What do you learn at Spy School? Kid aged 8-12 will learn how to THINK like a spy by mastering puzzles and riddles.

Students will use logic and deductive reasoning to solve perplexing puzzles, elusive enigmas and
curious conundrums. 

Class Experience

Puzzles and riddles have common patterns, that when mastered can make solving them easy and
satisfying. One can learn the hard way, by being exposed to 1000 riddles, or one can learn common tactics that are employed by game masters to stump and confuse. Attendees will learn how to challenge their assumptions and look for misdirects which can waste their time. They will become familiar with various metaphors, enigmas and wordplay that make obvious questions very difficult. They will develop a mental tool kit, so that they know how to identify the task in front of them and what they need to determine in order to solve it. 

Each class will be structured around one specific type of puzzle/riddle, for example, those
involving colors, wordplay, shapes, math. 2/3 of class will be spent going over examples of these types of puzzles, learning where the misdirection is, understanding key indicators to look for and breaking down the steps necessary to solve them. For the remaining 1/3 of class, students will get to practice puzzles, share and debate hypotheses with their classmates and write their own puzzles for classmates to solve. 

Learning Goals

- Improve pattern recognition ability and reasoning ability through various mental exercises and

techniques

- Distinguish between linear vs. nonlinear puzzles

- Develop strategies to maximize time

- Learn to think like a puzzle writer

- Learn to make the seemingly "invisible" answer, visible