Enchanté Child Development Center

When children play in nature, something special happens.
Without scripts or structures, their imaginations take the lead — inventing games, solving problems, and exploring the world on their own terms.

Those moments of free play aren’t just fun. They’re building creativity, independence, and confidence that can last a lifetime.

Sometimes the best playground is simply the outdoors.

YES and YES!

(NOTE ADDED: wowza! I last shared this post in January, and it caught as much attention as it did this weekend! CRAZY!!! Commenting has been turned off. I am just one person. Thus the reason for switching to a smaller subscriber-only audience in a few short weeks... FB is a full time job)

This 4 yr old child has asked for help to write his name occasionally, but aside from that, he has done zero writing of any other letters,

YET...look carefully at his painting (he also draws on small paper very similar pictures)

I see all the components necessary to form every single lower case and upper case letter.

I see big lines, little lines, horizontal lines, vertical lines, diagonal lines, big curves, little curves and circles.

This tells me all of this child's freedom to MOVE and USE his body as he so chooses has worked to connect body and brain. (far more so than removing time to MOVE and replacing it with forced table time and "writing time")

His body is able to do what his brain says....his brain is able to direct those arms, wrists and hands to make all sorts of necessary lines to accomplish HIS intrinsically motivated task. As he painted he used full body movements, but also movements from just his wrists and hands.

Children develop from large to small... large muscles need to be strong and controlled before a child can have strong and coordinated small motor skills.

PERHAPS, we should assess a child's ability to write in a different way?

PERHAPS, forming actual letters CAN WAIT until the child is intrinsically motivated.....

PERHAPS, forming actual letters isnt as important as assessing a child's body/brain connection in different ways? (this is not limited to painting....ALL of their play)

PERHAPS, we should stop the disrespectful practice of teaching children how to write their names INCORRECTLY (all capitals) just so they can do it earlier. INSTEAD...wait, and follow the lead of the child. WAIT....and value that ALL MOVEMENTS a child chooses to engage in are, indeed, getting a child's body and brain "ready".

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We currently have some openings in our mixed age preschool room for 3-5 year olds. We also have 1 spot in each of our toddler classes. Contact us for more information, you can message us here or call 615-675-4754. We’d love for your child to be part of the Enchanté family!