Helping Children Find Flow

10/17/2017

Imagine being the kid who every adult thinks you’re “being bad” on purpose, but you’re not. You’re really having a hard time.
Greg Santucci, Occupational Therapist

"The ice balls were large and heavy so they attracted the children immediately. The children were drawn to the challenge of lifting and carrying them around…The ice was cold to touch and taste, and the children lingered while licking and chewing on it for quite a while...

"One of the children discovered that when he dropped the ice balls they broke open, shattering into smaller pieces...The children worked diligently to find every piece, large and small, to toss to the ground, watching the exhilarating transformation." These are excerpts from a long description about children’s joyful, focused exploration of ice balls that Deb Curtis includes in her book, Really Seeing Children.

She explains: "This experience reflects the concept of 'flow' as described by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. His famous investigations of 'optimal experience' have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called 'flow'...We have come to believe that when toddlers are given time together, enough space, and open-ended materials, 'flow' comes naturally to them."

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