Philosophy Sucks Kids Right In

Philosophizing — considering life questions — stimulates thinking: processing information, reasoning, thinking creatively, evaluating alternatives. Many children are natural philosophers. They observe the world around them from a young age, have a keen sense of right and wrong, and ask endless questions. Stories — fables, fairy tales, parables — are a classic device for teaching lessons about life, morality, chance, consequences, and other cultures to audiences both young and old. Philosophy Sucks...Kids Right In! is a guide that parents and educators can use to structure and guide this process. Contributors Nel de Theije and Leo Kaniok have collected 40 short stories that encourage children to ponder the themes of happiness, love, friendship, peace, freedom, respect and equality — and more. An introductory chart clearly lays out the age groupings the stories are appropriate for, a primary theme, possible secondary themes, and the teaching purpose of the story. Many stories come with discussion papers that suggest areas of exploration with children of different age groups (4-6, 6-8, 8-10 and 10-12) and grades. The open-ended questions stimulate children to experience the stories more intensely, encourage self-reflection, and seek their own answers to the big questions of life.

Award-winning comedian Leigh Anne Jasheway has written 101 Comedy Games for Children and Grown-Ups specifically to make readers laugh. Laughter provides great health benefits, reducing tension and improving overall mood. Jasheway’s book connects readers of all ages with their inner five-year-old, providing 101 games and activities to increase their laugh quota and decrease the pressure in their stress-o-meters. With Jasheway’s help, readers can improve their emotional health and have a great time doing it. 101 Comedy Games for Children and Grown-Ups includes eight different sections, each geared toward a different genre of comedy. The first section concentrates on introductory games for getting to know fellow participants and familiarizing oneself with the basic rules of comedy. Later chapters introduce games geared toward a specific type of comedy. Each section includes numerous games, which are presented with a general description of the activity, the purpose behind it, a list of supplies (if necessary), helpful hints, and rule variations. Jasheway also provides a key to indicate the target ages for each activity, making it easier to pick the best games for the participating group. Jasheway’s book promises to provide fun times and lots of laughs for anyone that picks it up!

Originally written for drama teachers working with students aged 9 to 18, this collection of short, snappy theater dialogues makes the perfect short break activity in any classroom, camp, or youth group situation. Students get much more out of these dialogues than just acting practice: they increase alertness, cultivate curiosity, boost literacy, and improve school attendance. The one-to-one dialogue format facilitates friendships and allows shy students to demonstrate new skills. Written by a family of drama experts, each dialogue centers around a theme related to young life: food, parents, hobbies, movies, even falling in love, to name just a few. Each dialogue is introduced with brief notes suggesting different ways of playing them at different ages and tips for adapting the dialogues to different age groups and situations. 101 Dialogues, Sketches, and Skits is part of the SmartFun Activity series from Hunter House, which includes over 25 titles that have sold more than 200,000 copies to date.

This fun and informative introduction to the history of philosophy and its key figures and movements, from stoicism to existentialism, is for any child asking "what is philosophy?" Questions like "who am I?", "why does the world exist?" and philosophical theories from Plato to Sartre are made easy to understand using clear examples, timelines, and at-a-glance facts. If your child is curious about the world and the thinkers who shaped it, the Children's Book of Philosophy is for them.

This is a textbook for teachers that demonstrates how philosophical thinking can be used in teaching children. It begins with the assumption that what is taught in schools is not (and should not be) subject matter but rather ways of thinking. The main point is that the classroom should be converted into a community of inquiry, and that one can begin doing that with children. Based on the curriculum that Matt Lipman has developed at the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children, which he heads, this book describes the curriculum and explains its use. The text is self-contained, however. This revision is thorough-going and incorporates new chapters, as well as new material in old chapters. Part One focuses on the need of educational change and the importance of philosophical inquiry in developing new approaches. Part Two discusses curriculum and teaching methodology, including teacher behavior conducive to helping children. Part Three deals with developing logic skills and moral judgment. It concludes with a chapter on the sorts of philosophical themes pertinent to ethical inquiry for children: the right and the fair, perfect and right, free will and determinism, change and growth, truth, caring, standards and rules, thinking and thinking for oneself. Education, in this sense, is not a matter of dispensing information; it is the process of assisting in the growth of the whole individual.

This original, comprehensive theory of procreative ethics explains what kind of act procreation is and when we may permissibly engage in it.

This book explains philosophy to kids in an easy-to-understand way, using simple text and fun illustrations. It is the perfect introduction to the great thinkers who, from ancient times to the modern day, have tried to make sense of the world by asking questions such as: "Who am I?", "Is the world real?", "Is it ever right to tell a lie?". Meet Socrates and Confucius, Kant and Sartre, and many others who have studied and pondered on the complexities of everyday life. Looking at the major philosophical theories, this fully updated edition of The Children's Book of Philosophy brings big ideas within the reach of young minds. It examines the problems that have puzzled people for hundreds, or even thousands, of years, working through them in clear and logical stages. The new content added to this edition also covers current social and environmental issues as well as concerns surrounding the latest advances in technology. The book's lively approach is designed to encourage children to think for themselves and to show them that anyone can be a philosopher.

An NPR Best Book of 2022 * One of Christian Science Monitor's 10 best books of May “This amazing new book . . . takes us on a journey through classic and contemporary philosophy powered by questions like ‘What do we have the right to do? When is it okay to do this or that?’ They explore punishment and authority and sex and gender and race and the nature of truth and knowledge and the existence of God and the meaning of life and Scott just does an incredible job.” —Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic Some of the best philosophers in the world gather in surprising places—preschools and playgrounds. They debate questions about metaphysics and morality, even though they’ve never heard the words and perhaps can’t even tie their shoes. They’re kids. And as Scott Hershovitz shows in this delightful debut, they’re astoundingly good philosophers. Hershovitz has two young sons, Rex and Hank. From the time they could talk, he noticed that they raised philosophical questions and were determined to answer them. They re-created ancient arguments. And they advanced entirely new ones. That’s not unusual, Hershovitz says. Every kid is a philosopher. Following an agenda set by Rex and Hank, Hershovitz takes us on a fun romp through classic and contemporary philosophy, powered by questions like, Does Hank have the right to drink soda? When is it okay to swear? and, Does the number six exist? Hershovitz and his boys take on more weighty issues too. They explore punishment, authority, sex, gender, race, the nature of truth and knowledge, and the existence of God. Along the way, they get help from professional philosophers, famous and obscure. And they show that all of us have a lot to learn from listening to kids—and thinking with them. Hershovitz calls on us to support kids in their philosophical adventures. But more than that, he challenges us to join them so that we can become better, more discerning thinkers and recapture some of the wonder kids have at the world.