The children in Year 3 there were shown what the big questions of philosophy have to do with their own lives. This time, the elementary school Steterburg in Thiede, Am Ostertal in Lebenstedt, with its Salder branch, and Hallendorf elementary school took part.
Two speakers from the Literaturhaus visited each of the schools and let their thoughts fly with the pupils in a playful way - a total of eight morning events were on the program this year. Based on carefully selected picture book stories, the topic "What can I hope for?" was discussed and reflected on together.
As the pupils from Hallendorf elementary school are currently housed at the Altstadtschule in Salzgitter-Bad, the "Gedankenflieger" workshops were simply moved there. One of the school's many participating classes, alongside 3b, was 3a from Hallendorf with class teacher Lisa Ziehe.
First, a circle of chairs was formed and the Gedankenflieger speakers, literary scholar, philosopher and freelance editor, Stefanie Segatz, and children's book author and singer, Anne Jaspersen, introduced themselves to the children. A few pupils from class 3a had already heard of the term "philosophy". Supported by the speakers, they discovered that parts of it also appear in some names, such as Sophie/Sophia (translated as "wisdom") and Philipp, meaning "friend". They learned from Anne Jaspersen and Stefanie Segatz that the term is made up of both parts of the word, meaning that "philosophers" see themselves as friends of wisdom.
What is "hope"?
The children then said what they could think of on the subject of "hope". For example, they mentioned: hoping that you get a good grade; hoping that your brother gets out of hospital soon and feels better again; hoping that a family member returns from a trip in good health. The students realized that you can hope not only for yourself, but also for others, or that you can give hope to others; that hope generally makes you happier.
This was followed by a game on the topic: colorful "hop" dots made of paper were laid out on the floor - while the speakers explained that "hope" comes from "hopping". One by one, the children were allowed to hop on one of the dots, which had different terms written on the underside. The respective child read out the term and, together with the others, considered whether and what this word could have to do with "hope". Surprising realization: "hope" is initially an abstract concept, but it can also be experienced sensually, i.e. with the whole body - not just with the head or the mind.
The topic of "hope" was explored even further by reading out picture book stories. The children gathered in their beautiful seating area in front of the whiteboard onto which the individual picture book pages of Dayeon Auh's book "A Mountain, a Fall, a Long Life" were projected using the projector. The story, based on a Korean folk tale and illustrated in vibrant colors, tells of a grandfather and his granddaughter, of a mountain, of a fall and the loss of confidence, but also of a change of perspective, of hope, optimism and a new zest for life. During and afterwards, the children reflected on the book: "I know why he (the grandfather) is so ill: because he's scared!" Another child: "He feels sick because he believes that about the story (which is told about the mountain, first called the "mountain of horror" and later the "mountain of long, happy life") - and because he has lost hope."
When the students were asked by the speakers whether they thought this was a story that could give hope, the unanimous answer was: "Yes".
Gedankenflieger magazine: A personal snapshot for every child
Despite the time that had passed, the children were still focused and showed admirable attention and perseverance when it came to the third part of the "Gedankenflieger" event. Each child now received their own "Gedankenflieger" magazine, with magical glittering, partly transparent glasses on the cover to arouse curiosity about the contents. Inside were many more picture book suggestions on the topic of "hope", thought-provoking ideas and drawing tasks, illustrations and plenty of free space to fill with their own thoughts, ideas, words and pictures, so that the magazine could become a very personal archive and a lasting snapshot of each child's thoughts.
At the end, the two speakers thanked the children for their great cooperation and attention. They had really enjoyed being with them.
Support for the "Gedankenflieger" project in Salzgitter
The "Gedankenflieger" project in Salzgitter is made possible by the Federal Agency for Civic Education, among others.
In Salzgitter in particular, the series of events has been significantly supported by local sponsors from the region for years - this year (as several times before) by the Braunschweigische Sparkassenstiftung.
Daniel Meyer, member of the Regional Advisory Board of the Braunschweigische Sparkassenstiftung, and Thomas Wolff, head of the Braunschweigische Sparkasse branches in Fredenberg and Steterburg, personally attended the "Gedankenflieger" event at the Altstadtschule to hand over this year's generous grant of 2,000 euros to the City of Salzgitter's Department of Culture for the "Gedankenflieger on tour 2026 - Salzgitter" project.
