"The strength of even the smallest children is more than we imagine, but it must have a free play in order to reveal itself... his sluggishness comes from the artificiality of his environment, from ennui, from his awkward clothing, from the pain which his small feet suffer from their leather shoes as they strike the bare pavement of the city streets, and from the enervating example of those who walk about him silent, indifferent, and without a smile. A club which he might join, or attractive clothes which might bring him admiration, are nothing to him. He is on a leash. He is ensnared by laziness and would like to be dragged along.
But when children come into contact with nature, they reveal their strength."
MARIA MONTESSORI The Discovery of the Child, p.69-77
Read more here: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1078035.pdf
