I understand your wanting to use a plain background, that's a good choice, however, the subject is too close to the wall and the light is casting some harsh shadows. Just a thought. Good luck. BTW - You're right about the young minds learning quickly! :D
I like his focus. You might've done better if you hadn't used a flash for this shot, or moved your subject away from the wall to avoid that annoying flash shadow. Good luck!
This just looks like a snapshot. There's nothing "creative" about it. I'm having trouble enough scoring above average in all my challenges, thus far. So, I'm just passing on to you that you have to figure out how to WOW the voters with something new, fun, and different. Simply just fulfilling the challenge requirements with subject matter isn't going to score very well.