Core and radial is an interesting schema to observe as it combines the straight movements of trajectory schemas and the circular movements of rotation schemas. The word core here means centre, and radial means arranged in lines from a central point.
Think about how children typically draw a sun shining. They tend to draw a circle and then add lines or rays sticking outwards, fairly evenly spaced around the circumference of the circle. Or imagine the spokes on a bicycle tyre – this is another typical core and radial image.
These ‘sun’ and ‘spokes’ shapes can also be found in our daily lives if we imagine how we might cut a pizza or cake, or picture the sun icon being used as an emoticon or to indicate sunshine. In addition, any structure where we see straight lines or poles fanning out from a round nut or screw head depicts this core and radial image.
Some children can become fascinated with drawing and creating these images, either on paper or using various different materials. They may also choose to move their bodies, combining rotating and swinging movements.
Jayden (three years, ten months) used a stick to draw shapes in the mud. First, he drew circles and said, ‘This is a footprint, look!’ He then added lines to the circles, saying, ‘Look, claws, claws! It’s a Gruffalo footprint!’ Jayden then moved to a new patch of mud and drew more circles and lines and chatted about the Gruffalo footprints he was making.
John (four years, two months) was sitting in the graphics area at nursery. His key person had noticed that he had previously loved to draw circles or lines but today John drew both lines and circles together to make sun shapes. He told his key person that he had drawn lots of suns.
While she was ‘helping’ her mother in the kitchen, Lydia (18 months) made playdough cakes. She then began decorating her cakes with straws and repeatedly fixed them in the dough so they stuck up out of it. Her mother encouraged this play, saying to Lydia, ‘Have we made candles? Are they birthday cakes?’, and suggesting that they sing ‘Happy Birthday’ and count the straw candles together.
The core and radial schema is usually identified when children appear to be interested in both circular and straight movements. We may see them:
- twirling toys then letting go, like ‘shot-put’ or ‘hammer’ in athletics
- rolling balls along the ground or along ramps
- drawing circles and lines in their mark-making
- drawing ‘suns’
- drawing shapes like bicycle tyres
- creating a construction with many lines protruding from a central point
- unrolling the toilet paper
- making ‘birthday cakes’ or hedgehogs in playdough or clay
- using rolling pins and rolling playdough or clay
- twisting up a swing and unwinding it while sitting on it
- playing on a tyre swing that rotates as it swings back and forth
- enjoying rides at the fairground that both rotate and move in straight lines
- playing games that involve both straight lines and circular movements; for example, skittles or swing-ball
- engaging in bubble play, as children may be interested in the roundness of the bubbles combined with their trajectory in the wind – also it’s such fun!
INTERPRETING THE SCHEMA
Jayden uses his stick to make shapes that indicate an interest in core and radial. It would be interesting to note whether or not he has shown an interest in trajectory and rotational schemas. We do not know whether Jayden draws the circles already intending them to be footprints or if he looks at the shapes and decides that they could be footprints. By adding lines, he relates the way the drawing looks to the Gruffalo.
John has demonstrated an interest in both drawing lines and circles previously in his play. This particular drawing was significant because he was combining his interest in lines and circles and drawing ‘suns’.
This is fairly typical in terms of children’s development of drawing. They begin to make marks in a random scribbling phase, which develops into more controlled marks such as lines and circular movements. The circles get more and more advanced as children become more dexterous and their fine motor control increases. Their controlled marks now have meaning as children draw to represent their thoughts and ideas about the world around them. It is in this controlled scribbling phase that children tend to build on their skills of drawing lines and circles by combining them, just like John, making suns and radials.
Cathy Nutbrown said, ‘When spiders, spokes and sunshine appear in children’s drawings, they have most of the marks they need to write all the symbols in the written scripts of many languages. So, the early development of schemas through children’s physical movement provides an essential underpinning for eventually beginning to write.’
She is describing the shapes John was drawing, which can be referred to as core and radial, so his exploration of drawing these shapes is supporting his ability to write letters and thus will also help him as he becomes a writer over the next year or so.
Lydia was adding straws to her playdough ‘cakes’, making shapes that imply a core and radial schema. It would be interesting to note whether she also enjoyed representing these shapes in other ways, or was particularly interested in rolling the dough into balls or lines. Lydia is linking her construction with the dough to her understanding of the world around her and making a representation of a familiar concept – a birthday cake.
This schematic play is allowing Lydia to repeat the rolling and squeezing actions needed to manipulate the dough into cakes and also to repeat the pincer grip and hand-eye co-ordination required to put the candles in place.
EXTENDING THE SCHEMA
There are many ways that we can extend children’s learning if we observe the core and radial schema in any child under our care. Jayden may be interested in creating ‘Gruffalo footprints’ in other contexts; for example, tracing the shape in gloop (cornflour and water) or making a 3D model of the Gruffalo’s foot and claws with clay or dough.
John’s key person could plan for him to link his interest in the sun shapes with movement outside and encourage him to join in an obstacle course which combines rotation with trajectory movements.
Lydia’s mother was already extending her daughter’s thinking as she linked Lydia’s core and radial shapes with birthday cakes and candles. If Lydia demonstrated an interest in this, she might want to plan a mini birthday party for one of her toys and she could make the cake and candles.
The great thing about extending children’s schematic play is that the possibilities are endless. If we link new opportunities and activities into children’s fascinations and schemas, we can pick up on any number of possible lines of further enquiry.
Here are some suggestions for how we can support children who show an interest in the core and radial schema:
- Engage in cooking activities, particularly those that require us to roll out pastry or dough.
- Invest in some construction materials that allow rods and connectors to join.
- Offer opportunities for children to play with malleable materials such as playdough or clay and provide different materials for them to add; for example, straws, feathers, matchsticks, lolly sticks.
- Allow children to play on a tyre swing or twist a normal swing up and unwind it again.
- Create obstacle courses involving straight lines and rotation; for example, tunnels, skipping ropes and hoops.
- Investigate different wheels and bicycle spokes.
- Hang some balls on strings from the ceiling and allow children to spin or swing them.
- Thread beads and cotton reels.
- Play skittles or boules, as they combine the ball rolling and rotating with the straight movement.
- Provide opportunities for children to cut up pizza or cake in straight lines or provide pretend food with hook and loop fastenings that allow the cake/pizza to be cut.
- Create mini projects on hedgehogs – find different ways of representing hedgehogs in art/craft.
- Offer opportunities for children to create using different recycled materials; for example, plastic milk-bottle tops, cartons, boxes, tubes, straws.
MORE INFORMATION
Tamsin Grimmer’s Observing and Developing Schematic Behaviour in Young Children is a valuable guide, combining excellent information on child development with practical advice. The book opens with an explanation of why repeated experiences and schemas (repeated patterns of behaviour) are critical to young children’s learning. The following chapters explain, illustrate and offer suggestions on how to support 13 schemas, including connection, rotation and transportation. Rounding off the book is a helpful chapter on how to avoid misinterpreting some schematic behaviour.
To order a copy, visit: www.jkp.com/uk/observing-and-developing-schematic-behaviour-in-young-children-2.html
This is an edited extract from ‘Core and Radial’, chapter five of Observing and Developing Schematic Behaviour in Young Children – A professional’s guide for supporting children’s learning, play and development by Tamsin Grimmer (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, £14.99)