The ancient astrologer/astronomer Ptolemy (83-161 C.E.),whose ideas of the structure of the universe (based upon spheres), dominated western civilization until Copernicus and Kepler in the 16th-17th centuries, associated different planets of the solar system with particular stages of life: Moon:  Infancy – 0-4 years old Mercury: Childhood – 4-14 years old Venus:  Adolescence – 14-22...Read More

The early twentieth century philosopher and mystic Rudolf Steiner conceived of a theory of human development based upon seven year cycles, and linked those cycles to astrology.  The first seven years of life (0-7 years old) were associated with the Moon. During this time, the psychic forces are working to transform the body of the...Read More

One of the most exciting features of the 2012 Olympics in London has been the performance of able people who are disabled.   Even before the opening ceremony, Im Dong Hyun from South Korea, won the gold medal in archery and set a world record with an almost perfect score (699 out of 700).  Im Dong Hyun is legally...Read More

 A recent book by developmental psychologist David Elkind is entitled The Power of Play, and I would recommend it to parents, educators, psychotherapists, and anyone else who has an interest in play and children.  David Elkind was a disciple of Jean Piaget, the great French structuralist thinker who changed people’s conceptions of how children think.  In this...Read More

Increasingly we’re seeing early childhood education programs veering toward formal academic learning.  This is a distressing trend, inasmuch as it makes young children do things (formal reading and math, computer instruction) that they are not developmentally ready for, and that take precious time away from letting children be children.  There are no critical periods in...Read More