The Power of Repetition in Children's Learning
Hello, dear readers! Welcome to my very first blog post. I'm thrilled to connect with you here and share my passion for helping children thrive through education. My name is Cecile Lewis, and I was born on a farm in South Africa, where I spent my early years surrounded by nature and hard work. From the age of 6 until 18, I attended boarding school, which taught me independence and the value of structured learning. I went on to study at tertiary institutions in South Africa, building a strong foundation in education and practical skills.
My journey into homeschooling began when I chose to educate my own two children at home. Today, they're successful adults working as medical professionals, a testament to the personalized approach we took. Building on that experience, I trained as a Kumon instructor and ran my own Kumon center for several years. During the COVID-19 lockdown, I was approached to tutor children remotely, and that's when I truly realized how mainstream students often struggled with retention because their materials lacked sufficient repetition.
This insight led me to emphasize deliberate repetition, especially in core subjects like Mathematics and English. The improvements I saw in every student deepened my understanding of effective learning. Currently, I homeschool kids for working parents who can't manage it themselves, running a homeschool center where more than 35 children have passed through my doors in the past five years alone. Today, I wear many hats: I'm a wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, author of children's materials designed to address learning gaps, and creator of worksheet packs based on repetition.
What draws me to share with this community is my belief in the transformative power of repetition for young minds. Children's brains respond remarkably well to repetitive information, as it strengthens neural connections and enhances long-term memory retention. Research shows that when stimuli are repeated, they are remembered better and retained longer, countering the natural forgetting curve, in which learners can lose up to 50% of information within an hour without reinforcement. However, repetition must be balanced to avoid boredom, which can disengage the brain—incorporating variety, fun, and spaced intervals keeps kids engaged while boosting capacity and confidence. When combined with enjoyable elements, like games or stories, it releases dopamine, making learning stickier and more effective. Through my work, I've seen firsthand how this approach bridges retention gaps, and I'm excited to share these insights to help parents and educators foster resilient young learners.
In my resources, I create workbooks available on Amazon to boost academic performance, along with monthly worksheet packs tailored for each grade level—my Pre-K packs are launching soon, with more to follow. Plus, check out my YouTube channel, "Maths with C Lewis," for engaging tutorials.
Thank you for joining me on this journey. I'd love to hear your thoughts—subscribe for more tips, and let's build a community where every child can succeed!