The child is an enigma… He has the highest potentialities, but we do not know what he will be.

It is almost possible to say that there is a mathematical relationship between the beauty of his surroundings and the activity of the child; he will make discoveries rather more voluntarily in a gracious setting than in an ugly one.

But if for the physical life it is necessary to have the child exposed to the vivifying forces of nature, it is also necessary for his psychical life to place the soul of the child in contact with creation.

The child’s parents are not his makers but his guardians.

If children are allowed free development and given occupation to correspond with their unfolding minds their natural goodness will shine forth.

There is a great sense of community within the Montessori classroom, where children of differing ages work together in an atmosphere of cooperation rather than competitiveness. There is respect for the environment and for the individuals within it, which comes through experience of freedom within the community.

The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.