Edward was one of 58 children studied by workers and parents as part of a study on Well-being and Resilience at the Pen Green Nursery. Within the larger study, eight children were studied in greater depth in order to explore connections between cognitive and emotional development. Schematic theory and attachment theory were used as frameworks for analysing the observations. Video observations were made over a period of 18 months. These were viewed and analysed by a researcher, Edward's mother and Edward's Key Person in the nursery. Edward found separating from his mother extremely painful and repeatedly used his play with objects to explore "separation" and "connection". It is argued that children's repeated actions may be prompted by current emotional needs and that links can be made between children's schemata (repeated patterns of action) and emotional development by drawing on psychoanalytic theory. The author also acknowledges the novelty of this approach for her, as a teacher, although these kinds of interpretation are common within the fields of play therapy and psychotherapy and are used increasingly in education. (Contains 1 note.)