Repetition Before Novelty this Fall

As fall approaches, I’m thinking about all of the autumnal novelty experiences that call to parents (and, seemingly, children). The apple picking and the hay rides and the corn mazes. The pumpkin picking and carving, the pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie.

Young children require repeated experience to develop awareness, understanding, and skills.

Any and all of these fall activities can be meaningful - if you allow your child to build a deeper relationship with them through repeated experience.

So if you want to go apple-picking, do it repeatedly - preferably at the same farm that you’ve chosen with care so your child can get to know this environment and see the season change in that specific setting. Pick different varieties of apple. Talk about the trees. Discuss the sensorial aspects of your experience - what you see, feel, taste, hear, smell. Speak with the farmers and those who care for the orchard. Have your child practice carrying a basket each time. When you come home, use the apples in meaningful ways that help your child learn and grow. And reference a good book that includes types of apple, like Farm Anatomy, by Julia Rothman..

If you want to take a hay ride, do that repeatedly. Talk about hay and why it matters, how it’s grown, why it is essential to life on a farm, why farms are essential to us as human beings. Again, a book like Farm Anatomy is a great reference.

If you want to go to a corn maze, discuss corn, how and when it grows, how it’s been used over time, the sensorial qualities of corn. Also talk about mazes. What is a maze? What kinds of mazes exist?

When picking out your pumpkin - visit the same pumpkin patch a few times, to take in the pumpkins and how they change over time. Again, notice the sensory aspects with your child - the weight, shape, texture, color, scent of the pumpkin exterior, the contrasting details of the interior, the taste of the seeds if you bake them. Read an informative book about pumpkins.

If you bake pumpkin bread, do so repeatedly with your child, shopping for the same ingredients together, using the same recipe, and isolating the steps to make them clear for your child. Involve them in the process of mixing dry and wet ingredients multiple times so they develop familiarity and competency. Same with pie.

Here are several more good books to help your child integrate understanding out of these experiences!

Less novelty, more repetition if you want to support your child this fall.