My time on the blog will be very limited for a while. Tomorrow we take my daughter Lucy to Columbia University where she will begin college as a freshman on Monday. It is amazing how quickly 18 years can pass. We are very proud that Lucy has worked so hard to become a student at one of America's most prestigious universities. Not all students have the level of confidence and motivation required. For that matter, not all students are best served by going to college at all. Attendance is no guarantee of success, and we should keep in mind that Bill Gates became rich and powerful after he dropped out of Harvard.

So what can any of that have to do with the hands? I would like to refer you to the blog posts of January 14 and 15, 2007 for some background. Much of the early development of intellect that is expressed throughout our lives begins in the early play with our hands. I can't point to Lucy as concrete evidence, but I can point to her early and continuing engagement in hands-on activities, from her first play in my lap to her involvement in the chemistry lab at our local high school as anecdotal evidence of what can go right when the hands are properly regarded as important tools in learning and exploration.

As Friedrich Froebel had noticed years ago, the foundation of educational success is laid in play between mother (or father) and child. As soon as the child shows an inclination to grasp at the world, let the play begin!