Our philosophy workshops give children a space to speak, listen and reflect. They gradually learn to express an idea, listen to other people’s, question their assumptions and build their own thinking.
The aim is not to teach philosophy as a subject, but to create age-appropriate situations where children think together and develop their language, reasoning, critical thinking and psychosocial skills. The workshops take place in a safe and caring setting: everything can be said as long as it respects the group’s rules.
What children work on
- Language: daring to speak, enriching vocabulary, rephrasing an idea.
- Reflective thinking: going beyond the first answer, justifying a point of view, accepting that a question may have several answers.
- Social and emotional skills: listening, waiting your turn, accepting different points of view, putting words to emotions.
The workshops are aligned with the French national curriculum framework (socle commun): languages for thinking and communicating, methods and tools for learning, personal and civic development.
A typical session
- 1
Opening ritual
Discussion circle, a ‘philo object’ passed from hand to hand, a short breathing exercise or a welcome question.
- 2
Reminder of the rules
I listen to whoever is speaking. I can disagree without mocking. I have the right not to know, to change my mind, to pass.
- 3
Starting point
A children’s book, an illustration, a short story, a real-life situation or a question.
- 4
Philosophical question
An open question with no single right answer: friendship, fear, justice, freedom, lying, growing up…
- 5
Guided discussion
The orthopedagogue keeps the conversation flowing, rephrases and prompts; silences and hesitations are respected.
- 6
Reflection
What did we discover? Did someone make me change my mind? How did I feel in the group?
A 10-session progression
- Session 1 — What does it mean to think?
- Session 2 — Is being different a problem?
- Session 3 — What is a friend?
- Session 4 — What are rules for?
- Session 5 — What is fair?
- Session 6 — Can you be afraid and brave?
- Session 7 — Do you always have to tell the truth?
- Session 8 — Is being free doing whatever you want?
- Session 9 — What makes us happy?
- Session 10 — What have we learned to do together?
In nursery school, priority goes to speaking, emotions and listening, with very concrete materials (picture books, puppets, images) and the option to draw. In primary school, students are guided towards more structured and nuanced thinking: giving an example or counter-example, comparing points of view, telling fact, opinion and belief apart.
The orthopedagogue’s role
The orthopedagogue does not pass on opinions or steer answers: they create the conditions for each child to build and express their own thinking. They adapt the materials, encourage students who are less at ease speaking, and rephrase without distorting.
Assessment
Assessment is formative and qualitative. An individual grid observes participation, language, argument, listening, socio-emotional skills and metacognition at the start, middle and end of the cycle, and an end-of-cycle summary suggests next steps.