I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand.

—Chinese proverb

Man does not cease to play because he grows old; man grows old because he ceases to play.

—George Bernard Shaw,
Irish playwright

We want every youngster to come home from school every day with his head held higher, proud as punch, feeling smarter.

—James L. Hymes Jr.,
        U.S. early childhood educator and author

For children, play is as natural as breathing—and as necessary.

—Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld,
U.S. early childhood educator and author

The moment I decided to follow instead of lead, I discovered the joys of becoming part of a small child’s world.

—Janet Gonzalez-Mena,
U.S. early childhood educator and author

 Children need models more than they need critics.

—Joseph Joubert,
French essayist

The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won’t wait while you do the work.

—Anonymous

There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.

—Henry Ward Beecher,
U.S. clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist, and speaker

What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all its children.

—John Dewey,
U.S. philosopher and educator

The question is not whether we can afford to invest in every child; it is whether we can afford not to.

—Marian Wright Edelman,
U.S. children’s rights activist

Teaching Young Children
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