Posted December 7, 2020
Article by Family Space.
Let’s look at some common schema play seen in children less than three years of age.
Connecting and Disconnecting Schema: joining things together and taking things apart.
When a child has an interest in connecting you may notice her joining things together and trying to tie things up. The interest might also be disconnecting-taking things apart and scattering the pieces. She wants to figure out how things fit together and come apart.
To support this schema play, offer construction toys, trains, and track pieces and any other toy that connects with magnets or Velcro. Your child will cherish string, ribbon, chains, tape or any materials that can bind things together. Containers with lids will be a huge hit as will elastics stretched across nails pounded into pieces of wood.
View this behavior as a learning strategy! Play schemas lead to neural pathways in your child’s brain becoming permanent which then helps your child consolidate his learning and develop new understandings.