What is schema play?
❥ Little ones engage in what’s called schema play. That means they repeat similar types of activities, over and over again, to learn more about how the world works.
❥ Maybe your child is curious about how different objects move through space. To experiment with this schema, they may spend a lot of time chasing bubbles, throwing balls, or rolling cars down a ramp.
❥ As they explore, children adjust their schemas — mental patterns that explain how things work — to reflect what they’ve learned.
❥ They might notice that a ball flies quickly through the air, while a scarf floats down slowly. Or that a paper airplane travels further than a feather.
Keep reading to identify which schemas your child is exploring, plus fun activity ideas for each schema!
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What are the most common play schemas?
While other schemas exist, the following types are most likely to pop up in your child’s play…
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- Trajectory: Exploring how things move
- Connecting: Putting things together
- Transporting: Moving things from one place to another
- Rotating: Spinning things around
- Positioning: Lining up or arranging things
- Enveloping: Covering or hiding things
- Orientation: Exploring different points of view
- Enclosing: Containing things inside a defined space
- Transforming: Experimenting with change
1 | Trajectory: Exploring how things move
Is your child obsessed with throwing balls, bean bags, scarves, or other objects? Do they love running and jumping? Are they fascinated by bubbles, birds, cars, and other things that move in interesting ways?
Your toddler might be exploring the trajectory schema!
Here are a few activity ideas to try…
2 | Connecting: Putting things together
Children exploring this schema might enjoy building with LEGOs, connecting train tracks, or even holding hands! You may also notice your child is fascinated by “sticky” materials like tape, stickers, and Velcro.
Sometimes this schema also involves taking things apart — think knocking over a block tower or tearing paper.
Here are a few activity ideas to try…
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- Build with blocks or LEGOs
- Play with fridge magnets or Magna-Tiles
- Make a collage
- Rip or cut paper
- Practice using a dressing frame
- Explore stickers or Washi tape
- Open and close containers
- Explore locks and keys (or a latch board)
3 | Transporting: Moving things from one place to another
Children exploring this schema like to move objects around. You may notice your little one filling various containers — like pockets, bags, or baskets — with objects and carrying them around with them wherever they go.
(This can be one of the messier schemas, so it rarely goes unnoticed!)
Here are a few activity ideas to try…
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- Explore transferring activities
- Fill a toy truck with small objects to push around
- Help carry groceries inside
- Pull toys around in a wagon
- Water plants, carrying water from plant to plant
- Collect natural objects in a basket
- Walk on a tape line while carrying a beanbag or bell
- Transport dirty laundry to the washing machine
4 | Rotating: Spinning things around
Is your child fascinated by objects like wheels and gears? Do they frequently twirl around in circles or like to be swung around? Do they love rolling a ball back and forth with you?
If your child is exploring this schema, any rotating object is fair game: Toy cars, nuts and bolts, spinning tops, and more.
Here are a few activity ideas to try…
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- Explore toys with wheels: Cars, trucks, trains
- Twist nuts and bolts
- Ride a tricycle
- Cooking projects: Stir and whisk
- Investigate kitchen tools like a rotary sifter or Lazy Susan
- Play “Ring Around the Rosie”
- Explore a gear puzzle
- Work with a screw board
- Open and close jars or bottles
- Roll playdough (by hand or with a rolling pin)
5 | Positioning: Lining up or arranging things
If you often catch your child lining up their toys, they might be exploring this schema. They may also love stacking, balancing, sorting, and finding other interesting ways to arrange objects.
(This schema is usually pretty easy to identify if you know what you’re looking for!)
Here are a few activity ideas to try…
- Build with blocks
- Play with stacking toys
- Line up natural objects like sticks or rocks
- Set the table
- Arrange pegs on a pegboard
- Match identical objects or picture cards
- Sort buttons (by color, shape, or size)
- Arrange flowers
- Work with a geoboard
6 | Enveloping: Covering or hiding things
Does your child love piling on dress-up clothes or bundling up in blankets? Are they obsessed with games like peek-a-boo or hide-and-seek? Do they often hide things around the house, tucked away in odd corners?
If so, your little one might be exploring this schema!
Here are a few activity ideas to try…
- Play with nesting cups, bowls, or dolls
- Make a collage
- Explore play silks
- Play hide-and-seek
- Wrap up a baby doll in blankets
- Crawl through a play tunnel
- Paint (or fingerpaint)
- Stack measuring cups or mixing bowls
- Set up a fort or tent
- Play dress-up
7 | Orientation: Exploring different points of view
Children exploring this schema want to see the world from every angle. They might hang upside-down, crawl under the table, or climb up high.
(Since this is such a physical schema, you probably won’t miss it!)
Here are a few activity ideas to try…
- Practice yoga together
- Climb outdoors: Trees, rocks, & hills
- Play with a Pikler triangle
- Take a gymnastics class
- Paint or color using an easel
- Explore the playground
- Paint like Michelangelo
- Use a magnifying glass or binoculars
- Swing (at home or the playground)
8 | Enclosing: Containing things inside a defined space
Does your child build “fences” around their toys? Do they spend a lot of time filling containers — water in cups, sand in buckets, toys in baskets? If so, they’re probably exploring this schema.
(You may have noticed that enclosing is pretty similar to enveloping. While there is a small difference, your child will likely enjoy both types of play!)
Here are a few activity ideas to try…
- Build with blocks
- Color inside a cardboard box
- Make a DIY puzzle by tracing familiar objects
- Play hide-and-seek
- Collect objects in an egg carton (or muffin tin)
- Scoop and pour water or sand
- Explore a shape sorter
- Play in a ball pit
- Make a fort with pillows & blankets
9 | Transforming: Experimenting with change
Children exploring this schema are fascinated by change. They might cover their entire face with paint, mix all their food together, or knock over a block tower to see what will happen.
Look for ways to combine ingredients to make something new, like mixing vinegar and baking soda or water and dirt. Your child might also enjoy watching objects transform — rising bread or a fizzing bath bomb..
Here are a few activity ideas to try…
- Bake bread together
- Make a smoothie
- Add food coloring to water
- Melt blocks of ice with warm water
- Play dress-up
- Make a lemon volcano
- Mix paint together
- Whisk eggs or soapy water
- Explore playdough
- Make popsicles
- “Paint” the sidewalk with water
- Juice citrus fruits
Have fun! 🥰
Keep in mind that play schemas are just another “lens” you can view your child’s development through. So don’t stress about tying every little action to a specific schema, or pushing endless activities. (Schema play comes naturally to children, remember?)
As always, keep it simple and follow your little one’s lead.
♡ Meg
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