Philosoflight...

This last week we have started talking about flight in our philosophy sessions (which we have twice a week - Tuesday and Wednesday mornings). As I had noticed that one child had stopped talking in the philosophy sessions, but obviously still wanted to participate I asked the mother at pick up if she could talk about flight with her child in the evening at home to see if it would make any difference - and I can happily say that it did - and the other children were so happy to that this child was talking again too.

Tuesday 2nd October
warm-up question
Have you ever flown by airplane?

• yes, to Barcelona
• yes, to Sri Lanka
• yes, to England
• I am going to  fly to Poland and sleep over there.
• it was a long time ago, my mother said that I wasn't going to fly.
• to my grandparents
• my mummy said, but my daddy said that I don't want to and I have nail-varnish with glitter. I haven't flown by plane (although we know that she has)
• yes, I have flown by airplane and bought shoes for my sister

What can fly?

• a boy
•  airplane, birds
• a boy can  fly in an airplane
• a hot air balloon, one of those ballons that you get at a party on a string and when you let go of it at MacDonalds it goes up into the blue.
• airplanes, birds, helicopters, hot air balloons
• bumblebees
• a girlboy .. er er wings
• there is a bear, dress, socks
• airplane, helicopter, balloons, airplane, mosquitoes and flies
• bees
• fairies and er ... er and er (yawn) and bumblebees and balloons and err... and ... and ---err and girls with butterflies, that are called butterfly
• there are sevral of you that have mentioned that boys and girls can fly - how do they fly?
• if they have wings can they actually fly if you don't have wings you can't fly. I can fly because I have wings.
• with wings and fairy dust and err a stick
• they need to have wings and they must crash - because they can't manage to fly
• there are girls and boys and owls and a scary troll. Like me - I can fli like Pippi
• wings
• err wings... err fairydus err magic. You need to think with your head. About what someone says.

Wednesday 3rd October
 Today the warm-up question was handed over to the children (this was by accident more than management as Ellen who has been leading the philosphy sessions so far had not thought up a question and my head was too full of flu to be able to think of anything except  "let one of the children think of a question" - and we chose a child we felt ready for the challenge - and this child visibly GREW - we also pointed out that we documented that this child had an opportunity and therefore reminding us so that everyone would be able to have a turn.).
warm-up question
How can you swim without arms?

• you need to have arms
• (our child who does not speak any Swedish yet made small sounds as if to participate - we saw this as a huge step forward)
• the legs need to work - can get help from someone else
• I don't know - you can just sink
• do you mean that you dive down under the water and swim with your legs under the water - with waterwings on your leg
• no - sink
• you need to have waterwings, you need to be a child and swim with your feet - and then come the owls - a mummy and a daddy and read a book (now you are telling another story) and there is a long dress
• you need waterwings and swim with the feet
• you swim like this (using arms to show the swim strokes) swim with arms (but is you don't have arms?) then you can swim like this (showing us swimming strokes with arms again) then you need to go to the police car and put your arms in and then go home.
• you can lean bakc and you need high-heels. lamps you need to swim with
• you need to swim with bears because they have arms with them (the child is sitting opposite anothe child with a bear on their top)
• you can lean backwards and then swim and move hear (pointing to her armpits) and then you can swim. And you lean back and your legs do this (kicking legs) and then you can swim baclwards and forwards.

 What DOESN'T fly

• children can fly. airplanes can fly and flies and mosquitoes (what doesn't fly) -.....
• cars, buses
• cows, horses and snakes and baby snakes
• not buses, not cars, not motorbikes - but fairies can (what can't) bags, and a tree can't fly
• roosters can fly - a rooster like that (pointning to a picture on the wall) you can fly with your arms - elephants and zebras and people can't
• a baby. worm-baby can't fly. big worms can't fly. Big little sister can't fly, mastercar can't fly, motorbikes can't fly buses can't fly and rain can't fly
• no clothes can fly and no rings can fly only airplanes can fly up into the clouds
• no nailvarnish no fire-engines. no mouth, no children - that was it, that was the last
• elephants and penguins and dinosaurs and feathers and clothes and Pippi can't fly. and socks can't fly, people and books
• (small participating sounds are made which we acknowledge)
• if we are sitting in an airplane are we flying then?
• yes - they are flying with the airplane when people fly airplane with a motor and no stearing wheel. And there are little windows that you can look out of.
• I want to save this thought for another day

Its is interesting to see that some children are obviously thinking about what the others have said for example one child said that socks and clothes could fly and the next day a child said that they could not - and also pointed out that Pippi could not fly which yet another child had mentioned had flying abilities.

At lunch time I asked the group of children at my table if they could eat without arms - and we had so much fun finishing of the last bits of lunch without arms - all the children laughed and said they preferred to eat without arms - but we did notice how messy their faces got and maybe it was not a good idea for everyday eating!! Drinking without arms was MUCH harder, until I brought out some straws - but that soon turned into a much appraciated bubble-blowing session.