Work is necessary; it can be nothing less than a passion; a person is happy in accomplishment.

When the children had completed an absorbing bit of work, they appeared rested and deeply pleased. It almost seemed as if a road had opened up within their souls that led to all their latent powers, revealing the better part of themselves. They exhibited a great affability to everyone, put themselves out to help others and seemed full of good will.

The greatest triumph of our educational method should always be this: to bring about the spontaneous progress of the child.

To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.

Growth and psychic development are therefore guided by: the absorbent mind, the nebulae and the sensitive periods, with their respective mechanisms. It is these that are hereditary and characteristic of the human species. But the promise they hold can only be fulfilled through the experience of free activity conducted in the environment.

Do not erase the designs the child makes in the soft wax of his inner life.

The child is much more spiritually elevated than is usually supposed. He often suffers, not from too much work, but from work that is unworthy of him.