In this article, we consider the schemas that Thea displays in her explorations, in particular containment and her making and talking about 'trajectories' in space. This schema leads to concepts of length and distance.
She is also fascinated with 'enclosure' and 'envelopment'. These schemas lead to concepts such as 'volume', 'capacity', 'area' and 'subdivision of space'.
Case study
Thea (four years two months) is in her second year at nursery. The first time the Pen Green nursery team discussed Thea with Chris Athey was in relation to a video sequence where Thea (then three years one month) worked in the beach area. She used a spade to fill a metal bowl with wet sand. She then, carefully and deliberately, used the spade to smooth the sand in the container. She moved the spade from side to side (a trajectory).
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