From a young age, children ask philosophical questions. What does it mean to be a good friend? What is death? What makes my drawing beautiful? Is it ever okay to be mean? These are open-ended questions that explore some of the most meaningful aspects of human life, yet in the United States they are rarely given a formal space for serious discussion and reflection in K-8 classrooms.
Philosophy may seem impractical, a discipline for university professors, or at least inappropriate for children. But a wide body of 
has shown the benefits of doing philosophy with children.
Check out the !
There is now an international movement of philosophers and educators seeking to introduce philosophical practice into children’s lives. The results are promising, and we are just getting started! (More on this movement and some great resources below.)
Whether you’re a teacher looking to bring philosophical discussions into your classroom, or a parent eager to introduce your child to some fundamental questions, there are so many wonderful children’s books out there. Here are some of our favorites.
A common practice is to guide the group of children to generate their 
questions, discuss their own answers, and to critically reflect on what a good answer to their own questions might be like. Rather than learning a set of known facts, or dictated techniques, children are empowered to set the terms of their discussion together. Rather than teaching children what to think, philosophy for children focuses on helping children think about 
We are proud to announce that we recently held our first ever Middle School Ethics Bowl, with three area middle schools participating – Gateway School, Holy Cross School, and Shoreline Middle School. This was a pilot year for the program, and we’re excited to report it went exceptionally well! We were blown away by the maturity, insight, and engagement of these middle school students in difficult ethical questions. Keep an eye out here for future Middle School Ethics Bowl plans! The winner of our bowl, Gateway School, will be participating in some virtual matches in the next month with schools from Oregon, Texas, and New Jersey!
Currently, we are introducing philosophy, ethics, and critical thinking to children at six elementary and middle schools in our local community.
Tom is a leader in the international philosophy for children movement. In addition to running a decades-old P4C program for undergraduates at Mount Holyoke, he leads the major national organization PLATO (Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization), and maintains one of the best websites for P4C lesson plans. To see Tom at work, check out the emmy-winning documentary “Big Ideas for Little Kids”, or his book by the same name.
Have you ever happened to hear your elementary-aged child discussing a philosophical question with a friend? If so, we’d love to hear about it. Send us an email
