Philosophy for Kids

Having had a personal interest in Philosophy, as well as looking to inspire higher level thinking in the 4th grade curriculum, my search through Amazon's choices brought me to one standout possibility: Philosophy for Kids. After looking it over here on Amazon, I decided it looked very unique and user friendly, which is essential to me as a NYC schoolteacher with little time to spare. From day one, this book made for a smash-bang hit in my classroom. I was floating on air as the students, most of whom had never heard of Philosophy before, left my classroom absolutely exuberant after its first lesson. They were literally bursting out, "I LOVE Philosophy!", and when I replied, "Well, I love that you love Philosophy", another replied, "I love Philosophy more than you love that I love Philosophy!" (We were already into deep territory!) In addition, I myself was able to enjoy and learn more about one of my favorite topics with the children, adding the experience of rich sharing to yet another subject. I really appreciate the book's thoughtful and flexible organization as well; my students love the way the exercises that are built into every chapter set us up for the discussion to follow. I have divided my class into "Philosophy Groups" where they can later share their extended reactions. The section in the back of the book for teachers on each chapter is very helpful for me to read just before(or even while!)we have our session. The parents are absolutely delighted with this being included weekly as enrichment curriculum. My fourth graders continue to be fascinated by the content, and conversations arise that challenge us all and raise the thinking to an almost dizzying level. Philosophers that we study, one by one, are added to our ongoing "Heroes" chart. Plus, it is extremely uplifting to find how often the questions discussed find their way into other lessons; further proving its worth as a critical thinking boost. I teach in the gifted program, which at times inspires a too-competitive and sometimes stress-inducing component, so I found it of interest that several of the children commented what they really love about it is that they can openly express how they think, and that there is not a "right or wrong" answer. I also hold afterschool sessions for general education. Those students noticed some of the philosophy material, and expressed an interest. I now provide them with the weekly investigations, and they too are becoming philosophy fans. Let me assure the reader that this material can be exactly what the doctor ordered for all students, regardless of "classification". In addition, understanding our mutual pressures for time as educators, I want to point out that the philosophical explorations also serve as material for read alouds, listening passage comprehension, guided or shared reading, written responses, and history. Using these selections can be a great enhancement to the quality of your curriculum. Highly recommended for all. Thanks, Dr. White!

Philosophy for Kids is a book all about philosophy mainly for kids (but adults enjoy it too!). I liked how they split the book into different chapters representing different parts of philosophy. I think the questions were very interesting because they often didn’t have a clear right or wrong answer - different people can have different answers based on their experiences. I also liked how the book didn’t try to convince you of a philosopher’s answer and they let you think freely. Even though they didn’t try to convince you, they explained the issues thoroughly. I think that balance is hard to achieve! I would recommend this book to people of all ages, especially ones who often ponder and think about the world.

Packed full of insightful and critical thinking discussion prompts. A must have for philosophers of all ages. A lot of fun to read as a family and/or group. Definitely gets the group chatting. An excellent resource.

I plan on using this with my Latin I people this coming school year. I think they should have a little Greek philosophy in the culture mix. This looks like it will work well. The lessons are neat little nuggets that I can use independently of each other. I had trouble last year explaining what a fallacy was. We read the chapter in "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" called "love is a Fallacy" which I think they enjoyed, but it felt a tad tangential and they STILL didn't really get it. This is a bit more on subject.

This is an excellent book for introducing children to philosophical ideas and their respective philosophers. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to explore serious questions about ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics (along with critical thinking) with their child(ren). I am currently using this books as a basis for a homeschool co-op class and the discussions we have are deep and "brain melting" (as my students say). I was specifically looking for something secular (there are a lot of philosophy/critical thinking books on Amazon that are Christian-based) and this fits the bill perfectly because it's neutral with regards to God and theology. The age range of our discussion group is 8 - 13. Some of the younger kids have a harder time comprehending the ideas and going deep into the discussion, but it's perfect for the 11-13 year olds in the group. They've really enjoyed it, and I've enjoyed exploring the ideas with them. Some great things about the book: * There's continuity amongst the topics. * The book has teaching notes in the back to help you direct the discussion. * Each chapter ends with 2-4 follow-up questions that help you dig deeper if your student is really interested in the topic. * Very accessible and well written. * Little to no preparation involved if teaching a class.

The book arrived quickly and was packaged well, but it did have a tiny crease in one of the cover corners. Not a big deal at all. The cover is beautiful, very nice and shiny, like a piece of art. We use this book at dinner time. One of us will read a story/topic and then we will all discuss it. It’s philosophy so there are no wrong answers, just different points of view. I can almost see the kids wheels turning while they try to suss out what their feelings or stances are on certain topics. I will definitely buy another version once we finish this one.

The book provides philosophical questions in the "kid" contexts. I like the overall purpose of this book. Asking a philosophical question must be good for kids' thinking skill development. I like it. But, as a parent, I need to first explain to my kid what the questions mean because of the words that kids wouldn't understand. It would've been way better if they revised the book in a way that the vocabulary shouldn't prevent kids from answering the questions. The philosophy in itself as a subject is already known to be "boring" to kids (that is not true at all). So, using easiest possible words to convey the meanings of the questions should be done. This way, kids will find the joy of asking and answering the philosophical questions.

This got my kids, as young as 5 and 8, asking really great questions and having short but meaningful discussions. We really enjoyed this book. Learned a lot. Great introduction to complicated philosophical ideas. Great book. If nothing else, a nice diversion from the stuff you’have to’ teach especially in homeschooling