The baby’s fascination with circle games completely belies the popular notion that drill is an intrinsically unpleasant way to learn. Repetition isn’t boring to babies who are in the process of mastering a skill. They beg for repetition.
I disagree with the implication there that drill is repetition. Drill, to me, is repetition with predictable results. If I’m doing the same thing over and over again, and I’m getting exactly what I expect each time, that’s a drill. The sort of entertaining repetition you’re pointing at here, is something where I don’t necessarily know what to expect every time I take an action.
A good contrast is painting a deck versus playing a slot machine. They’re both extremely repetitive actions. Heck, even the physical movements in each are similar (if anything, deck painting involves less repetitive movement than playing a slot machine). Yet, we see people getting addicted to playing slot machines. I’ve never heard of anyone getting addicted to deck painting. The difference is that deck painting is pretty predictable. Dip paint in paintbrush, apply paint to deck, and there’s paint on the deck, exactly as you’d expect. A slot machine, on the other hand, is geared toward unpredictability. You pull the lever, and you don’t know what’s going to happen when the reels stop. Will you get the jackpot? A lesser prize? Nothing at all? The sorts of circle games that babies enjoy are closer (from the perspective of the baby) to a slot machine than to deck painting.
For example, let’s look at the Jack in the Box. It’s predictable and boring to an adult. An adult (or even an older child) will pretty quickly catch on on the pattern that the box pops open after a number of turns or on a particular musical note (“Pop goes the weasel,” etc.). However, to a child, especially to a child that’s still grappling with the concept of cause and effect, a Jack in the Box is endlessly fascinating. Here’s a mechanism, and when I manipulate the mechanism, something seemingly entirely unrelated happens?! How? Why?
Peek-a-boo is similar to that as well. Yes, the child might know that you’re still there. But I’m willing to bet that you don’t make exactly the same expression when you open your hands and reveal your face each and every time. It’s the variety of facial expressions, and the effort required to predict them that provides the unpredictability that transforms peek-a-boo from a drill into a game.
I disagree with the implication there that drill is repetition. Drill, to me, is repetition with predictable results. If I’m doing the same thing over and over again, and I’m getting exactly what I expect each time, that’s a drill. The sort of entertaining repetition you’re pointing at here, is something where I don’t necessarily know what to expect every time I take an action.
A good contrast is painting a deck versus playing a slot machine. They’re both extremely repetitive actions. Heck, even the physical movements in each are similar (if anything, deck painting involves less repetitive movement than playing a slot machine). Yet, we see people getting addicted to playing slot machines. I’ve never heard of anyone getting addicted to deck painting. The difference is that deck painting is pretty predictable. Dip paint in paintbrush, apply paint to deck, and there’s paint on the deck, exactly as you’d expect. A slot machine, on the other hand, is geared toward unpredictability. You pull the lever, and you don’t know what’s going to happen when the reels stop. Will you get the jackpot? A lesser prize? Nothing at all? The sorts of circle games that babies enjoy are closer (from the perspective of the baby) to a slot machine than to deck painting.
For example, let’s look at the Jack in the Box. It’s predictable and boring to an adult. An adult (or even an older child) will pretty quickly catch on on the pattern that the box pops open after a number of turns or on a particular musical note (“Pop goes the weasel,” etc.). However, to a child, especially to a child that’s still grappling with the concept of cause and effect, a Jack in the Box is endlessly fascinating. Here’s a mechanism, and when I manipulate the mechanism, something seemingly entirely unrelated happens?! How? Why?
Peek-a-boo is similar to that as well. Yes, the child might know that you’re still there. But I’m willing to bet that you don’t make exactly the same expression when you open your hands and reveal your face each and every time. It’s the variety of facial expressions, and the effort required to predict them that provides the unpredictability that transforms peek-a-boo from a drill into a game.