Welcome back if you saw last week's page (you can click through to it here) If you've been trying to solve last week's riddle, some clues and solutions are below!
While schools are shut, I will put up lots of resources each week to get kids thinking and talking with their parents on this page, or with each other and teachers for those still in school.
The resources will change every Friday. Games, questions, stories, riddles. Solutions to riddles will follow the next week.
Normally I work with schools, and you can get the same free bulletin as the teachers here: free P4C resources.
Our sister organisation GIFT, has been running monthly online Philosophy Wranglers online seminars for the last two years. With the surge in demand, we are now running them weekly.
We've also added DEBATE Wranglers. We’ll debate questions from the just-for-fun to the serious, sometimes in pairs, sometimes as a whole group, and with some Argumentag Wrestling in which teams can pit their wits against one another. The vibe is a bit more competitive than in a philosophy seminar, but it’s a playful sort of competition – no harrumphing.
Then there's IMPROV Wranglers for those who enjoy a bit of acting and would like to share with others the joy of making stuff up, playing creative games, storytelling and generally having fun in a broadly dramatic way.
Lastly, because the kids shouldn't have all the fun to themselves, we are now running weekly Philosophy Wranglers LATE sessions for adults. Next one: - A.I? Eee! O - You? If you found out a friend was a computer, should you still be friends? What would it take for a robot to have a mind of its own? Could switching one off ever be robotslaughter? If we can develop super intelligent machines, should we? If we do, how can we control them? Lots of questions that are sci-fi now but may soon become sci-fact. A chance to disconnect from the world and connect to others, and "Deep fun!chance to disconnect from the world and connect to others, and "Deep fun!" Each session is s stand-alone experience, no previous philosophizing necessary!
Find out more and see the full range here: www.giftcourses.co.uk
This week, two resources that will get the whole family debating rights and wrongs. The Naughtyometer (Click here to download) features a schoolteacher who doesn't know which of her pupils is the naughtiest, as she skived that section of teacher training! What do your kids think? Do you agree with them? Print off the cards and sort them into order from naughtiest to least naughty. The twist is the teacher wants to give the naughtiest the cane - would you let that happen?
The Evilometer is aimed at teens and adults, and raises questions about whether not doing something can be as bad as doing something, whether it's the intention or the outcome of an action that makes it wrong, and so forth.(Click here to download ) The examples in it are quite dark but in normal times high stakes and controversy are great ways of generating energised discussion.
You can create your own -ometers - what's the most beautiful of a sunset, a baby, a famous painting, a supermodel...
Last week's riddle:
What sits down higher than it stands up?
Clue: Could it be your best friend?
This week's riddle is again from the Phillipines. Their riddles are like little gems, polished by the centuries.
There are two princesses, who live on the two sides of a mountain; when one cries both cry.
This one is shown on our YouTube Channel (where all the Spot and Stripe videos are). The "Box of Everything" on which it is based is an improv game, so if you enjoy it you might enjoy Improv Wranglers.