Playing with Philosophy in the Pre-School

Abstract

Introduction:  When I was offered an administrative position in a YWCA child care center in Philadelphia, one of the attractions of the job was the opportunity it provided to try to do some philosophy with pre-school-aged children.  Over the course of about a year, I spent some time regularly with the oldest group of children in the center.  Also, for some months, I met regularly with a small group of kindergarten children who came to an after-school program at the Y.  This paper is an account of those experiences: of the nature of the groups, the course of the meetings, the materials used, the activities attempted, the reactions and responses of the children--and an attempt to sum up what this limited experience may suggest about prospects for philosophy in the preschool.