Information about Heuristic Play

‘Heuristic’ means helping to find out or discover, proceeding by trial and error.  It stems from the same root as eureka - ‘I found it!’.
Children actively seek out objects that interest them.  Heuristic play with objects is rooted in this natural curiosity, whereby children want to explore objects to find out what can be done with different items.  Children have an urge to handle things, to gather, fill, dump, move, stack, knock down, enclose, cover, select, arrange, line up and manipulate.  Children enjoy making discoveries, for instance when one item fits into another, or an interesting sound is produced, they often repeat the action several times to test the result.  This strengthens cognitive development as well as fine muscle control and hand/eye co-ordination.
Heuristic play is not a new idea.  Consider the age-old fascination with sewing baskets, peg baskets and button tins containing buttons of all shapes, sizes and colours to sort and arrange.
Children become very easily engrossed in such play.  This is because they are confident in the fact that there is no right or wrong way to play.  It therefore boosts self-esteem which can be transferred to other activities and experiences.
Heuristic play supports our gathering of knowledge about the children as we witness the thought processes that they display.  This helps us to recognise their exact stage of learning and development, which in turn helps us to plan for their next steps.
The key to its success is to have an abundance of everyday and natural objects available.  It is recommended that you offer a selection of 15 different items with about 50 of each item (which is why we need your help!).  This stops conflicts and also encourages social interaction as children can play alongside each other and test out each others new found theories.


Information about schema’s

A schema is a pattern of repeatable behaviour which children display over and over again.  It is their current fixation or cognitive concern which we can spot and identify as we observe children playing. 

A schema could be any fixation or pattern that we notice, common ones however are:
·Transporting - when children are constantly taking things form one place to another.  For example using the wheelbarrow to take the soil from one area to another, taking dolly for a walk in the pram, filling the baskets on the scooters or loading up the diggers and dumpers.

·Enveloping - when children cover themselves or things up, like wrapping the blanket around dolly, wrapping parcels or painting over their picture when it’s finished.  Children who envelope often like dressing up, face painting or make-up and often like playing with imaginary small world people and animals, almost like putting a role or character on.

·Enclosing - putting themselves or things inside, like getting into boxes, putting things inside containers, putting lids on, playing in dens, blocking entrances to make doors and barricades.  Some children who enclose are fascinated with eggs, Russian dolls, digging for treasure or burying things.

·Assembling and ordering - when children like to sort things out, line things up and gather things together

·Circular - when children are interested in roundness and rotation, wheels, spinning and stirring.

·Horizontal or vertical - when children are building across the floor or high up.

·Trajectory - when children like things moving in a line through space, like throwing and catching, kicking balls, golf, blowing bubbles and using the hosepipe to spray water.  Some children also are interested in vehicles or anything really that moves like balloons, hot air balloons, birds and aeroplanes.

Many schemas can be seen in all aspects of children’s play, including their drawings.  For example if children have a vertical schema they often want to stick on to their drawings to build them up, or they will draw buildings with lots of floors.  This can also be seen in the types of stories children choose.  Children with an enveloping schema are often drawn to ‘lift the flap’ books for example.

When children are deep in thought in this way they are developing and working out mathematical and scientific concepts as they increase their knowledge and understanding of our world.  When children are displaying schematic behaviour they are intrinsically motivated to learn which results in often very long periods of concentration.

We notice many children displaying the above behaviour.  What makes this a schema is when it is seen over and over again, and does appear to be a fixation.  Because children are so motivated at such times it helps us if we recognise or spot patterns.  We can then use these interests to help us plan more effectively and appropriately for your children.  If you notice any patterns at home please let us know.

If you would like anymore information about schemas please ask a member of staff.



Information about writing

Within the Early Years Foundation Stage there are two separate and distinct aspects to writing.  One is about the process of writing and the other is about the skills of handwriting. 

Writing is independent and is learned by confident children who have been encouraged to experiment, explore, imitate and play with mark making.  Sometimes this is known as emergent writing and it is the process that children go through as they move from mark making towards writing with meaning. 

Handwriting is a physical skill that children are able to develop when they gain control over the muscles in their hands, bodies and eyes.  The small pieces of bone in the long fingers that we have as adults, is still immature and has not yet fully ossified (become bone like) in our youngest children.  It is important to note that boys hands ossify later than girls and children who were born prematurely can also develop later.  Boys often don’t choose mark making activities as readily as girls but this is probably because it is physically inappropriate.  Alongside this girls and boys brains are biologically different and girls have a larger area set aside at this age for linguistic processing.  As a result girls often learn to talk, read and write earlier than boys.  This does not mean that boys are not as intelligent as girls or that they need to practice more.  Children who are forced to hold tall thin pencils too soon risk the early onset of arthritis.  As this will also be uncomfortable and painful it will also put children off wanting to write in the future.

When we are developing the skills to support handwriting we understand that children need to develop whole body muscles.  This is so that messages can be memorized in the brain and transferred to smaller more precise movements when the children let us know through their play that the time is appropriate.  We offer lots of opportunities to do this in every area of continuous provision, for example we look at balance on the crates and tires; shoulder stability through playing with streamers; forearm control through construction play, screwing and unscrewing nuts and bolts; wrist stability through using decorators brushes and grasp through using gardening tools and cutting up fruit for snack time.  Our new movement area is also great for developing the motor muscle memory that will be required for handwriting.

At nursery we provide a variety of tools that are inviting to all children and which encourage girls and boys to have a go, from dinosaur and superhero pens to chunky chalks and flashing pencils.  Alongside this inviting array of tools, children also have to see a real reason for writing, there has got to be a purpose.  We ensure that there are opportunities to mark make within many areas of continuous provision; taking messages in the role-play area, writing shopping lists, making plans for new builds within the construction area, making cards, writing letters and sending invitations in the mark making area.  Children also have tools to make marks in the play dough, clay and sand.

We understand that some children need to be active in order to learn and we ensure that we provide mark making opportunities outdoors everyday.  Children are able to paint the walls, take down notes in the police incident books, mark out number plates, draw and label parking spaces and write parking tickets!

It is vital that we ensure children have the confidence to have a go with mark making.  We must value and encourage all of their early marks in the same as way as we do their early speech.  We wouldn’t correct early attempts to talk, but rather we would allow it to develop naturally by role modeling and joining in the conversation.  This is also how we develop writing skills, by providing the children with as many opportunities as possible to see us write.

“Scribbling is to writing what babbling is to talking.  As a babbling child thinks he talks, so the scribbling child thinks he writes.  One is as natural to him, as universal, as much a part of his growth as the other.  He needs no urging to practice either.”                                                                  (Harriet Inedell:1898)

Children’s marks often emerge in similar patterns.  The following page shows the stages of emergent writing which will continue to develop throughout primary school.  There is no age linked to any stage and some stages can last for several months.  This process must not be rushed but must be allowed to take its own course in order to ensure that children have secure foundations.  Patience at this crucial early phase of development will enable children to develop the skills necessary to become competent and enthusiastic writers.