Dynamic disconnect

Aidan's schema interest in trajectories has met an emerging schema of disconnection to give us dynamic disconnections. A very interesting, but often very inconvenient combination.

Aidan loves:
- swooshing things off tables or out of bags
- throwing or shoveling sand, dirt or small pebbles so that they explode skywards in all directions
- spraying the hose around (preferring a spray to a single stream)
- breaking things into small pieces, preferably by jumping on them, or hammering them
- throwing a number of small items at once.

He showed an interest in our broken-apart-for-a-decent-wash coffee plunger.

Our expandable kitchen table gets sawn in half with a toy saw countless times during the day. Strangely, I feel compelled to put it back together again each time.

I yelled "Stop hitting the glass with your light sabre! Do you want to break it?!"

"Yes" replies Aidan, honestly rather than cheekily. Thankfully redirection is achieved.

And it's not just being destructive. I was surprised when Aidan showed little real interest in helping to demolish a wall when we re-did Isabelle's room. I thought he would love it. Maybe he wasn't fully engaged because making holes is not as satisfying for him as the disconnect, the scattering or piece-making.

Aidan unsuccessfully tried to join a game when Isabelle and two other children were tying each other together with wool. Aidan's play offer was to try and cut the wool with scissors. He was probably quite confused at the negative reaction he got.

He seemed devastated when his toy saw (a.k.a. disconnection instrument) broke. Fortunately it was able to be repaired.

I will watch with interest to see how things pan out. In the meantime, schema theory gives me an analytical framework for watching his development, ideas for suitable redirections/channeling of energy and clues for how he is perceiving his world.