Trajectory Play: Why kids like to knock things over and how to support them
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What does a baby dropping their spoon off their tray, a toddler splashing in puddles, and a child knocking over towers have in common? They’re all exploring the trajectory play schema!
Trajectory play is all about movement and centers on watching how items move and land. It also tends to be one of the earliest play schemas children begin to explore. New to ‘play schemas’? Check out our intro blog 9 Powerful Play Schemas: What they are and why they matter.
At its core, trajectory play requires movement. Therefore, while exploring this play schema, children understandably make things move! Children use actions like kicking, throwing, pushing, spinning, jumping. But honestly, the options are endless!
We want to support and encourage exploration of all play schemas. Without a doubt, I get the most questions about how to support trajectory play. Often, these questions come when there is already something that is interpreted as being ‘a problem’. My biggest recommendation is to embed opportunities for trajectory play exploration naturally within the environment. Of course, supporting play that focuses on movement can be tricky - particularly in the classroom setting or indoor environments. But don’t worry, we have you covered ;-)
So why should we support trajectory play?
I often get the question, “Why would we want to support play that involves a lot of throwing and crashing?” Children learn valuable information about their environment and the world they live in through exploring play schemas. Exploring trajectory-based play allows children to experiment with movement and physics and math. They have an opportunity to explore how forces and direction impact how things move. Understanding what a child is interested in helps us to both suggest additional activities and to truly join a child in their play by following their lead. If that’s not enough, we also know that children will continue exploring a play schema of interest until they are finished. So basically even if we wanted to stop a child from exploring this schema (which hopefully we don’t!), we likely wouldn’t be very successful…
Most often, when people have questions about trajectory play, they are expressing some ‘safety’ concern and/or trying to figure out how to support a child’s interests and preferences indoors. So that’s what we’ll do here!
Meet (or Re-meet) Rex!
Let’s start by considering Rex. We introduced Rex in our 9 Powerful Play Schemas: What they are and why they matter blog and will problem solve further here :-)
Rex *loves* blocks. In her classroom, many of her classmates enjoy building tall structures with blocks. Rex loves to knock over block structures. Whenever Rex sees a tall block creation, Rex races over to kick or push it over. Rex is thrilled. At times, her peers are not thrilled. Rex’s parents and teachers try to help Rex build with blocks but Rex either leaves the play space or watches her peers build. As soon as someone has a tall tower, Rex is right there to knock it over (seem familiar? You may know the book “Rex Wrecks It” - affiliate link).
Okay, so now that we know Rex is interested in exploring trajectory play, we know that things like encouraging building with blocks or playing with cars or creating roads using the blocks is likely not going to meet or support Rex’s interests or needs. Instead, we need to find ways to allow Rex to explore trajectory play in a way that also aligns with the environment.
How can we support Rex?
For some children, they are able to combine play schemas to first build their own towers (connecting schema) and then enjoy watching them crash (trajectory schema) - fantastic! For other children, the connecting play schema of building does not align with their current play interests. Instead of requiring Rex to build their own towers to knock over, we can create towers that are *intended* to be knocked down. As a parent or adult, instead of building towers to encourage and model how to build with blocks, we can build quick towers for a child to knock down (with strategic placement of towers and other people for safety).
If you’re a teacher, you might be thinking, “but I don’t have time to sit in blocks center with one child”. If a child is knocking over another child’s block structures, you’re already spending time problem solving, comforting, and redirecting the children in this center ;-). Not to mention, trying to redirect a child who has a strong interest in trajectory play to an unrelated play schema is likely not going to end positively (and will often take even more one-on-one time).
Spending a few minutes building towers to be knocked down increases the likelihood that a child will be more responsive to transitioning to a similar, trajectory based, activity which requires less one-on-one time. If we don’t spend that time, not only are we spending time comforting children who have had their structures knocked over, we are then also engaged in challenges trying to transition a child out of blocks center who really just wants to watch some blocks fall!
But, I promise that I hear you. Transitions are tricky. Not to mention, transitions when a child thinks they might be ‘in trouble’ are even more challenging - especially if the child has a PDA type profile. So I come with some suggestions :-)
“For some children, redirection can result in an initial fear or shame response. When shame is triggered, the response is likely going to be ‘no’ - even if it was a great suggestion”
How to Support Successful Transitions to Alternative Trajectory Play Activities
Transitions are tricky. Transitions can be particularly tricky when we are asking someone to change activity shortly after something that involves throwing items or knocking things down. Many children are sensitive to the idea that throwing or knocking or crashing or kicking items is ‘bad’ or ‘unexpected’ for an environment. Why does that matter? For some children, redirection can result in an initial fear or shame response. When shame is triggered, the response is likely going to be ‘no’ - even if it was a great suggestion and even if you weren’t ‘mad’ or ‘upset’. When it comes to triggering a shame response or triggering a child’s anxiety around being ‘wrong’ or doing things ‘wrong’, it doesn’t matter your intentions. The child’s response will be based on the child’s interpretation. Interested in learning more about the shame/anger loop? Check out Avoiding Shame: How to Choose the Right Children’s Books on Anger.
We can help break this cycle by first providing supportive engagement in the current play schema of interest. Of course, there can be times when it doesn’t seem possible to safely explore how things move in the current fashion. In these instances, my biggest recommendation is to notice what they are enjoying and to draw parallels between what they are currently observing and what they could also observe in the new task. Keeping with our blocks example, this might look like:
“It’s so fun to knock over tall towers and see how the different shaped blocks and pieces tumble and fall! I have some pendulum painting set up so we can see how we can change the paint dripping on the paper” or “let’s check out bowling together and see how many toys/pins we can knock over”.
You’ll notice that I don’t include anything related to not doing what they were previously doing. Why? I operate from the guideline: If a child already knows that they aren’t supposed to do ‘the thing’, we don’t tell them not to do ‘the thing’. Why? Because if they already know they weren’t supposed to do ‘the thing’ but they did it anyway, there is something else going on. Reminding them yet again not to do ‘the thing’ isn’t going to provide any additional support or information. It’s simply going to give them the same support/information/resources/options that they had available to them when they did ‘the thing’ ;-)
In instances when we are suggesting an alternative play option due to safety or environmental concerns, we want to try and keep as many components as possible similar. With our blocks example, the trajectory play being explored is learning about how relatively heavy objects fall. As a result, when considering alternative options, we want to offer choices that have different falling patterns (pendulum painting), knocking over elements (bowling), pressure options (hammering pegs/tees into styrofoam) or create a similar noise after landing (domino train). As always, we will have a more positive response when we genuinely are showing interest and caring in finding a supportive alternative.
HOw to Set yourself up for success with trajectory play
When you have children interested in trajectory play, it can be helpful to have multiple different types of trajectory play opportunities and experiences naturally available. We can then rotate or change these activities relatively frequently. If you’re in a classroom setting, consider what types of schema play are available in your different centers.
Just because a child is interested in trajectory play, that doesn’t mean that every trajectory play schema suggestion will resonate with all children (that would make things too easy!). There can be additional elements in trajectory play schemas which a child can be observing or experimenting with which we need to take into consideration. This is one of the biggest reasons why it’s so important and helpful to notice what the child is interested in and discussing in their play. While trajectory play centers on movement, we know that light objects (scarves, leaves) move differently than heavy objects (blocks, balls). We also know that movement also has different factors - a child might be interested in the action of ‘falling’ or how liquids move differently from solids.
It’s all well and good to share that having options is helpful, but it can feel overwhelming to figure out what those options may be. While many activities can be engaged in both inside and outside, I know that finding ‘indoor-specific’ activities tends to feel like the biggest challenge. Below, I share six of my favorite indoor trajectory play recommendations.
6 Indoor-friendly trajectory Play ideas
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
Balloons
Balloons are a wonderful option for inside play. Since balloons are soft and light, they are less likely to cause harm if they hit another child and balloons rarely knock over items/materials.
‘Keep it Up’ - work to keep the balloon floating in the air. Notice how the type of action (tapping, kicking, belly bounces) changes how the balloon moves or how high it floats into the air.
Balloon toss - pair balloons with baskets or buckets. Work to toss the balloons into the containers.
Attach to the ceiling/tall structures- using string or streamers, attach balloons to the ceiling or under tall loft structures. Notice how the balloons move when tapped in different ways. Attach balloons with different length streamers, how does this change the movement?
Further Explorations: Add different amounts of air to the balloons. Do the balloons move differently when they contain different amounts of air?
Note, balloons are considered a chocking hazard for children under the age of 8. Uninflated balloons and pieces of broke balloons are considered to be particularly hazardous.
Balls
I know, I know, I said ‘indoor play’ options. Hear me out! We can often adapt activities or balls to support inside and outside exploration. Throwing, bouncing, kicking, rolling, dropping are all wonderful ways to explore linear movement! Beach balls and foam balls make for some great indoor play. There’s also a great ball specifically designed for indoor play - Ollyball!
Ollyball: To me, this ball is a cross between a ball and a balloon. It’s been designed and developed to allow children to ‘play ball’ inside. This can be a great alternative to balloons with similar, group games, still being available. Not to mention, if you have someone who just loves throwing/kicking/bouncing, this is a supportive option that addresses many of the usual safety and environmental concerns.
Shooting hoops: Basketball hoops are available for both indoor and outdoor play. You can also create your own ‘baskets’ using hula hoops or other containers (boxes, baskets, cups)
Dropping from a height: drop balls from taller structures (play structures, lofts). Notice how the balls fall and also how they bounce/response. Pair this play with some parachutes - how does this change the movement?
Further Explorations: Let’s get creative! Explore bouncing balls on different surfaces and textures (tile, carpet, pillows, concrete). How does this change how the ball moves? What about with different weights of a ball or different sizes? When dropping balls from a height, can we change how high the ball rebounds?
Bowling
Bowling pairs several exciting elements of trajectory play - both the rolling/movement of the bowling ball and also the movement of the pins falling over. And, let’s be honest, knocking things down can be pretty exciting! This can be a great option for those who just love knocking over towers.
Bowling Set: Indoor friendly bowling sets are readily available in a variety of sizes, weights, and textures! Due to the differences, all of these sets will respond differently - both in terms of how the ‘ball’ moves and also how the pins fall. We can expand on this exploration further by adding ramps or tubes to roll the ball. Notice how the pins fall in different movement patterns and directions. What creates these differences?
DIY Bowling: Sure, a pre-made bowling set can be convenient. But it’s also certainly feasible to make your own! For lighter ‘bowling pins’, decorate empty paper towel or toilet rolls. For heavier pins, fill plastic bottles with water, rice, or beans. Experiment with different amounts within the bottles. Does that change how the pins fall or how easy/hard it is to knock over the pins? Fill your bottles with other materials (pom poms, paper scraps, grass, leaves, the options are endless!). Does that change the experience?
Further Explorations: What else could be used as bowling pins? Explore using different shapes and objects while keeping the concept of the game the same. what does bowling look like if we use cups instead of pins or bottles? What if we replaced the bowling pins with empty milk cartons or show boxes? Do they fall in the same way or does that change the movement?
Reminder: If you opt to create and/or decorate your own bowling set, it’s important to keep in mind that a child with a strong interest in trajectory play may not be interested in the creation process. That’s okay!
Catapults
There’s just something about watching items fly through the air! Even more exciting when you’re the one that flung them up there! Catapults involve trajectory movement in their own action and also in the action of what they are ‘flinging’. Perhaps surprisingly, many catapult activities are very ‘indoor friendly’.
Pom-pom catapults: use popsicle sticks, a spoon, and rubber bands to make a catapult. Building these catapults may be trickier for younger children, decorating the popsicle sticks is always an option! Place pom poms in the spoon and catapult away! There are many DIY directions for how to build these catapults along with some additional options for what to throw (ex: mini marshmallows, pieces of tin foil).
Games: many games naturally involve catapults. While these games may have been designed with competing in mind, I recommend altering the game. Instead of playing against each other, use the materials to explore movement and the catapulting process! Spoiler: I currently have a blog in the works that outlines why and how I adapt ‘competitive games’ and activities that I recommend instead :-)
The game options are endless. I’ve linked to some of my favorites below:
Further Explorations: Create additional challenges with your catapults. Can you catapult the pom pom into a bucket or onto a card/picture placed on the table? Notice how the movement changes based on how you press/use the catapult. Try dipping the pom poms in water, do they move differently when wet versus dry?
Dominos
Yes, we can use dominos to play the actual game dominos - but they are also perfect for those who love exploring the movement related to items falling! Because dominos are smaller and lighter, they make less noise when they fall (but can be trickier to set-up).
Domino Trails: carefully place dominos in lines and patterns. Once your pattern is complete, knock over one domino and watch them all fall! Getting the spacing just right can be a learning curve. Notice what happens when the dominos are placed close together or far apart.
Domino Train: placing dominos individually can be time consuming and tricky! Not to mention, the act of placing dominoes may not resonate with someone interested in trajectory play. So let’s at least partially automate the process! These domino trains can be a supportive option. We’ve successfully trialed this one :-) But there are certainly many options
Further Explorations: Check out some videos of dominoes falling! There are some incredibly creative and inspiring domino creations. Consider combining domino trails with catapults - can you catapult an object and knock over the start of a domino line? How does the spacing of the dominoes alter how the dominoes move and fall?
Funnels and Pipes
Funnels and pipes provide wonderful opportunities to observe how water or balls or rice (or basically anything you can place inside the funnel or pipe!) move. Pairing multiple shapes of pipes and even pipes and funnels together allows for intricate exploration of movement through these creations.
Water table: Water play with funnels and pipes allows for creative exploration of trajectory movement during inside or outside play. Add some funnels to a bucket of water along with some jars or buckets for pouring.
Rice/beans: Smaller items such as rice and beans move nicely through tubes and funnels. Consider adding these items to sensory tables for exploration and play.
Toilet rolls and paper towel rolls: These items function perfectly as ‘pipes’. Use painters tape to place these items at different heights and angles on a wall. Roll small balls through the rolls and notice how they land and continue moving even after the exit the tube.
Further Explorations: Provide access to both water and rice/beans for observations into how these items move differently through the tunnels and funnels. Consider placing small balls or ping-pong balls through the pipes. Notice how the movement changes both through the pipes and also once they exit the pipe. Hold the funnels up high over jars of buckets. Add water/rice/beans to the funnels. How does changing the height of the funnel alter the movement of the water/rice/beans?
There are oh-so many more options for exploring trajectory play inside (think parachutes, feathers, yo-yos, paint splatters, paper airplanes, sensory scarves) the list is honestly endless! Hopefully this has helped you to start thinking creativity about ways to embed trajectory play into your centers and/or into your daily activities and routines. Hoping that more trajectory play ideas will be added to this list? It’s in the works! Join the mailing list to ensure you’re one of the first to learn when this project is completed :-)
Remember, trajectory play is all about exploring movement. Children will explore their interests until they have learned all that they want/need to learn. Let’s find ways to support that exploration - even when inside :-)