As a first time mom, we get thrown so much information through social media platforms. With the rise of Tiktok, Montessori, gentle parenting, and toy rotations, toddler play schemas are slowly joining this group for this new generation of parenting.
Motherhood and parenting styles are constantly changing. We are guided through what is mainstream. In this day and age, we follow social media trends, and this also goes with parenting.
As we go through conscious parenting, or gentle parenting, as the generation of parents, we are often trying to be more present with our children and more intentional with our time and money spent on them.
With that being said, as kids get older, family members begin to bombard them with gifts or we may give in when they want a toy at the store. As a result, before we know, we have an overwhelming amount of toys. For this reason, toy rotations have become popularized and begun to be practiced by many parents.
What are Toy Rotations?
Toy rotation is a method used by parents to regularly change the selection of toys available to a child on a shelf. The idea behind toy rotation is to keep a limited number of toys accessible to the child at any given time, while the rest are stored away.
By periodically rotating the toys, it helps to maintain the child’s interest and engagement, as they are presented with a fresh set of toys to explore. This approach can also promote creativity, problem-solving skills, and reduce clutter.
When combining toy rotations with play schemas, we have a perfect combination.
What Are Play Schemas?
Play schemas in toddlers refer to repetitive patterns of play behavior that children engage in during their early years.
These schemas are considered to be innate and are believed to support the development of cognitive, physical, and social skills.
Why Are Play Schemas Important?
These play schemas are considered important for children’s cognitive development, as they help them make sense of the world around them and develop problem-solving skills.
Understanding and supporting these schemas can enhance a toddler’s play experiences and promote their overall development.
Play schemas are something children engage with from about 12 months forward. As a parent, when we understand why they are engaging in certain repetitive activities, we are able to foster their creativity and development by catering their toys/activities to whichever skill they are learning.
How do Play Schemas Align with Toy Rotations?
Play schemas go hand-in-hand with toy rotations. Many parents choose to do toy rotations to help their children focus and to play independently.
As a result, parents, now more than ever, are putting extra thought into which toys come into their house.
If you do toy rotations, unknowingly, you may also be utilizing toddler play schemas in your household. By practicing toy rotations, due to the limited toys available, parents are able to see which toys have been played with and which haven’t.
By noticing these things during toy rotations, allows parents to, through the use of play schemas, cater the next toy rotation to the interests of the child.
Different Schemas in Play
Toddler play schemas are constantly changing throughout their development. So if you choose to follow and cater activities to your child’s play schema, it is important to notice their patterns throughout the days.
Some schemas may be subtle and you may not even realize it, while other are more straightforward.
A clear straightforward example is a child throwing things on the floor. Be it be stuffies, toys, balls, they are learning cause and effect. This is the trajectory schema.
There are 9 most common toddler play schemas: Connection, Enclosure, Enveloping, Orientation, Positioning, Rotation, Trajectory, Transforming, and Transporting.
What is a Connection Schema?
Toddlers may enjoy joining objects together, such as building blocks or linking toys, as they explore the concept of connection and construction.
In this schema, toddlers are learning how things come together and apart.
Example: Your toddler closes themselves in their room. You open the door for them. They close it again. They whine for you to open the door. They close it again. And repeats.
Toys you can add to your toy rotation for this schema: building blocks, linking toys, magnetic fishing toy, velcro play food.
What is an Enclosure Schema?
Toddlers may enjoy containing things, creating borders around objects or even themselves.
They are exploring the concept of object permanence and borders.
Example: Your toddler submerges themselves under their plushies. They get one by one around them as a border and then begin piling them over each other, eventually covering their legs/lower body.
Toys you can add to your toy rotation for this schema: tunnel, cardboard house, coin drop box, building blocks.
What is an Enveloping Schema?
Toddlers may enjoy wrapping themselves or objects in blankets, towels, or other materials, exploring the concept of containment and enclosure.
Example: Your toddler gets in bed and hides under the blankets at any given time. They get upset when you uncover them.
Toys you can add to your toy rotation for this schema: dance scarves, hand puppets, object permanence box.
What is an Orientation Schema?
Toddlers may enjoy experimenting with different viewpoints. For example, they may enjoy hanging upside down or spinning.
Example: Your toddler climbs to the highest point they find to see the viewpoint from above. Another example is they lay upside down from the bed/pillows/couch.
Toys you can add to your toy rotation for this schema: pickler triangle, spinning toy, trapeze bar, horizontal bar, balance beam.
What is a Positioning Schema?
Toddlers may engage in activities where they arrange or line up objects or themselves in a particular way. They are understanding the concept of patterns, such as differences and similarities.
Example: Your toddler collects and lines up rocks from smallest to biggest.
Toys you can add to your toy rotation for this schema: bead sequencing set, lacing beads, peg board, stacking cubes, garden building toy.
What is a Rotation Schema?
Toddlers may show a fascination with spinning or rotating objects, such as spinning tops or wheels, as they explore the concept of movement and cause-and-effect relationships.
Example: Your toddler turns their bike/tricycle upside down and spin the wheels. Another example: Your toddler spins the crank handle from the sun umbrella outside.
Toys you can add to your toy rotation for this schema: toy cars, pinwheels, spinning toy.
What is a Trajectory Schema?
Toddlers may engage in activities that involve throwing, dropping, or launching objects, as they explore the concept of how things move through space.
Example: You toddler takes a rock and throws it in a puddle. Another example: You are pouring your toddler water into their water bottle, they put their hand under the running water. Similar to having you toddler water the lawn with a hose and they put their hand infront of the running hose.
Toys you can add to your toy rotation for this schema: parachute toys, toddler sports balls, ring toss, trampoline, pounding bench.
What is a Transforming Schema?
Toddlers may engage in activities where they combine or change materials. They may also be mixing things together. They are exploring the concept of how things change or alter when combined with other things.
Example: During bathtime, your toddler grads the shampoo bottle and mixes it with water to form bubbles.
Toys you can add to your toy rotation for this schema: play-doh, bathtub fingerpaint, paint with water books, bath color tablets.
What is a Transporting Schema?
Toddlers may repeatedly engage in activities involving moving objects, such as pushing toy cars or carrying items from one place to another.
Example: Your toddler adds toys/stuffed animals, into their toy shopping cart and pushes it around the house.
Toys you can add to your toy rotation for this schema: toy shopping cart, dump truck, droppers, wagon toy, shopping basket, toddler backpack.
Conclusion:
Utilizing toddler play schemas can be an incredibly useful tool to aid in your child’s development. Observing and discovering which play schema your toddler is practicing will further allow you to cater your toy rotation to your child’s interest to further help them to play independently and concentration.
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