My nine year old daughter has been reviewing her multiplication facts through the summer in order to be prepared for the new school year. I purchased her a workbook that is designed to strengthen her ability to understand numbers by having her say the math concept, think the math concept, and finally, write the math concept. My daughter did these exercises over and over again. Her confidence began to increase and now she recites her multiplication facts with ease.
I was amused as I observed the process. It was interesting that my daughter did not question this methodology. The workbook was the authority in her eyes, and willingly, she complied. To our delight, the process was a success. This process is not new and has been used in education for years. The Suzuki Method has been teaching music education by imitation of examples for decades. Small steps and the encouragement to learn within an unforced timetable, nurtures children into the love of learning.
That is why your baby loves to throw her bottle repeatedly out of her carriage. You may think it is because she knows you will play along and pick it up everytime she throws it (:-). The real reason is because she is learning by repetition and by allowing her to do it, you are encouraging her, nurturing her and helping her to "say it, think it, and write it".
Long before Suzuki began teaching music education, God imparted his teaching of repetition through Moses in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy in chapter 6 when the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land. Moses taught the Jewish People that the most important commandment was "... to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (Deut. 6:5-9 NLT)
We must not highlight repetition before the commandment to love God, but the point is well made that God knew that in creating us, He also knows how we best learn. There are auditory learners, visual learners, and kinesthetic or tactile learners. However in creating you and your child, God knew that writing His word, saying His word, thinking about His word all lead to Him. We will know what He expects of us if we memorize His word, and we will love Him if we think about Him all the time.
Let's think about this the next time one of our children asks us the same question for the 20th time. It is how God created them. And for you dear Sister in Christ, whether it is writing the verses on stickies on your refrigerator, the dashboard of your car, or on a piece of paper in your pocketbook, God will honor this effort. I confess it is an area I still struggle with, but I am encouraged that even the people of Israel needed to be reminded. Sometimes it is too much to take the whole bible with you on the train, in the car, or to the grocery market, but what about a piece of the Word. Psalm 81:10 says, "... open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things." Take a piece of the word of God with you and He will fill you with His good things. Amen. God bless you. Nina
