January

"We are more sensible of what is done against custom than against nature."

Plutarch
45 - 125 A.D.

February

"The best things in life aren't things."

Art Buchwald

March

"Our days, our deeds, all we achieve or are, lay folded in our infancy..."

John T. Trowbridge

April

"The child is a foreigner who doesn't know the language, isn't familiar with the street plan, is ignorant of the laws and customs of the land. At times he likes to go exploring on his own; when things get rough, he asks for directions and help. What he needs is a guide who will politely answer his questions."

Janusz Korczak,
The Child's Right to Respect, 1923

May

Clouds of Light

"They look so small and frail
but they are so great and magnificent.
They are born of the same womb
that birthed the cosmos
and knitted together the galaxies.

"If you could see them as they truly are,
you would be astounded.
You would see not little children,
but dancing clouds of light,
energy in motion,
swimming in an ocean of love.

"They are so much more
Than what you see.
As are you."

William Martin,
The Parents Tao Te Ching

June

"In family life, be completely present."

Lao-tsu,
Tao Te Ching

July

"What we want to see is the child in pursuit of knowledge, not knowledge in pursuit of the child."

George Bernard Shaw

August

"It takes a long time to grow young."

Pablo Picasso

September

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

Patricia Clafford

October

"The soul is healed by being with children."

Fyodor Dostoevsky

November

"Cherishing children is the mark of a civilized society."

Joan Ganz Cooney,
Founder, Children's Television Workshop

December

"There is no difference between living and learning... it is impossible and misleading and harmful to think of them as being separate."

John Holt,
What Do I Do Monday?

Back to Previous Quotes of the Month