The idea of “meet them where they are” means to individualize the way you teach to help them learn and to teach the kid the best way they know how. Repeating something over and over again does not help a child learn, it just helps them memorize. It’s important to learn what the kid knows before trying to teach new things. When I was working at a daycare we did daily color/counting sheets. While walking around the room it was easy to tell the level the kids were at. Some kids did the work perfectly, others just colored and some even scribbled. When talking to the kids that were just coloring or scribbled and repeating the directions in a different way many of the kids were able to understand what they were supposed to do. Kids, like all humans, are individuals and should be taught with that information in mind. Just because kids are the same age does not mean they are at the same level of comprehension. Some 2 year olds are completely potty trained and can form complete sentences while others are still in diapers and have a limited vocabulary. These kids should not be taught on the same level and if they were the 2 year old with the higher vocabulary may be bored and lose interest or if the other way around the 2 year old with the smaller vocabulary may become frustrated and shut down. Development does not happen at the same time therefore you should be able to adjust your teaching as such to advocate for all of your students.
