3. SET UP FOR ROTATION SCHEMA
Schemas are the child’s pattern of behaviours.
They provide educators an opportunity to find out the child’s interests .
A child may display more than one schema at certain times.
Educators must support child’s schemas to promote play based
learning. (MacDonald,2016).
6. Rotation Schema
Children are fascinated by car wheels or anything that is round.
The rotation inspires them and they get curious about it.They
like to spin their bodies as well as toys and objects, like hoola
hoops. Fast ,circular or spinning movements could “wake” a
child up and through these rotations they further develop
neuron pathways and connections in the brain, to enhance
their cognitive abilities(MacDonald,2016).
7. Rotation Schema
The children at my placement love to spin car wheels
The rotation inspires them and makes them curious. They also dip the car
wheels in paint before they move them on paper, in order to observe their
movements.
8. The Significance
of Schemas
Schemas provide the
educators an opportunity
to find out the child’s
interests in order to
implement relevant
Learning Activities.
9. Experiencing Schema
on a Rotating Plate
WOW , this was fun.
The child was so inspired by the
Rotating Movement of the plate
And marks he made upon the surface
of glossy paper that he tried to use
both turquoise and violet markers at
the same time ,out of curiosity.
What Went Well ?
10. Future Extensions
Based on my observations of the children , Next time I am planning to join two, three, or
more markers together with the help of a rubber band so that the toddlers could have an
easy grip while exploring their rotation schema.
Next, due to their interest in train and cars, I would cover the train track with paper (with
dabs of paint)and would allow the children to move and rotate the trains on them leaving a
spectrum of colours behind them.
Rotation in Action
16. Piaget’s Schemas
Accommodation, Assimilation, and
Adaptation
As these young children are in the
sensory motor stage of Piaget ,they are
exploring schemas. Hence, they should
be given an opportunity to develop
tactile, auditory, and visual learning
through sensory experiences while
manipulating objects to explore the
world around them (MacDonald, 2016).
19. What Went Well ?
I was a bit nervous while implementing this sensory activity,as I was not
Sure of the Children’s response. To my amazement it proved to be a great
hit and almost instantly all the
Toddlers were drawn towards this activity.
The Children thoroughly enjoyed the learning experience on the
Table as well as on the floor
They also enjoyed drawing images on the soft paint surface by pressing their
Fingers hard on top of it.
20. Extensions
Next Time I would like to do this activity in a different way by
pasting the zip lock bags with paints inside them
On a clear glass window or thick plastic sheet. The light passing through would
Therefore create a more pleasing effect of opaque and transparent areas.
Next, I would let the children play with them and draw images
Just the way they want to.
24. Physical
Development
As the children punched out
interesting shapes ,they increased
their muscle strength and gross and
fine motor skills.
Punching out different shapes also
enhanced their “Hand and Eye”
coordination.
While striving to pick up punched
shapes with their little fingers ,they
further enhanced their fine muscle
skills.
25. Holistic Model of
Child Development
During this process ,within the physical
domain ,the child was able to hold his
brush with fingers and therefore developed
his (small muscles)fine motor skills . By
using whole arm movements to punch
shapes and apply paint he further
developed (large muscles) gross motor
skills.
The children also developed an
understanding of negative and positive
spaces and contrasting colours. By
communicating with each other to do
problem solving, the child further
developed his social and cognitive skills.
Hence, the activity promoted the holistic
model of child development.
26. Significance of the pincer grasp
Pincer grasp enables the young child to pick up
small objects, using forefinger and thumb.
Pincer grasp helps the child develop a mature
palmer grasp around the brush, crayon or
pencil.
Pincer grasp greatly helps the child to develop
writing skills.
Working with small objects helps the child
develop pincer grasp or fine motor movements
much faster.
27. In the “Physical Domain,”the child strengthened fine and gross motor skills while applying paint on
the paper (Best Start Expert Panel on Early Learning, 2007).
During this activity the child
developed a variety of skills like,
Whole arm movements
Some wrist motions
Hand and eye coordination
Manual dexterity
Sensory awareness
Palmer and Pincer grasp
Physical development includes manual dexterity, hand and eye
coordination, gross and fine motor skills.
28. Esther Helen’s
Dynamic System’s Theory
Four conditions required for fine motor
development :
•Environmental Support Skill
•Physical Support Abilities Development
•Nervous System Development
•The goal
For instance, a child first gets inspired by a
toy(indicating nervous system
development),next is looking for a suitable
environment. Then he moves to get that
toy through physical ability to achieve the
desired goal ,that is the toy.
Motor development is an active process
and all these things are essential for motor
development(Santrock,2013).
29. Sometimes we underestimate the strengths
of the young children. Initially I was wondering
whether they would be able to press the little
punches hard enough to get punched shapes.
But, it seems they took it as a challenge and
really did a wonderful job, especially the
senior toddlers. For junior toddlers playing
around with colours while using the fan brush
and foam rollers proved to be a lot of fun.
What Went Well ?
30. As the children demonstrated their interest in the
Small punches ,next time, I would let them
make greeting cards .To decorate those wish
cards I would encourage them to use punched out
butterflies, birds and shapes of their own choices.
This way they would further enhance their
Fine motor skills in the physical domain.
Future Extensions
33. Small Hands Can Help Big
Table Set Up
Materials: White papers and colours for hand prints
34. Helping the child to move away from
egocentricism
• Develop Empathy
• Be a good friend
• Always think how the other child feels
• Help your friends to clean up
• Share your toys and colours
• Hug a friend who is sad
• Say “You Care”
35. Developing Secure Emotional Attachments
Promote a feeling of trust and make the child feel safe and protected
36. Improving Emotional Intelligence
(Circle Time Discussion)
• Look at a picture book
• Listen to music
• Sing a song
• Breathe some fresh air
• Exercise
• Drink some water
• Think of your favourite things
• Remember“ I” Messages to express yourself :
• I feel sad when you push me because it hurts
Self-Regulation Skills for the child
when feeling sad or frustrated
38. WE CREATED A PEEKABOO FEELINGS BOX
It is from around two to four years of age that children start to
display a rapid theory of mind, their personal likes and dislikes
and “Object Permanence.”At this stage they develop
understanding that objects and people continue to exist even
when they cannot see them.
It was amazing to see how children
enjoyed looking at the feeling box.
As they smiled and imitated
emotions and feelings, They looked
into the mirror, identifying their
different facial expressions. The
first emotion they wanted to see
was of “Happiness” on their face
According to Piaget “Object
Permanence” is fully attained
by the child at the age between
18 to 24 months. However,
according to latest research
they say it could even start at
an earlier stage as well (Class
notes, 2016).
40. What Went Well ?
This activity was extended from two to three weeks. Because , discussing emotional feelings
And self regulation does not happen overnight. It requires devotion,
Time to understand emotions and how to manage them effectively.
I was having a little chat with children, about identifying different
Emotions on the feeling box when I heard a young child crying. As I
approached her and enquired why was she sad ,she said nothing and
Kept on crying. Right at that time I turned the small mirror towards her face
And said, “Look You Are Sad.”
Surprisingly, as she looked into the mirror, she started giggling and laughing
at her own image, and so did everyone else.
41. Future Extensions
During this activity, I observed that mostly children
Were taking interest in describing their happy and sad
moments and how to make their friends happy if they are
feeling hurt.
My next in relevance to that would be to ask children
To find ways how to make a friend happy.
For instance, I would ask them, your teddy bear got hurt
And is crying ,”What You Gonna Do ?” to make him happy.
Further, I would also read them story books about
Feelings , emotions and empathy.
Expression, engagement, well-being and and a sense of
belonging is essential for every child to succeed in life
(Ontario Ministry of Education,2014).
44. Match The Colours and Sort Shapes
Materials: Plastic Eggs,Plastic blocks,Artificial Flowers,Wooden
Block Shapes, Coloured Bristol Boards, Yellow Fuzzy
Bunny,Two Piece Shape Puzzles,Paper Plates
45. The Set Up
for Cognitive Activity
The Set Up was initially on the table ,and later we moved it to
the carpet area for children’s convenience
Cognitive development greatly depends on security and
attachment. Therefore, the educators must strive to create a
feeling of trust and secure base for kids to explore from.
49. Learning Objective
Within the Cognitive domain, the
child learned to sort objects
by colour, size and shape
(Brigance, 2013, F5-1, p. 25).
Such activities promote
Problem solving and memory skills.
50. What Went Well ?
Initially we started this activity on the table. However,
as the children were taking more time wrapping it up
quickly was not an appropriate idea .Therefore we
decided to take the activity to the carpet area.
It was such an amazing experience for children that
they kept on playing with the colours and shapes for
another half an hour.
51. Future Extensions
Keeping in mind how much the children enjoyed
Engaging in the activity while sitting in the carpet area , I have
decided to plan my next activity on the carpet area,where
The children would be encouraged to build their
Own houses of blocks . To do so they would choose their
favourite colours and would match the objects of
similar colour to their houses.
56. Focus on Art
Stampers could be inserted in the melted crayons and would
create a wonderful surprise for children, once the crayon gets finished.
Further, stampers would provide a good grip over
Crayons while colouring, to enhance their fine motor skills.
58. “It’s All in The Process”
VARIATIONS
These crayons could create fine lines when using their edges
Or they could be applied flat to cover broad areas.
SAFETY
Non Toxic Multicolour Crayons have been used throughout the process.
Once the process of mark making with crayons was over , the art work was covered with
Layers of paints through Pouring paint. For this purpose, plastic cups, soft squeeze bottles or funnels could be
provided to Children offering them more choice of materials.
59. Scribbles and Mark Making
By the second birthday, children can scribble. Scribbles represent the earliest form of drawing.
Every form of graphic art, no matter how complex, contains the lines found in children’s artwork,
which Kellog calls the 20 basic scribbles. These include vertical, horizontal, diagonal, circular, curving,
waving or zigzag lines and dots(Santrock, 2013).
Convenience of Home Made Crayons
Crayons are durable, dependable, inexpensive and readily available everywhere.
Black crayons could be used to create sharp contrasts, bold images, and resist paintings.
They come in a wide variety of colours.
The leftovers could be melted and shaped again in mini muffin trays.
Crayons provide children a great variety of choices if shaped in different ways.
As they finish their work, the children should be encouraged to participate in
the clean up activity.
Focus on Art
60. According to my observations, the children were more responsive to artistic
activities during free play time in the morning. So the early hours of the day
greatly helped them stay energetic. They were inspired to see the colours and
curious to explore art materials. As the children were showing enthusiasm they
created more vibrant artworks which were truly a feast for the eyes.
They took great pride in their work and said, “I will give it to my mommy and
daddy.” Hence, it enhanced their Self-Esteem.
Next,they developed their imaginative and problem solving skills as well.
They were eager to hold the crayons from different angles, and carefully
observed and felt their textures, as well as, the flow of colours.
Piaget believed that knowledge is functional and children actively construct it
through their interactions with materials and by observing changes, like while
mixing colours (Class notes, 2016).
So What Went Well During The Activity ?
61. Extensions
• Something interesting that happened during this art activity was that while
making marks with the crayons on papers ,some of the children started to
create marks on the surface of table cover. Therefore, my goal for the next
activity would be to let them create on large size textured surfaces to draw
and paint upon , like wood , textured papers , fabric, or even sand paper, to
explore a wide range of art mediums of their own choice.
• Further, due to their interest in rotation, I intend to provide them a large
size rotating plate so that a group of three or four children could engage in
a collaborative art activity in future.
• Visual Display of the Kid’s Creations could be given a caption, like “Kid’s
Wall Of Fame”and exhibited in the hallway for parents to enjoy.
63. The Toddlers at my placement repeatedly drop the same objects on the
floor to hear the sounds it makes. That reflects their interest in sounds,
vibrations and music.
A child that displays a trajectory schema, is interested in how things
work and how things move in this world .
They would quite often throw, bang, drop, climb, jump or even play
while splashing water to figure what sound they produce.
For young children it becomes an enjoyable play pattern to explore this
schema repeatedly.
By Repeating their actions the children are trying to make sense of their
world and develop their memory skills as well (Class notes, 2016).
Trajectory Schema:
64. Keeping the interests of children in mind , I decided to make Maracas and Rain Makers
With them.This made them discover that they could make things happen and create music.
Focus on Music
“Cause and Effect”
Maracas that light up with a gentle touch and
those with lentils inside to create rhythmic soft music.
“Percussion Instrument”
The musical rhythms are produced
by the percussion of grains hitting against each other gently.
67. Rain sticks
could be combined with several other
home made instruments to create interesting sounds
By using a really long tube like that from a wrapping paper roll children could make a king size rain stick
the sound of which they would love to explore. They can further decorate it with cellophane or textured papers.
They could even use paints, crayons and markers to create a mixed media art on the cover of rain stick.
68. Many types of Drums could be made from
Empty Cookie Containers
69. Rain Sticks and Hand Made Maracas
Were a big hit among children
Musical Elements:
Dynamics(Soft and Loud) Tempo (Slow and Fast) Pitch (High and Low)
Make the singing activity a fun to learn experience for young children by adding musical elements.
They could chant short and simple series of words in unison, from a carefully selected list of
developmentally appropriate songs .
73. The children used their own hand made “Rain Sticks” and “Maracas” as musical instruments, while singing songs.
This musical instrument making activity greatly enhanced social skills as they interacted with each other in a friendly
manner. They kept on running around in circles, shaking their instruments for quite some time.
During this activity, while singing songs, children exchanged smiles, nodded, wiggled their fingers, crawled to see
visuals and clapped their hands to express feelings of happiness. Therefore, they also developed their physical and
social emotional skills(Class notes, 2016).
According to Vygotsky “Social Interaction” at a young age ensures success in life later,as the child grows up.Hence, it
is very important for the young children to develop this skill. (Santrock, 2013).
Music is well suited to address the wonderful diversity of children coming from different cultures as they tend to
express themselves freely during musical activities( Edwards, 2013).
What Went Well ?
74. Extensions
And what would I do differently next time –
Cooperative Freeze Game. As I observed the children’s interest in being
physically active and in music. Next, I will create a musical freeze game.
The children while running will listen to the music and would instantly stop
when the music stops.
Further, I would prefer to give the children “More Time” to create their
own little “Rainsticks”, with a different kind of decorative covering
technique. Or they could paint them as well. Next, they could choose the
grain of their own choice to fill inside. This way they would take more
interest in the activity and it would further enhance their sense of pride.
Educators must help the children achieve. Achievement could also improve
a child’s “Self-Esteem”(Santrock,2013).
75. Safety First
Safety is always my first priority while planning learning activities
for young children. A Safe and Secure environment encourages
the child to explore the world around him as he moves forward in
the journey of learning and acquiring knowledge.
76. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Promote Respect
which is an integral part of Emergent Curriculum
77. Diversity
People from different countries are like
a rainbow of colours .They reflect the beauty of
flowers , individual and unique in their own
special way. The world today is all connected
through the amazing technology and we have
become like one “Global Family”
80. The patterns of behaviour a child is displaying or the schemas that are being explored
must be considered by the educators , prior to planning and implementing play based
learning experiences. Because all these schemas
demonstrate the child’s interests , fascinations, and inspirations.
Schemas
81. – Trajectory – an interest in how objects and people move, and how children can affect that movement (children often likes to
run around, throw things, drop things, play with balls, jump, play with running water, building and pushing things in straight lines,
draw straight lines)
– Rotation – an interest in things which turn (children often play with wheeled toys, stir, mix, roll balls, play with round objects,
draw circular marks.)
– Enveloping – an interest in covering and wrapping up objects or themselves or in putting things inside bags, baskets and
containers (children often hide objects, dress up, paint over pictures they created)
– Enclosing – an interest in creating and/or occupying enclosed spaces. It can be seen in children’s actions as they create
structures in which they sometimes enclose themselves or objects (children often play inside boxes, make dens under the table,
hide toys underneath bed)
– Connecting – an interest in fastening and joining things together and in taking them apart (children often join things using
string or rope, use glue to stick things together, take toys apart, play with trains and tracks)
– Positioning – an interest in carefully placing objects or themselves in patterns or rows (children often line-up toys, walk on
lines, have their food laid out in a particular position or pattern)
– Transporting – an interest in moving themselves around and in transporting objects (children often carry bags, push prams,
play games that involve going on a journey, explore maps and different means of transport)
_ Orientation_ is about looking at things from different angles and perspectives. Such kids want to be picked up because they
want to see what the world looks like from up there(Class notes, 2016).
Schemas
82. Reflections
Combining pedagogy with
practical experience has been
an amazing learning
experience for me, in
relevance to the field of Early
Childhood Education. I am
greatly thankful and give all
the credit to my professors
for sharing their wonderful
Professional knowledge
within these years. Without
your help it would not have
been possible.
83. Reflections
Sustaining Reflective Practice
It is of significant importance to
discuss ideas with like-minded people.
By brainstorming , and sharing comes new
ways to think about what children are
doing and to find meaning in their
work that may otherwise go
Undiscovered (Stacy,2009).
Be concerned about the quality of
development in each stage. Don’t rush
infants and toddlers to reach
developmental milestones
(Gonzalez-Mena, & Eyer, 2015).
84. References
Best Start Expert Panel on Early Learning. (2007). Early learning for every child today: A framework for Ontario early childhood settings. Toronto, ON: Ministry of
Children & Youth Services.
Brigance inventory of early development III. (2013). North Billerica, A: Curriculum Associates, LLC.
Edwards, L. (2013). Music and Movement : A way of life for the young child (7th ed.). Toronto,
ON: Pearson Education Canada.
Gonzalez-Mena, J., & Eyer, D. (2015). Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers: A curriculum of respectful, responsive, relationship based care and education (10th
ed.). Toronto, ON: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
Notes also have been retrieved from the class of ECE 313 NAA, Winter Semester,2016 by Professor Jean MacDonald .
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2014). How does learning happen? Ontario’s pedagogy for the early years. Retrieved September 2, 2015, from
https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/HowLearningHappens.pdf
Santrock, J. (2013). Children (12th ed.). Toronto, ON: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
Stacy, S. (2009). Emergent Curriculum in early childhood settings: From theory to practice (1st ed.). Toronto, ON: Monarch Books of Canada.
