Published
Critical Thinking Skills for Little Thinkers
The Thinking Hour
The thinking hour at the table is the whole program: something to look at, a question worth waiting for, a reason to hear, one other thing to check. A parent who is not a philosopher can run that hour for five-to-ten — picture books, snacks, weather, a friend’s sentence — if a wish is not allowed to pass as a look out the window.
Editorial principle
Place by skill, not by birthday. Practice on something the child already knows. The child does the move; the parent hears a wish offered as a reason. The guide, if any, waits.
- Chronology
- 2026
- Length
- ~64,000 words
- Reading time
- ~4 hours · 191 pages
Authors
Michael Gannotti
The voices
1 figures across 2026. Each speaks in their own voice, through their own texts.
The parent-teacher
nowThinking hour
Core question: Can you hear a wish offered as a reason?
One adult, two ages at one table — not a philosophy department down the hall.
Chapters
14 chapters. The disagreement is not resolved.
- Complete
Welcome
Welcome
What is the thinking hour still for?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
How to Use
How to Use This Book This Week
What can you run on a Tuesday?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Five Things
If You Only Remember Five Things
What must hold if the rest is ignored?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
The Hour
The Thinking Hour
What does a session of looking, asking, and checking actually look like?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 1
What we mean
What is the activity, including what to do?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 2
The five moves
What are the moves a five-to-ten can actually practice?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 3
Something to think about
Is thinking a content-free skill?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 4
Picture books and stories
What does a story hour have to do with a reason?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 5
Inside the home
Where do the moves land at the table?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 6
Outside the home
Where do the moves land in the world the child already walks?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 7
Approaching disagreement
What does a fair hearing look like at this age?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 8
A life of the habit
What does the habit look like when the worksheet is gone?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 9
Records
What still has to leave the house?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 10
Resources
Which program fits this hour, and which does not?
Voices: parent-teacher