Welcome!

You’ve just taken a wonderful step in understanding how your child learns through play. Each play pattern reveals something unique about their growing mind, and now you can explore how to nurture that natural curiosity and development. Dive in to discover simple, joyful ways to support your child’s learning through everyday play." 

Play Schemas

and brain development

Scroll down to see all schemas

  • Trajectory Schema

    Your child is exploring the world through movement. When they throw, drop, climb, or run, they’re not being “wild” — they’re actually learning how their body and objects move through space. This kind of play helps wire the brain for coordination, prediction, and focus. 

    What’s happening in the brain:
    Each time your child experiments with movement, their brain is strengthening neural pathways that support balance, spatial awareness, and self-regulation. It’s how they learn cause and effect — “If I throw this, it goes far!” 

    Try this next:

    Roll balls down ramps or tubes and see which goes fastest. 

    Create a safe “throwing zone” with soft objects. 

    Go outside and explore running, jumping, or chasing games. 

    Remember: Trajectory isn’t just about movement, it’s mastery in motion. Your child is learning how to predict, control, and understand the world through the joyful exploration of movement.

  • Rotation Schema

    Your child is captivated by things that turn, twist, and spin. Whether it’s wheels, tops, or their own body twirling in circles, this kind of play is how they explore rhythm, balance, and control. It’s not just fun — it’s brain-building. 

    What’s happening in the brain: 
    When your child spins or watches things rotate, their vestibular system (the part of the brain that helps with balance and movement) is being fine-tuned. This strengthens focus, coordination, and even emotional regulation. It’s how they learn to feel grounded in their body and the world around them. 

    Try this next: 

    Offer spinning tops, wheels, or ribbons to twirl. 

    Dance together with scarves or streamers. 

    Visit a playground with roundabouts or swings. 

    Remember: Spinning isn’t just movement, it’s mastery. Your child is learning how to find balance — both physically and emotionally — through joyful repetition. 

  • Enclosure Schema

    Your child loves creating spaces, wrapping things up, or hiding inside cosy spots. This isn’t just play — it’s how they explore safety, boundaries, and connection. When they build forts, hide under blankets, or tuck toys into boxes, they’re learning about containment and comfort. 

    What’s happening in the brain: 
    This kind of play helps your child’s brain develop a sense of spatial awareness and emotional security. It supports the limbic system, which is linked to feelings of safety and attachment. When they create enclosed spaces, they’re practising how to manage emotions and understand personal boundaries. 

    Try this next: 

    Build a den or fort together using cushions and blankets. 

    Offer boxes, baskets, or tunnels for hiding and exploring. 

    Wrap toys in fabric or paper and let your child “discover” them again. 

    Remember: When your child builds or hides, they’re not avoiding the world — they’re learning how to feel safe within it. Joining them in that play shows them that their need for comfort and space is valued. 

  • Positioning Schema

    Your child loves arranging, lining up, or stacking objects. You might notice them placing toys in neat rows, sorting by colour, or carefully balancing blocks. This isn’t just tidying up, it’s how they make sense of patterns, relationships, and structure. 

    What’s happening in the brain: 
    When your child positions and orders things, their brain is strengthening neural pathways for logic, sequencing, and visual-spatial reasoning. This kind of play supports early maths and problem-solving skills, as well as emotional regulation through predictability and control. 

    Try this next: 

    Offer loose parts like buttons, shells, or blocks for sorting and arranging. 

    Create patterns together with natural materials outdoors. 

    Encourage them to set up small-world play scenes or organise collections. 

    Remember: When your child lines things up, they’re not being rigid, they’re practising how to bring order to their world. Celebrate their focus and precision, it’s a sign of deep thinking and growing confidence. 

  • Transporting schema

    Your child loves to move things from one place to another. Whether it’s carrying toys in a basket, filling a bag with blocks, or pushing a pram full of teddies, this kind of play helps them understand how objects move and how they can influence their environment. It’s not just tidying or collecting, it’s a powerful way of learning about cause and effect, weight, and space.

    What’s happening in the brain:
    When your child transports objects, they’re developing spatial awareness, problem-solving skills, and physical coordination. Their brain is learning to plan, organise, and predict outcomes. This kind of play also builds focus and persistence, as they repeat actions to test what works best.

    Try this next:

    Offer baskets, bags, or boxes for carrying objects.

    Set up a simple “delivery” game where they move items from one room to another.

    Provide toy prams, wheelbarrows, or trolleys for outdoor play.

    Remember: Transporting isn’t just moving things around, it’s mastery in motion. Your child is learning how to plan, organise, and take purposeful action through joyful exploration.

  • Connecting schema

    Your child is fascinated by joining things together. Whether it’s linking train carriages, tying strings, building with blocks, or fastening clips, this kind of play helps them explore how things relate and hold together. It’s not just construction, it’s the beginning of understanding relationships, structure, and cause and effect.

    What’s happening in the brain:
    When your child connects objects, they’re developing fine motor skills, logical thinking, and an understanding of how parts make a whole. Their brain is learning about stability, strength, and sequence. This kind of play also supports early problem-solving and persistence, as they test what fits, holds, or breaks apart.

    Try this next:

    Offer construction toys like blocks, magnetic tiles, or train sets.

    Provide string, tape, or clips for joining materials together.

    Explore nature by connecting sticks, leaves, or flowers to make simple creations.

    Remember: Connecting isn’t just building, it’s bonding. Your child is learning how things come together, both physically and conceptually, through hands-on discovery.

  • Transforming schema

    Your child is fascinated by change. They love mixing, squashing, melting, or reshaping things to see what happens. Whether it’s stirring water and sand, mashing playdough, or watching ice melt, this kind of play helps them explore cause and effect and understand that materials can be altered. It’s not just messy play, it’s early science in action.

    What’s happening in the brain:
    When your child transforms materials, they’re developing curiosity, observation skills, and creative thinking. Their brain is learning to predict outcomes, test ideas, and adapt when things don’t go as expected. This kind of play builds resilience and flexible thinking, both essential for problem-solving later on.

    Try this next:

    Offer playdough, clay, or slime for squashing and reshaping.

    Mix colours with paint, water, or food dye.

    Explore cooking or baking together to see how ingredients change when combined or heated.

    Remember: Transforming isn’t just play, it’s discovery. Your child is learning that they have the power to create change, both in the materials they use and in the world around them.

  • Orientation schema

    Your child is curious about how things look and feel from different angles. You might notice them hanging upside down, tilting their head, or turning objects around to see them from every side. This kind of play helps them understand perspective, position, and how their body relates to the space around them. It’s not just playful movement, it’s early spatial learning in action.

    What’s happening in the brain:
    When your child explores orientation, their brain is developing spatial awareness, balance, and visual understanding. They’re learning how to navigate the world, judge distances, and interpret what they see from different viewpoints. This builds confidence in movement and supports later skills like reading maps, drawing, and even writing.

    Try this next:

    Encourage safe upside-down play, like gentle somersaults or hanging from monkey bars.

    Offer mirrors or rotating objects to explore reflections and angles.

    Play games that involve looking under, over, or around things.

    Remember: Orientation isn’t just about turning things around, it’s about turning understanding on. Your child is learning how to see the world from new perspectives, both physically and mentally.

Important to note:

-Children are unique

- Not all children will exhibit a fascination for a specific play schema.

- Observations of repeating behaviours may not always be obvious.

- Identifying a play schema requires a holistic understanding of the child.

- Various factors contribute to a child’s learning, including language, social and cultural influences.

- Observing a schema does not automatically indicate a special educational need.

- An observation of a schema may indicate an emotional need; for instance, building a den may indicate a need for security rather than schematic play.