Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play in Early Childhood

The host of the internationally popular early childhood podcast “That Early Childhood Nerd” provides a framework for understanding the importance of free play.

Free play is disappearing from the lives of too many young children, leaving them vulnerable to negative effects on their physical and mental health, social and emotional growth, and academic development. Heather Bernt-Santy makes a powerful, research-based case for taking children’s right to play seriously. She helps readers understand and resist the pressures and cultural influences that set up barriers to free play. Early care and education practitioners will learn how to see, support, and interpret play to those who are skeptical or unsure of play’s benefits. Each chapter includes a scenario that offers readers the opportunity to closely observe children’s play through the lens of Chris Athey’s schema play theory. This framework will help educators advocate for play by identifying its contributions to children’s overall development.

Book Features:

• Introduces Chris Athey’s theory of schema play and explores eight play schemas, including relevant research and child play scenarios.
• Offers guidance for explaining the importance of play to a variety of stakeholders, including colleagues, families, program administrators, and policymakers.
• Provides a framework to help educators identify learning in children’s play and to extend the learning they see with young children (from birth to 5 years old).
• Explores how free play supports school readiness, brain development, social-emotional development, literacy development, and math and science learning.

Heather Bernt-Santy is a speaker, education consultant, writer, professor, and host of the internationally popular early childhood podcast “That Early Childhood Nerd.”

"Heather engages readers' curiosity to come closer and fall down the rabbit hole of schema play so as to understand the important role it plays in advocating for free play in early childhood."
— From the Foreword by Lisa Murphy, CEO and founder, Ooey Gooey, Inc.

"A brilliant and powerful analysis of how and why we must base childhood education upon the human behavior that young people yearn for and love to do most, the thing they are biologically and emotionally engineered to do, and the activity we are taking away from them—play, in all its magnificent and life-changing forms."
—William Doyle, coauthor, Let the Children Play

“What a gift it is to catch a glimpse of Jaden, Ann, Davina and Max at play. These children (and others) have stories, and Heather Bernt-Santy is helping tell them, in new ways, so that we can hear the schema of their play. This book flows from disrupting what we think we know of schema, playing next into a reordering of how to ‘interpret the language of childhood play,’ and on to a new advocacy for free play.”
—Josh Thompson, professor of early childhood care and education, East Texas A&M University

“During uncertain times, when young children’s opportunities for free play are increasingly under threat, Heather Bernt-Santy brings fresh insights into the value of free play and why it is worth defending. Brimming with practical examples, this accessible book shows how looking through a schema play lens can make learning visible.”
—Alison Clark, professor of early childhood education, University of South-Eastern Norway

“Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play in Early Childhood is an engaging and insightful guide that transforms the way we see children’s actions—turning what might look like ‘misbehavior’ into evidence of deep learning—and equips educators and families with powerful tools to defend every child’s right to play. Heather Bernt-Santy blends research, practical examples, and advocacy strategies into a must-read for anyone committed to honoring childhood curiosity.
—Barrie Olson, chief academic officer, Literacy Design Collaborative

“Heather approaches advocating for play cleverly and intelligently. Connecting to schema theory offers early childhood professionals and play advocates a powerful avenue to overcome the barriers and challenges that interfere with the implementation of play as the main vehicle for young children's learning. This is a must-read book!”
—Miriam Beloglovsky, founder, Playful Transformation, LLC

Contents

Foreword Lisa Murphy  xi

Acknowledgments  xiii

1.  What Is Schema Play Theory?  1

Jean Piaget  2

Chris Athey  2

Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play  7

It’s Not All in Our Heads  9

2.  Free Play Pedagogy: Benefits and Barriers  11

Benefits of Free Play Pedagogy in Early Childhood  12

Barriers to Free Play Pedagogy in Early Childhood  21

3.  The Transforming Schema  27

What Is a Transforming Schema?  27

Transporting Story: Ann and Miguel  27

Transforming Story: Jerrold  32

Supporting the Transforming Schema in Your Play Space  36

4.  The Trajectory Schema  39

What Is a Trajectory Schema?  39

Trajectory Story: Davina  40

Trajectory Story: Jaden  43

Supporting the Trajectory Schema in Your Play Space  47

5.  The Transporting Schema  49

What Is a Transporting Schema?  49

Transporting Story: Bert  49

Transporting Story: Zahra  54

Supporting the Transporting Schema in Your Play Space  58

6.  The Rotation and Circularity Schema  61

What Is a Rotation and Circularity Schema?  61

Rotation and Circularity Story: Elijah  62

Rotation and Circularity Story: Marta  66

Supporting the Rotation and Circularity Schema in Your Play Space  70

7.  The Enclosing and Enveloping Schema  71

What Is an Enclosing and Enveloping Schema?  71

Enclosing and Enveloping Story: George  72

Enclosing and Enveloping Story: Warren  76

Supporting the Enclosing and Enveloping Schema in Your Play Space  80

8.  The Connecting and Disconnecting Schema  81

What Is a Connecting and Disconnecting Schema?  81

Connecting and Disconnecting Story: Millie  82

Connecting and Disconnecting Story: Joan and Mishika  86

Supporting the Connecting and Disconnecting Schema in Your Play Space  90

9.  The Positioning and Ordering Schema  93

What Is a Positioning and Ordering Schema?  93

Positioning and Ordering Story: Caleb  93

Positioning and Ordering Story: Max  98

Supporting the Positioning and Ordering Schema in Your Play Space  103

10.  The Orientation and Perspective Schema  105

What Is an Orientation and Perspective Schema?  105

Orientation and Perspective Story: Alejandro  105

Orientation and Perspective Story: Link  110

Supporting the Orientation and Perspective Schema in Your Play Space  114

Conclusion  115

References  117

Index  121

About the Author  127