ABSTRACT

With this book, any teacher can start teaching philosophy to children today!

Co-written by a professor of philosophy and a practising primary school teacher, Philosophy for Young Children is a concise, practical guide for teachers. It contains detailed session plans for 36 philosophical enquiries - enough for a year’s work - that have all been successfully tried, tested and enjoyed with young children from the age of three upwards.

The enquiries explore a range of stimulating philosophical questions about fairness, the environment, friendship, inclusion, sharing, right and wrong, manners, beauty, pictures, the emotions, dreaming and reality. All the stories, drawings and photographs that you’ll need to carry out the enquiries are provided and can be used with your children directly from the book.

Each step-by step enquiry includes:

  • The philosophical topic and the aim of the enquiry
  • The stimuli you’ll need
  • Questions to ask the children
  • Possible answers to help move the discussion forward
  • Ideas to help you summarise and extend the enquiry.

If you are an Early Years or primary school teacher, this complete resource will enable you to introduce philosophy to your children quickly and with confidence.

chapter |10 pages

Introduction

chapter |10 pages

Political philosophy

Fairness and rules

chapter |10 pages

Environmental philosophy

Green land, waste and recycling

chapter |14 pages

Social philosophy

Friends and relationships

chapter |20 pages

Ethics

Virtues and vices

chapter |16 pages

Aesthetics

Beauty, pictures and stories

chapter |20 pages

Philosophy of mind

Emotions, beliefs and persons

chapter |8 pages

Epistemology

Dreams and illusions

chapter |13 pages

Metaphysics

What is real?