Understanding Children's Play Through Schema Theory

Have you ever wondered why children are frequently observed filling up buckets of sand, carrying them across the yard, and then dumping them out on the ground? Or why the best part of building a block tower seems to be knocking it down?

Understanding children’s participation in these sorts of experiences can help educators and parents alike to see their children’s play for what it is: making sense of the world through schema play!

In cognitive psychology, a schema is described as a mental framework for understanding information, helping humans to interpret and make predictions about the world.

Developmental Psychologist Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development states that children construct schemas through repeated interactions. Building off of this theory, Chris Athey identified what she described as “play urges” which are repeated patterns of play and behavior seen in young children. These patterns of play can be observed every day as children fill and dump buckets, propel themselves across a room, construct barriers, or sort objects into a certain order. 

The most commonly observed play schemas are: 

1. Transporting: Physically move objects from one place to another

2. Trajectory: Dropping, throwing, or pushing objects and propelling self through space

3. Rotation & Circularity: Spinning, rolling, or turning objects, or self

4. Enclosing & Enveloping: Wrapping or hiding objects, or self, or creating containers

5. Connecting & Disconnecting: Joining items together and taking them apart

6. Positioning & Ordering: Arranging, lining up, or stacking objects in specific ways

7. Transforming: Mixing materials, building and altering structures, engaging in messy play, or role-playing different characters

8. Orientation & Perspective: Hanging upside down, viewing through legs, tilting heads, or examining objects from different angles

Using schema play as a lens to observe children’s play, adults can come to know more about the questions and theories children are developing and begin to offer materials that support their thinking. 

Open-ended materials hold the most potential for supporting children in their schema investigations. These materials are often referred to as loose parts. Loose parts are captivating objects and materials that children can move, manipulate, control, and change as they play. They come with no specific set of instructions and are brought to life in the hands of children. 

Pairing schema play theory with open-ended toys and materials can unlock great potential in children’s play. When play urges are supported and encouraged by trusting adults, children’s understanding of the world expands and our own discomfort with such play dissipates.