play [is] that most ordinary of human functions, as natural as crawling, walking and running. Without instruction, these skills flourish. No one is taught to walk – or to act out a fantasy. The patterns and incentives arise from within. -Vivian Gussin Paley, from The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter: the Uses of Storytelling […]

Our teaching is too full of words, and they come too soon. -John Holt, from How Children Fail

I remember that I was never able to get along at school. I was at the foot of the class. -Thomas Edison

The ultimate fear and loss [for a child] is separation…aside from all else we try to accomplish, we have an awesome responsibility. We must become aware of the essential loneliness of each child. Our classrooms, at all levels, must look more like happy families and secure homes, the kind in which all family members can […]

Anger is always a defense. It shields us from feeling vulnerable. To dissolve anger, look at the hurt or fear under it. -Dr. Laura Markham, from Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting