ABSTRACT
Sometimes children behave in confusing or intriguing ways that are difficult for us to fathom, for example always throwing things, plugging the sink with tissue paper, or unravelling the toilet roll. This chapter reinterprets these behaviours as schematic and considers how we can respond more appropriately by finding the children an alternative experience which taps into their fascination or schema. Schemas help children to represent and develop their ideas about the world through repeated actions or thinking. Schemas are not random, they tend to be methodical, logical and systematic ways of learning where children are gathering information through their senses, and interacting with people, objects and the environment.
