The Power of Child-led Repetition

08/07/2023

The Power of Child-led Repetition

It helps to notice if there is any of [our work] that we dread to do, and if there is, then study that thing and find some way to do it differently.
Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1867-1957, diarist and journalist

In The Whole Child Alphabet, Stacy Benge shares two themes that permeate this wonderful new book from Exchange Press:

Interactive experiences make connections and wire the brain. Repetition of those experiences strengthens that wiring.
[Children’s] brains tell them what they need to develop and their bodies respond appropriately. …Their actions tell us exactly what they need for development and learning.

Speaking to repetition, Benge differentiates between child-led repetition and adult ‘drill’ activities. For example:

Children asking for the same book to be read multiple times at group time for several days in a row, compared with an adult doing the same thing at every group time including calendar, weather chart, and singing the same songs.
Children singing the same song with fun sounds in it repeatedly during outside play, compared with an adult going through alphabet cards every day asking what sounds the letters make.
A child drawing the same picture every day for a week, slightly changing it each time, placing the first letter of their name at the top, compared with an adult having children do traceable worksheets every day for the letter of the week.

Benge concludes:

"If a child is repeating an action or a play scenario, there is a reason, there is a need for it. Maybe they are trying to figure something out. It might be they want to improve upon something. Or perhaps they just truly enjoy the experience. Whatever it may be, we need to trust that children are following their instincts, and create an environment that encourages that."

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.