While everything is new, depending on our previous experiences in learning and life, we might also find that this newness, once gone, signals in us a desire to move on, that’s it’s not “right for us”.

This article is one in a series called “The Stages of Becoming”. In it we’ll be exploring the very first stage of learning which is known as the Novelty stage and focuses on the way early learning is experienced. In the first article we got a broad perspective of what the process was, in each of these articles on the individual stages we’re going to delve into not just how to tell what the stage looks and feels like, but also how we can respond to the common challenges.

The first step of any learning journey will always be one of the most important. Without it, no other steps can happen!

We might be anxious about what the expectations are, we’ve got very little information and we’re not going to know anyone! This doesn’t typically last too long, and once it’s overcome the saying “ignorance is bliss” comes to the fore! Because everything is new, we feel like we’re learning a lot, quickly! We make big progress quickly, because we’re often learning foundational skills which are often easy to acquire.

For these reasons, we’ll experience a feeling of consistent growth. By nature, the new pursuit is novel and interesting! This is attractive to our minds, as we’re often drawn to challenges. We’ll definitely need lots of support at this stage from our coaches and teachers, but this is something we’re typically happy to ask for and accept, because we know we’re just beginning.

Our brains really like novelty and challenge, and the early stages are chock full of it. Not just that, but the challenges are often quite easy to overcome! This is going to create a bit of a stumbling block for us in the next stage, but for now it’s a positive.

Our learners at this stage are also highly focused. It takes a lot of conscious effort and concentration to learn, so that keeps our minds engaged.

It’s highly common for the modern kid to try multiple hobbies or sports each year, compared to previous generations. This can create a “Novelty Addiction” where novelty is confused with value.

That means that learners are often unfamiliar with how to remain engaged when novelty diminishes. This means educators or Coaches are often left trying to keep things as new as often as possible, and the tolerance for things which aren’t novel shrinks even further!

Similarly, if young people are anxious about starting something new, there’s a good chance that they’ll try and use avoidance strategies to get out of starting. If not navigated right, their successful avoidance at this stage can mean that they use that strategy again and earlier next time they feel that way, and also that their resilience diminishes.

Finally at this stage, learners require a lot of support. That’s why at Risky Kids our early program steps have the lowest class ratios, so that the team can create the strongest foundations as early as possible.

When your Risky Kid is going through the Novelty Stage, the most common behaviours you’re likely to see will be:

• Anxiousness or nerves early on, possibly even avoidant or refusal behaviour,
• Improvements and self confidence increasing quickly,
• Commonly enthusiasm and engagement if resilience is normal to high,
• If resilience is low, moderate participation and engagement,
• Towards the later weeks, disengagement behaviour might begin to emerge with language such as “I’m bored”, “I don’t want to go”, etc.

In the case of your Risky Kids learning going well at this stage, make sure to celebrate it with them! However make sure you help them to understand early that learning will get harder as they go, and they need to be ready for that. If they do disengage, make sure to validate how they feel, but not their desire to quit.

Families should be prepared to help young people to face down anxiety, and explore the difference between things being new and things being valuable. Discuss how most things are exciting at the start, but to become an expert takes years!

Statements like “Just try it and if you don’t like it you don’t have to do it” should be replaced with “What is it that you’re finding difficult, and what can we do to change that?”. For more advice on navigating disengagement, check out our articles on The Art Of Quitting! Most importantly, work with your Risky Kids team if you see early signs of disengagement.

This challenging time is where deep resilience and learning occurs, not just in terms of learning about the pursuit itself, but also about how we contend with the challenge of learning.