“Children learn, to grow,” stated Charlotte Mason many years ago. Most parents would agree with her. We want to see our children grow. Yet sometimes we run ourselves ragged because we forget the basic principles of growth. We spend all of our time and effort trying to force-feed learning and control growth on our own time-table. But growth cannot be dictated. It will happen in the right conditions on its own schedule. Our job is simply to cultivate those right conditions by providing the right atmosphere, pulling the weeds, and nourishing the plant. This year take a breather and be refreshed by some basic truths about growing.