A Guide to Montessori Schemas

Education

Play schemas are patterns of behaviour that children naturally exhibit during play. Recognising these schemas can help you provide the right materials to support your child’s development. While the concept of play schemas is not explicitly a part of the Montessori method, Maria Montessori’s approach to education does focus on various developmental stages and providing a prepared environment for children to explore and learn. Here are the key play schemas and a few toy suggestions to help your little one enhance their learning through play.

1. Transporting Schema

• Description: Children in this schema love moving objects from one place to another. This might involve carrying toys around, filling containers, or pushing objects.
• Play with: Car Transporter – this toy is a favourite in our library because it offers the opportunity to use the cars individually but also to load them all up and transport them in the big truck.

2. Enveloping Schema

• Description: In the enveloping schema, children are drawn to wrapping or covering objects. They might wrap toys in blankets, cover items with paper, or even dress up in layers.
• Play with: Fruit Basket – It might be just pretend play but placing the objects in the basket or even hiding them under it is part of the enveloping schema.

3. Enclosure Schema

• Description: The enclosure schema involves creating boundaries or barriers around objects. Children might connect items to build fences or draw circles around objects. It’s different from enveloping as it usually involves forming a perimeter.
• Play with: Fruit Box Puzzle – Perfect for creating an enclosure. This toy is perfect to build a box to hide the fruit inside creating a boundary for the toys.

4. Trajectory Schema

• Description: This schema is all about the path of movement. Children might enjoy throwing, dropping, or rolling objects, fascinated by the motion involved.
• Play with: Zig Zag Racing Car – A toy car is pushed down and the kid can observe the trajectory it makes helping them create the connections to understand motion and paths of travel.

5. Rotation Schema

• Description: In this schema, children are captivated by things that spin or rotate. They might spin themselves around, play with tops, or turn objects repeatedly.
• Play with: Snail Whirls – A captivating toy to explore cogs rotating and their direct reaction to it.

6. Connecting Schema

• Description: Children interested in this schema enjoy joining objects together. This could involve stacking, linking, or assembling items in various ways.
• Play with: Magnetic Geoform – These toy is perfect to bigger kids and it helps them create different patterns and sequences or build intricate structures.

7. Transforming Schema

• Description: This schema involves changing the form or appearance of objects. Children might mold playdough, build and destroy structures, or experiment with altering the shape of materials.
• Play with: Playdough – You can make it at home or buy it at the shops but playdough lets children engage with the transforming schema by molding and mixing it to their heart’s content.

8. Positioning Schema

• Description: Children displaying this schema are interested in arranging objects in specific patterns or orders. This could involve lining up toys, sorting items by color, or creating organized setups.
• Play with: Rainbow People, Cups and Rings – This toy encourages children to explore positioning by stacking the pieces and sorting them by colour or type in different sequences or patterns.

9. Orientation Schema

• Description: In the orientation schema, children are interested in the positioning of objects or themselves. They might repeatedly arrange toys facing a certain direction or explore different angles and perspectives. This schema also relate to how kids see the world, like from the top of a table or upside down.
• Play with: Wooden Gems – This toy allows children to orient shapes in various ways, fitting them into the correct slots and exploring how different angles work.

10. Posting Schema

• Description: Children with this schema enjoy inserting objects into openings, whether it’s posting toys into containers, pushing items through slots, or fitting shapes into designated spaces.
• Play with: Disc Post Box – A classic choice for posting, this toy encourages children to fit coins into the hole, engaging their fine motor skills and spatial awareness.

By understanding these play schemas, you can provide toys that not only entertain but also support your child’s developmental journey. Our library offers a wide range of educational and eco-friendly options that cater to each of these schemas, making sure that playtime is full of learning too.

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