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-Avontuur 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
encourage self-reflection and stimulate children to experience the
stories more intensely and seek their own answers to the big questions
of life.