All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is a beautiful poem, written by Robert Fulghum, about how everything you learn in kindergarten can be applied throughout your entire life. You learn everything from the golden rule to basic sanitation in kindergarten and it never becomes useless information.
In the poem Fulghum says: Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt someone.
To a child "Share everything" means that you have to share your toys or candy. For an adult it means the same thing, only it's a bit more elaborate. Yes, we have to share our toys (cars, power tools, etc), but we also have to share other things like our feelings, recognition, and the proverbial spot light.
"Play fair" is very important to a child.
Robert Fulghum, signing his book What On Earth Hav...
Česky: Robert Fulghum
English: writer Robert Fulghum, International Book...They know that if they don't play fair they don't get to play at all. It has basically the same meaning for us grown-ups. If you don't "play fair" then nobody will want play with you, and who wants that? For adults, if we don't play fair it's known as "stabbing someone in the back". And nobody likes a back stabber.
"Don't hit people" means the same thing no matter how old you get. For some people the rule is "don't hit people", but if you had a dad like mine the rule was "don't take the first swing", which is also a very good rule.
"Put things back where you found them", this one also doesn't really change with age. If you were to ask a five year old what it meant, they would tell that they have to put their toys back in the toy...