I’ve noticed in my work with children that I naturally (or perhaps subconsciously) revisit activities that we have enjoyed and they soon become part of the culture of how we spend our time together. In other words, we have developed rhythms or a bit of a repertoire as our “go to’ structure for our times together. When we start our session we have a chat about how we will spend our time together, remembering things we have done before, with input from them and from me. We revisit this as we go along, revising any plans if we are running out of time or wanting to add in something unexpected instead. By doing this together the children participate in planning, thinking ahead and I have their “buy-in” for things already agreed. This is helpful if they have a tendency towards lots of ideas but very little follow-through. Evidence shows that children learn more from revisiting activities and experiences than from new things all the time. As they repeat things the learning is embedded and there is opportunity to extend their learning and build their skills. Along the way I add in new possibilities and notice when they show an interest about something new; with a view to adding that in to our time together. For example, I noticed that one youth I work with was interested in QR Codes and this reminded me of “Geo- caching” which we now do together as a shared interest in the community.
Excerpt from Repetition and Child Development in Montessori Education | Montessori Academy
“Why is Repetition Important?
• Repetition helps to strengthen the brain’s neural processors for learning
• Repetition teaches children to practice, master and retain knowledge
• Repetition provides the opportunity for practice and reinforcement
• Repetition is needed for skill mastery and success
• Children learn through repetition and memorisation
• Children learn self-discipline and critical reflection through repetition
• Through repetition of movement, coordination is improved
• Through repetition, children learn to differentiate variations and differences in the world around them
• Through repetition, children develop the confidence to progress
• Repetition teaches children to internalise concepts
• Higher order repetition such as synthesis, analysis and application develop the child’s intelligence” It’s great to know that what are natural rhythms for me as a Teacher are supported by the evidence and that seemingly small things like revisiting activities and experiences with children, develops their brains and strengthens their neural pathways. And if it’s fun then the learning is multiplied!