Play schemas in practice: 10 trajectory schema play ideas

What is the trajectory play schema?

The trajectory play schema reflects an interest in how objects move through space.

This sort of action is present in all sorts of play. But you'll certainly notice it in activities like:

• Throwing objects
• Dropping things, or pushing something off a ledge
• Rolling balls or other ojbects down an incline
• Swinging on a swingset, or pushing someone else on a swingset
• Playing with the flow of water

Some of these behaviors might come off as reckless at first glance. But understanding play schemas helps us see the experimentation and learning occurring when children engage in these forms of play. Your job is to help children do these things in a safe way, while still encouraging them to explore the cause-and-effect actions that seem to fascinate them. Like all play schemas, the trajectory play schema occurs naturally, so it’s not something you need to teach children. But when we understand the characteristics of different play schemas, we can then provide opportunities for children to play in ways that extend their learning.

Here are 10 ways to engage children in the trajectory play schema:

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1. Become a test pilot for paper planes

Source: Early Impact learning

Kids Activities Blog

Image Source: One child

How it connects to play schemas: Children who engage with trajectory schema play will be fascinated by the movement of paper planes as they fly. Paper airplanes are easy to put together with materials you’ve already got on hand, and watching their motion can also be a miniature physics lesson for little ones.

What you’ll need:

• Paper
• Scissors
• Tape

How you do it: There are lots of different ways to make a paper plane. You might start by showing children an example you made as a child, and then let them experiment with their approach. To make it more interesting, you can make a flying distance challenge where you can use tape for starting and finishing lines, and children can fly their planes towards the finish line while enjoying the soaring plane.

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2. It’s time for the little golfers in the house

Source: What do we do all day

Image Source: Homesthetics

How it connects to play schemas: This activity connects to the trajectory schema by engaging children with aiming and rolling balls. You can add some competitive element as well, or simply keep it as unstructured fun. Along the way, this skill game will help boost children’s fine motor skills, too.

 What you will need:

• Cardboard box
• Scissors
• Marbles/ ping-pong or golf balls

How you do it: Take an empty cardboard box and cut a few holes on both sides. Position the holes on different levels with a varied distance between them. Use ping-pong balls, golf balls or marbles and roll through the holes. You can add point cards above the holes and turn the game into a competition, or you can also decorate the box if you’d like to bring out some artistic creativity along the way.

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3. Paint a masterpiece with rolling marbles 

Source: Busy Blooming Joy

Image Source: Art for Kids Hub

How it connects to play schemas: Rolling marbles in paint on paper draw out children’s creative, artistic impulses while exploring a medium that’s extra fascinating due to the trajectory schema. With its artistic process, this activity allows children to explore different materials, colors, and textures by the rolling movement of the marbles and enhances their ability to understand the cause-and-effect phenomena.  

What you’ll need:

• Paint
• Marbles
• Jars
• Spoons
• Cardboard box

How you do it: Start by placing your paper inside the cardboard box, to help contain your marbles and your mess. Prepare jars with different paints and add marbles to them. Put the lid back on and shake them around in the paint. Use the spoon to bring them out. Have your child start rolling the marbles in the cardboard and create a beautiful pattern. 

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4. Get outside for water play sponge toss

Source: Early Impact Learning

Image Source: Puddle Wonderful Learning

How it connects to play schemas: This activity is another skill-based throwing game, activating the trajectory play schema by requiring children to gauge their toss towards specific targets. While the throwing works on children’s motor skills, you can add numbers, shapes, or letters to your target for a new dimension of learning.

What you’ll need:

• Sponges
• Water
• Bucket
• Play tray
• Chalk

How you do it: Place your play tray against a wall, or use chalk to draw throwing targets on the ground. Then, line your children in front of them with buckets of water and sponges and let them toss their sponges. You turn this activity into a number recognition or phonics game by adding values to your targets — ”Who can throw their sponge at the number nine?”

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5. Launching squishy pom-poms with a handmade catapult

Source: I can teach my child

Image Source: Pinterest

How it connects to play schemas: This activity harnesses children’s interest in throwing things and keeping an eye on where those things land. The repeated pattern of slinging the pom-poms in the air causes the ball to fly in different trajectories, and allows children to explore the physics behind their throws. Plus, constructing your mini catapults is a crafts adventure all in itself.

What you’ll need:

• Cork
• Wooden popsicle sticks
• Spoon
• Tape
• Pom-poms or cotton balls

How you do it: First, build your catapults. Secure a spoon to one end of popsicle stick with glue or tape, and at the other end, use a rubber band to create a ‘hinge’ joining point with another popsicle stick. Wedge a cork in between the two popsicle sticks to create some tension, giving you the spring action you’ll need. Then, decorate your finished catapult however you like. Let your child put the pom-poms or soft cotton balls on the spoon, and watch their faces as they watch their mini catapults launch the pom-poms across the room.

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6. Create a domino effect with blocks

Source: Worms Eye View

Image Source: Worms Eye View

How it connects to play schemas: Lining blocks in a straight line to create a domino effect is another great way to introduce trajectory play schema in the early years. Transfixed by the falling blocks, children will also have to consider the physical properties of the blocks, and why they fall the way they do. The movement of the falling row of blocks creates excites any child who’s enthusiastic about the trajectory schema!

What you’ll need: 

You only require building blocks and lots of space to create the long lines of blocks. 

How you do it: Let the child build long horizontal lines with blocks by themselves and knock them down, creating a ripple effect movement of the blocks. For younger children, you may need to demonstrate the process first — but after that, let children branch off in their own play.

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7. Jump and bounce along with the alphabet

Source: The Imagination Tree

Image Source: The Imagination Tree

How it connects to play schemas: With their fascination with how things move, trampoline jumping is another activity that helps activate trajectory schema play in early years. It helps children understand how their own body moves in space, and how gravity pulls them back down for another bounce on the trampoline. It also develops gross motor skills and balance in children as they use the brain and body simultaneously. 

What you’ll need:

• Trampoline
• Chalk (optional)

How you do it: Draw alphabets or numbers on a trampoline with chalk so that children can jump from one spot to another. You might try a sequence of numbers, different animals, or another relevant theme from your curriculum and learning goals. Set up the trampoline outdoors, or inside in a safe location, and let the children have their fun. 

8. Soar high on a tire swing

Source: Early Impact

Image Source: Early Impact

How it connects to play schemas: Swinging is another classic example of trajectory schemas in play. The repetitive, pendulum-like movement develops motor skills and coordination in children, and engages multiple muscles at once. This simple swinging is extremely rewarding for children, and helps them learn how to hold their bodies to work with the momentum and gravity of their motion.

What you’ll need:

• Tire
• Rope

How you do it: An outdoor tire swing can be easily created in an outdoor area of an early-year nursery by reusing an old tire and rope. Suspend the tire from a rope and tie it around a tree branch or a well-built, horizontal post. 

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9. Splishing and splashing through a water pipe maze

Source: Early Impact

Image Source: All For The Boys

How it connects to play schemas: Water splashing and manipulation can fall under different play schemas, but is relevant for the trajectory schema as well. It allows children to enjoy the interesting irregular movement of water through different pathways of pipes, and if presented properly, can boost their experimental and problem-solving capabilities.

What you’ll need:

• Water
• Pipes or tubes
• Balls
• Tape
• Pallet

How you do it: Attach a pallet to a wall and create a pathway with pipes or tubes. Secure the pipes with tape. Make sure the tubes are movable, so children can create their pathways to manipulate the flow of water. They can also pour balls with the water and predict their path through the pipelines.

10. Toy car derby: Ramp rally racing

Source: The Toddler PlayBook

Image Source: Pinterest

How it connects to play schemas: Ramps can be a key tool for engaging children with trajectory schema play, as it allows for all sorts of options for rolling objects. Using toy cars can give this activity some more structure, and turn the activity into cooperative play with one another.

What you’ll need:

• Cardboard box
• Tape 
• Glue
• Pens

How you do it: Take an empty cardboard box to use as the base for the ramp, by folding the cardboard into an angled surface you can set it on the floor. If you like, you can cut rectangular pieces out of another cardboard box and glue them on the ramp, to create separate lanes for your cars. Once it's complete, let children roll their cars or balls down the lanes.