“Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.”

― William Martin, The Parent’s Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents 

Sometimes in our very busy lives, it helps to take a moment and reflect upon our lives, the examples we set and the environment we are preparing for our children.  This poem caused me to pause and ask myself not only as a parent of my own children but also the children in our school.  

It reminds me to appreciate the kind gesture of another person, the joy when watching a child accomplish a new task and to always remember that each child holds within them enormous capabilities.  It is important for us to let the child reveal themselves to us as they become a contributor not only in our families but in our society.  

Dr. Montessori brought us a similar insight over 100 years ago as she studied human development and placed importance on the development of life skills, the joys of work, discovery and the importance of supporting the character development in young children.  

He absorbs the life going on about him and becomes one with it, just as these insects become one with the vegetation on which they live. The child’s impressions are so profound that a biological or psycho-chemical change takes place, by which his mind ends by resembling the environment itself. Children become like the things they love.”       Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind