I’m trying to learn a new language….and boy do I have a new appreciation for repetition and the concept of “practice makes perfect.” Just like for this “old dog” trying to learn something new, in early childhood, repetition is the KEY for all learning and skill development.
When we learn something, we are laying down neural pathways in the brain via electrical impulses. Repetition creates a sort of “hack” to ultimately save the brain energy. In my case, it’s easy (and requires very little brain energy) for me to speak English because of years of experience and lots of repetition. With German, those connections aren’t there yet, so it takes a lot more neurological energy. Repetition is the tool that allows me to strengthen the connections in my brain so I can learn this new skill and process the synapses more quickly and efficiently.
It’s the same with children learning music. When toddlers attempt to play along on the micro-beat to Hey Lolly, Lolly for the first time, the “beat feedback” is actually routed through the cerebellum, or “little brain,” which has the important job of determining to which part of the “big brain,” the cortex, information should be sent. Robert Barton (Barton, 2014), an anthropologist at Durham University in the UK, reports that the mastery that takes place through repeating this over and over and over, in this case, the skill of tapping on the beat over and over and over, actually creates physical changes in the brain. Once the new skill has been learned, the flow of messages changes and by-passes the cerebellum all together. The messages go directly between the relevant part of the cortex and the muscles being activated, thus eliminating that extra step and utilizing less energy for the task.
So the next time your toddler wants you to get down on the floor and “play music class” with some egg shakers and Hey Lolly, Lolly, just remember that this musical participant is speeding up connections in her brain, and getting very efficient and proficient at tapping along to the beat!
Looking for something to do with old clothes? How about a fun game of MUSICAL CLOTHES? It’s just like Musical Chairs, but ends with a lot more fun! It works like this: create a bag of old clothes – hats, scarves, gloves, jewelry, ties, whatever you can find. Turn the music on and have the children hand the bag of crazy items to one another in a clockwise direction. When the music stops, the child holding the bag must grab an item from the bag and put it on. The child with the wackiest costume when the bag is empty is the “winner.”
Don’t miss the Jolly Lollies at Suffolk Punch’s “Fall Fest” on Sunday, October 20 from 4 – 6 pm. Dress in your finest costume and sing, dance, and play with this amazing duo with Music Together® ties! They play at 5 pm, but there will be lots of fun activities before then!
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