Refining Movement

"Of itself movement is something unrefined, but its value increases when one attempts to perfect it. Hands, for example, are then no longer washed simply to make them clean, but in order to be able to wash them perfectly. When hands are washed in this manner, they are not only clean but the child himself becomes more skilled and acquires a certain refinement which sets him above a child with unwashed hands."

Maria Montessori, Discovery of the Child p 87

Freedom & Independence

"No one can be free if he is not independent, therefore, in order to attain this independence, the active manifestations of personal liberty must be guided from earliest infancy. From the time that they are weaned, children are making their way along the risky path of independence."

Maria Montessori, The Discovery of the Child p 57