It's Friday, so we focused on critical thinking. Today, though, we branched out a bit, eschewing logic puzzles and hearts for the ultimate in critical thinking exercises: chess. Students who'd had experience with chess paired with students new to the game and taught the newbies the basics. Of course, we can't cover all the basics in one short session, so everyone focused on getting the new chess players comfortable with four pieces:

• pawns
• bishops
• rooks
• the queen

We'll had those pesky knights next time.

Please check your child's grades in my class: there are several who did not turn in the active listening questions.