IN THE FLOW Music has a special power as a natural form of communication for children. For example, after singing a touch your toes song, a year and a half year old touched her toes to communicate what the song was about. Or a five year old, enchanted by a rhythmic activity, grabs the hand of a nearby friend and creates her own dance. These are examples of self assignment, taking the initiative and rising to a challenge. Thinking and doing become one in flow.
Studies show that people in flow feel highly challenged and highly capable.
What Professor Custodero witnessed in pre-schoolers in music classes were musical activities that provided the children with multiple vantage points for goal perception and achievement and opportunities for clear and immediate feedback. The music making they engaged in- singing, moving and playing instruments, merged action and awareness under the individual control of the children. To test the validity of these methods, she developed a coding scheme based on observations and earlier research. The most important point is the acknowledgment that children are agents in their own learning, doing very creative things to keep themselves challenged.