancy and we have a daughter who'll be 4 this autumn and a son who'll be two. We feel blessed to be having another baby but it must be said that pregnancy third time round is not quite the walk in the park I'd been hoping for! Energy levels As a person with a lot of energy usually I don't find pregnancy too tiring, once he first few weeks are done. But this time I am exhausted. Absolutely exhausted. I'm trying to turn off the guilt and let the kids indulge in a bit (sometimes a lot) more tv! Peoples perceptions: Most...
