Barbara and I had an enjoyable visit to Ringsfield Hall in Suffolk recently. We were scouting for a possible venue to use for a residential weekend for philosophy4children. It is the perfect venue with lots of rooms and beautiful gardens in which to reflect and wonder. Look here and see for yourself. I can imagine the roaring log fires burning in the grate all ready. Watch this space to see when the dream becomes a reality.
Author Archives: Dot Lenton
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Philosophy4Children working with the BBC
Barbara and are delighted to be working with BBC Radio 3 during their Free Thinking Festival in November. “Them and Us” is this year’s festival theme and creates the perfect backdrop for the open enquiry that Philosophy4Chidren promotes. Do come and see us at The Sage in Gateshead on Saturday 3rd November, where we are doing a couple of Philosophy4Children sessions. Go to bbc.co.uk/freethinking for more information about the event under Free thinking Festival 2012. Hope to see you there!
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Back to basics with Philosophy4Children
Barbara and I enjoyed a back-to-basics session at Kersey Church of England VC Primary School yesterday. Back to basics for us in learning how to decipher an atlas and find the village, let alone the school. We did eventually arrive – bang on the scheduled start time! This didn’t leave us too much time to get set up, but the staff were lovely and very helpful in helping us navigate their new computer system. It was a very enjoyable session, with everyone contributing in the experiential session. Questions were just getting to that deeper level when it was time to stop. This is so often the way with philosophy sessions with children in school. We are always reluctant to leave the schools that we are working with. However we did manage to find our way home with yet another note to selves – buy a satnav!
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Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development
If we want to change the world, then – as Confucius says – we need to” educate the children”. But education is more than learning facts. Schools regularly face spiritual, moral, social and cultural dilemmas that need to be addressed. philosophy4children gives children an exciting but safe place in which to do this – a place where they can let their thoughts and ideas fly, and begin to explore the the big issues in life, such as the nature of God. In this place children are not afraid to get the answers wrong – because there are no right ones. Any answers they give are respected and taken seriously.
This is part of an article that we wrote and it appeared in Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development: a Christian perspective see www.norwich.anglican.org/schools
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The act of thinking
Barbara and I were delighted to be asked to write another article for Primary Teacher Update. Our second article has appeared in the May issue and is entitled The Act of Thinking. In this article we explore the possibility that children’s thoughts can actually be seen in action! Thinking is not a passive activity – ideas and thought are flying around all the time. They change and develop – they are changed by what we see, what we do, what we feel and by the interactions that we make with others’ thoughts and ideas. It is an exciting process and so should learning be. We believe that Philosophy4Children can stimulate this process and lead to exciting and dynamic thinking and learning!
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Philosophy4Children welcomed warmly in West Yorkshire.
Although the weather was extremely cold Barbara and I received a very warm welcome at Ashlands School in Ilkley. The staff plied us with rolls, cake and cups of tea as well as lots of interest and enthusiasm for teaching philosophy. This is a school that really involves children in their own learning. This ethos is so important when delivering philosophy for children in the classroom. The staff are keen to become co-enquirers with the children and demonstrated a passionate desire to make this method of teaching and learning work. We had a brilliant time and we came away buzzing with new thoughts and ideas. These are our favourite sessions – where imagination, excitement and stimulating conversation abound. The next blog will have some quotes from the school – so watch this space!
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Enthusiasm in London
Barbara and I enjoyed an excellent day working with the staff of Mayville Primary School in Waltham Forest. There was a real buzz about the school and there was genuine enthusiasm for introducing philosophy4children in the classroom. The head teacher ended the day by giving the staff passionate encouragement to begin working in this way with the children. She explained that it was important to give the children confidence in thinking for themselves and not following the gang culture that exists outside in the local area. We came away excited and encouraged by what we had seen and heard. One teacher said, “This session was fantastic. It’s what we needed here!” We are both looking forward to finding out how the school progresses. It is really exciting!
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A first for Philosophy4Children
We were thrilled and delighted to be invited to write an article about philosophy for children in the new magazine Primary Teacher Update! Now the article is in print and in the very first edition of the magazine! If you want to have a look go to www.primaryteacherupdate.co.uk
This is a very new magazine that celebrates the very best in Primary Classroom Practice! We think that it is worth the £3.99 asking price. You can read about how to tackle head lice to helping parents to help their children at home to philosophy in the classroom and much much more……
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Philosophy rules the waves!
Barbara and I enjoyed a stimulating session at Beeston Hall School on Tuesday. Everyone took part with enthusiasm – even the “games” we had constructed to make everyone think! The feed-back was really positive. Watch this space for more about this very enjoyable morning spent next to the North Sea at West Runton with this inspiring team of educators!
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Where has Philosophy4Children been during the summer?
It seems some time since we blogged. However, things have not stood still for Philosophy4Children. Our flight to Holland is booked and we will be off to work in Hilversum at the tDIS Teachers’ Conference in September. We are taking a somewhat circuitous route via Einhoven. More to follow….