Schemas

We know that children learn through their play. They use repeated patterns of behaviour called schemas. We look specifically for these behaviours and know they are your child's innate drive; the way they make sense of things and learn about cause and effect.

What are Schemas?

By enabling an environment where natural schemas can be explored your child will have the opportunity to learn in a way that interests them, where they are more likely to engage and achieve deep levels of learning. For example, if we notice your child has a trajectory schema we can set up an environment rich with bean bags and buckets, water for pouring, opportunities for jumping etc.

Schemas give us clues about how children view the world and how they learn.

For example, a child who enjoys lying on their back, looking at things through their legs, or putting their head flat on the floor when playing with toy cars is probably demonstrating an orientation schema.

There are many known schemas, but most commonly talked about are the following nine:

Enclosing

Orientation

Trajectory

Positioning

In 2024 Young Friends Kindergarten will undertake the SchemaPlay accreditation.