Repetitive play is one of the most powerful ways in which young children learn.

If you’ve ever watched your little one stack the same bricks, pour water from one cup to another, or return to the same play activity on every visit to the Playhub, you might have wondered why.

We posted a question on our social media page asking which activity your little one often returns to on each visit to the Playhub

• Rolling balls and cars down the tunnel

• Scooping and pouring sand in the sandpit

• Tapping away at the typewriter

• Snuggling up with the bears in the den

It may look like the same play, but for child development repetition is purposeful

Children repeat play because they are:

• Exploring how things work

• Testing ideas

• Building confidence

• Making sense of their world

  
  

Repetition of play helps young children to build and strengthen neural pathways in the brain. Each time they repeat an action, they are reinforcing what they’ve learned and begin developing understanding over materials and how they can use it in their play.

Even from a really young age they can begin to explore

• Problem-solving skills

• Memory and concentration

• Cause and effect understanding

• Physical coordination

• Emotional regulation and resilience

As play develops exploration feeds into imagination and this is where open-ended resources are so important. I talk a lot about why open-ended play is so important, they don't have a fixed purpose or outcome.

They allow children to:

• Use their imagination

• Explore ideas freely

• Change their play as their thinking develops

You may notice that at the Playhub many of our resources stay the same - but we notice that the play is always different

A child may return to the same activity again and again, but each time:

• Their ideas are more complex

• Their confidence is stronger

• Their understanding is deeper

The learning grows.

We love to share these insight with you and our next blog will focus on how to support emerging imaginative play ideas in young children.