--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fortunately, like most children, I had…" description: "\"Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is most valuable, most indispensable for life before school years began, taught by apple trees, by ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/hermann-hesse-130_apple-trees_fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-lea_9367.png" --- # Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is… ![“Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is most valuable, most indispensable for life before school years began, taught by apple trees, by rain and sun, river and woods ...” quote by Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/hermann-hesse-130_apple-trees_fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-lea_9367.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/hermann-hesse-130_apple-trees_fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-lea_9367.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/hermann-hesse-130_apple-trees_fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-lea_9367.png) > “Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is most valuable, most indispensable for life before school years began, taught by apple trees, by rain and sun, river and woods ...” [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fundamental life lessons—like resilience, appreciation of nature, and intrinsic values—are learned early through direct experience, before formal education begins. **In simple terms:** Early life teaches core values before school. Key Takeaway Nature imparts essential life wisdom. Themes early learning nature values Mood nostalgic inspirational Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - childhood outdoor play - family gardening - learning through hardship Key Concepts experiential learning intrinsic motivation Practical Applications - encourage unstructured nature time for children - integrate experiential activities into curricula Questions to Reflect On - What lessons have you learned outside formal schooling? - How can we preserve these experiential teachings in modern education? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apples/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [School years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school-years/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woods/) ## Related quotes > [“Patience is indispensable in the life of the Muslim.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/na-ima-b-robert/patience-is-indispensable-in-the-life-of-the-muslim/) [Na'ima B. Robert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/na-ima-b-robert/) > [Everything I eat has been proved by some doctor or other to be a deadly poison, and everything I don't eat has been proved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/everything-i-eat-has-been-proved-by-some-doctor-or-other-to-be-a/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man's 'original and natural right' to make all contracts that are 'intrinsically obligatory,' and to coerce the fulfillment of them, is one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/a-man-s-original-and-natural-right-to-make-all-contracts-that-are/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [Whatever job you take on, make yourself valuable, then indispensable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/whatever-job-you-take-on-make-yourself-valuable-then-indispensable/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [“BECOME Relevant + Timely + Valuable = INDISPENSABLE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/become-relevant-timely-valuable-indispensable/) [Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/) > [You have confidence in yourself, which is valuable, if not an indispensable quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/you-have-confidence-in-yourself-which-is-valuable-if-not-an/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“No, he hadn't known anything about children, but now he'd learned something: a child's mind is open to everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carsten-jensen/no-he-hadn-t-known-anything-about-children-but-now-he-d-learned/) [Carsten Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carsten-jensen/) > [Readers have told me that their children have learned to read after years of struggle after starting to read Garfield's comic strip and many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-davis/readers-have-told-me-that-their-children-have-learned-to-read-after/) [Jim Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-davis/) > [ \[On the press:\] I love working with children, and I have learned to be very patient with them. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-diana/on-the-press-i-love-working-with-children-and-i-have-learned-to-be/) [Princess Diana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-diana/) > [“At this stage of my life, I've finally come to realize I've learned more from my children than they ever learned from me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-heck/at-this-stage-of-my-life-i-ve-finally-come-to-realize-i-ve-learned/) [C.J. 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They terrified me by telling me there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-learned-about-religion-the-way-most-children-learned-about-sex-in/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [In the past, children learned their values at home, reinforced by organizations such as the Boy Scouts and, of course, their church or synagogue,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-weyrich/in-the-past-children-learned-their-values-at-home-reinforced-by/) [Paul Weyrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-weyrich/) > [“Children learned about the adult world by participating in it in a small way, by doing a little work and making a little money—a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/children-learned-about-the-adult-world-by-participating-in-it-in-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [It's important to be able to listen to your children. A lot of times, I'll make a decision about something, but our children have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bob-duggar/it-s-important-to-be-able-to-listen-to-your-children-a-lot-of-times-i/) [Jim Bob Duggar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bob-duggar/) ## More by Hermann Hesse > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“The mistaken and unhappy notion that a man is an enduring unity is known to you. It is also known to you that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-mistaken-and-unhappy-notion-that-a-man-is-an-enduring-unity-is/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. 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Death looks through the window and laughs..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-is-useless-for-you-to-build-walls-and-dormitories-and-chapels-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“When the world is at peace, when all things are tranquil and all men obey their superiors in all their courses, then music can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-the-world-is-at-peace-when-all-things-are-tranquil-and-all-men/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A mere nothing suffices — and the lightning strikes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-mere-nothing-suffices-and-the-lightning-strikes/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“And if time is not real, then the dividing line that seems to lie between this world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/and-if-time-is-not-real-then-the-dividing-line-that-seems-to-lie/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Beautiful was this world, looking at it thus, without searching, thus simply, thus childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/beautiful-was-this-world-looking-at-it-thus-without-searching-thus/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Were not the gods forms created like me and you, mortal, transient?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/were-not-the-gods-forms-created-like-me-and-you-mortal-transient/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Although I know very little of the Steppenwolf's life, I have all the same good reason to suppose that he was brought up by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/although-i-know-very-little-of-the-steppenwolf-s-life-i-have-all-the/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) [Explore all 951 Hermann Hesse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More Apple trees quotes > [A comely sight indeed it is to see, a world of blossoms on an apple tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/a-comely-sight-indeed-it-is-to-see-a-world-of-blossoms-on-an-apple/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [My heart is like a singing bird Whose nest is in a water'd shoot; My heart is like an apple-tree Whose boughs are bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-rossetti/my-heart-is-like-a-singing-bird-whose-nest-is-in-a-water-d-shoot-my/) [Christina Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-rossetti/) > [Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee, Whether the summer clothe the general earth With greenness, or the redbreast sit and sing Betwixt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/therefore-all-seasons-shall-be-sweet-to-thee-whether-the-summer/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Jacob wrote that the true poet 'is like a man who is happy anywhere, in endless measure, if he is allowed to look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/jacob-wrote-that-the-true-poet-is-like-a-man-who-is-happy-anywhere-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [She had learned, in her life, that time lived inside you. 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What kind of apple trees do you suggest the Inuit get their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-farther-north-you-go-the-fewer-fruits-and-vegetables-there-are/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The apple tree never asks the beech how he shall grow, nor the lion, the horse, how he shall take his prey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-apple-tree-never-asks-the-beech-how-he-shall-grow-nor-the-lion/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [A charitable man is like an apple tree-he gives his fruit and is silent; the philanthropist is like the successful hen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/a-charitable-man-is-like-an-apple-tree-he-gives-his-fruit-and-is/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/you-have-to-love-you-have-to-feel-it-is-the-reason-you-are-here-on/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [Life rises out of death, death rises out of life; in being opposite they yearn to each other, they give birth to each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/life-rises-out-of-death-death-rises-out-of-life-in-being-opposite/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Martin Luther was asked, what would you do if tomorrow the world would come to an end, and he said, 'I would plant an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/martin-luther-was-asked-what-would-you-do-if-tomorrow-the-world-would/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [I require silence to write the way an apple tree requires winter to make fruit. Being with people is intimate and joyous, but at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-require-silence-to-write-the-way-an-apple-tree-requires-winter-to/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [“My troubles are all over, and I am at home; and often before I am quite awake, I fancy I am still in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-sewell/my-troubles-are-all-over-and-i-am-at-home-and-often-before-i-am-quite/) [Anna Sewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-sewell/) > [This apple tree is not the first one I draw, but perhaps the thousandth. I feel the sap rise to its spreading branches. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-franck/this-apple-tree-is-not-the-first-one-i-draw-but-perhaps-the/) [Frederick Franck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-franck/) > [Your God person puts an apple tree in the middle of a garden and says, do what you like, guys, oh, but don't eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/your-god-person-puts-an-apple-tree-in-the-middle-of-a-garden-and-says/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) Browse all 62 Apple trees quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is most valuable, most indispensable for life before school years began, taught by apple trees, by rain and sun, river and woods ...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hermann Hesse" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-learned-what-is-most-valuable/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apple trees" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-learned-what-is-most-valuable/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/hermann-hesse-130_apple-trees_fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-lea_9367.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/hermann-hesse-130_apple-trees_fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-lea_9367.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/hermann-hesse-130_apple-trees_fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-lea_9367.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is most valuable, most indispensable for life before…” — Hermann Hesse", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hermann Hesse", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Fortunately, like most children, I had...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-learned-what-is-most-valuable/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-learned-what-is-most-valuable/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```