Philosophy may have a reputation for being all about essays and debates, but when it comes to young thinkers, it needn’t be limited to just one or two avenues of learning. There are as many ways to approach big questions as there are children to ask them.

We’ve kicked off the season with a countdown of big questions, and we’ve already put up eight of them on our social media channels. In case you need to catch up, here are the ones we’ve posted so far. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more! There will be a new question every day until we ring in 2023.

Experiences outrank simple stuff any day of the week (or any time of the year). They tend to stick better than the latest toy trends, and they have more widespread, lasting benefits to a child. We’d like to humbly suggest that this year, you give your child something that really will keep on giving: philosophical dialogue.

It’s surprising how the right big question, asked in an engaging manner, and discussed in a safe learning environment, will inspire a young learner to participate.

What needs to be established isn’t whether children can do philosophy, but how they do it. Needless to say, philosophy is different when it comes from the mouths of babes.

The season of snow has begun, and holidays are just around the corner! As we tiptoe (or stomp) into winter, there are so many opportunities to engage little thinkers in some big thinking.

It really doesn’t take much to spark curiosity in a kid. They spend their days lit up with questions and quandaries, and aren’t afraid to share and explore. It’s this drive and enthusiasm that helps them develop and navigate the world.

It’s also what makes them natural philosophers.

Our latest release “Idunno” is now available in interactive eBook format!

Yes, even philosophers have a special day, and this is it!

Today, we celebrate the asking of big questions, the curiosity behind them, and the patient and creative stream of thought with which we work through them. Around these parts, we also celebrate the little thinkers who seem to effortlessly embrace philosophy, and the big thinkers who encourage them.

Whether it’s mentally, emotionally or socially, we want our kids to be ready to make the most of their time on the world stage, and there’s no better (or more fun) way to do that then to engage them as wee philosophers.

It’s never too early to start talking about racism, or any kind of discrimination, with your child. There are ways to approach it in an age-appropriate way that will open up dialogue and have a lasting, positive impact.

Philosophy is all about presenting an argument, but a specific type of argument. It’s not about the angry, shouty kind of argument, but rather about the kind where you present an idea, give reasons to back it up, and prepare to look for other ideas that may mean you need to re-valuate it. The angry, shouty kind lets us blow off steam, but it doesn’t get us any closer to figuring things out or understanding one another.

The weather is starting to get chilly, but we’re just getting warmed up! There’s so much on our to do list for the next month or two, and we couldn’t wait any longer to share it.

Why, as parents, do we have such a hard time looking like fools in front of our kids? Why, after centuries of wise fools, haven’t we embraced the notion that sometimes, in order to dig out important ideas, we might have to be a little foolish ourselves?

Their reality includes social media, interactive learning, and the expectation that they’ll be innovative in their way of thinking. All of these things hinge on being able to not just coexist, but to thrive as a group.

As luck would have it, doing philosophy with your kids can help with this vital skill.

Weird changes things. It makes new things happen.

It’s also a pretty good description of how little thinkers function.

It’s a subject that can make even a mature adult’s palms sweaty, and on the surface, it seems like the last thing anyone would want to bring up with their child. However, not only can you have a productive and engaging political chat with your young thinker, but you really should.

Historically speaking, philosophy is just jam-packed with amazing thinkers with fascinating ideas (and fascinating lives). It would be such a shame for little thinkers to miss out on this veritable banquet of thinking just because we assume they’re too little.

There’s nothing more important that examining the ways in which we relate to one another, and we hope this project brings positive change to our community and beyond.

A desire for lifelong learning, and the skills to actually support it, might be the best thing we can instill in our little thinkers, and reinforce in ourselves.