A child does not learn everything at once. They build understanding the way we build houses in my neighborhood — one room, then another, then a roof when the walls can hold it.
What you're looking at
A house with a thick orange foundation labeled "concrete experience," three rooms built on top (pictures, words, rules), and a roof at the peak labeled "abstract ideas." Green arrows move left to right and bottom to top — foundation to pictures, pictures to words, words to rules, and all three rooms holding up the roof. On the right side, a jagged red crack runs from roof to ground with a warning: "starting with abstract words = collapse."
Why I drew it this way
I drew it as a house because every parent and child knows: you do not start with the roof. The foundation is orange because it is the only part you can touch with your hands — the rest is structure built on top of that first layer. I put the three rooms side by side because they must all be load-bearing before you can put abstraction on top. I almost drew this as a ladder, but ladders let you skip rungs. Houses do not let you skip the foundation.
What it argues
Schools that start with worksheets and definitions are trying to teach the roof before the walls exist. A five-year-old who has never planted a seed will not understand "photosynthesis" no matter how many times you say the word. The diagram argues that sequence is not optional — it is structural. You cannot rearrange the order and still have a house.
What I left out
I left out the door. There is no way to enter this house from the outside — you must build it yourself, from the ground up. That is the point. No one can hand you understanding. They can only show you where to lay the first stones.