Of all the principles associated with education, this has always seemed particularly important to me:
Children should be exposed to beauty.
Beauty teaches on a subtle level. It encourages sensitivity to harmony, proportion, color, order, rhythm, and refinement.
Beauty does not require an expensive classroom. A plant in a window, reproductions of good paintings, natural objects, harmonious colors, music, organized materials, and an attractive place in which to work can all influence the atmosphere.
Order is also part of beauty.
Anyone who has been ready to create and then discovered that the pencil, brush, paper, paint, scissors, or other necessary material cannot be found knows how quickly inspiration can disappear. A well-organized creative environment allows the child to concentrate upon the work rather than upon disorder.
Time is equally important. Creativity cannot always be produced on command and completed within an arbitrary few minutes. Children need periods in which they can become absorbed in what they are doing. Concentration deepens when it is not constantly interrupted.
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