Ease is Your Friend
“Just because it was easy doesn’t mean they didn’t learn anything new.” ~Julie Bogart
It’s so easy to associate learning with struggle and pain. Yet studies show that when you’re relaxed and happy, you’re more receptive to learning. Not only that, ease of practice gives your brain more room to notice details, to make your work more
- precise,
- accurate,
- beautiful,.
- or creative.
Repetition leads to confidence and competence. When a task becomes easy, you feel freer to
- improvise,
- test alternate strategies,
- and understand why, not just how.
For instance, think about cooking. The more familiar you are with a recipe, the more ideas you have to improve it, to alter the seasoning, to coordinate it with other parts of the meal.
Ease is your child’s friend too. Flying through the multiplication tables again may be establishing connections invisible to you.
Consider resisting the temptation to up the stakes in learning just because your child “got good at (fill in the blank).” Joy AND deeper intimacy are the fruit of mastery.
What if today your kids only did what they’re already good at? How might that help them learn and grow differently than struggle?
This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebravewriter is my account there so come follow along for more conversations like this one!
