Teaching Chess to Littles :)

[JennSnow]

Hi all :)

Just wanted to share this resource I found for teaching chess to littles :).  I found this when looking for a resource for teaching my 4 year old who asked to learn how to play. My older son learned with the "Fritz and Chesster" software but this kiddo isn't crazy about working on the computer.  I like that this book organizes the lessons in an easy to learn, logical way and offers new information in bite size increments while including lots of "mini games" to keep things fun and engaging! 

At any rate, just wanted to share! :)

http://www.amazon.com/Chess-Childs-Play-Teaching-Techniques/dp/193627731X

[HomeAgain]

I found a picture of my youngest the other day, when he was barely 2yo, standing at a chess board and learning the pieces....these are the soldiers.  They guard the court and only move a little at a time....these are the strong castle walls.  They slide forward and back, back and forth, to make straight wall lines...these are the knights riding their horses into battle.  The horses are a little nervous, and skitter to the side..these are the sneaky bishops....

 

Ah, I miss baby chess!  Now we play with real names and locations.  Not nearly as much fun as when he was creating entire battles with sound effects and everything.

[Jane Elliot]

I taught my kids using a method similar to the one found in this free pdf: http://www.uiltexas.org/files/capitalconference/Randolph-TeachingChesstheEasyFunWaywithMiniGames.pdf 

 

I don't know where I first heard about this method. I knew nothing about chess, so I was learning, too. "Pawn Parade" on page 19 of that document was our first game. 

[Mama Geek]

I don't know about the methods of teaching  kids chess mentioned above.  I do know that Dh taught dd how to move 2 pieces at a time and she was playing a full game after about 2 weeks.  This was a couple of months before she turned 5.  She has beat my dh once and can beat me.  She hasn't beat my brother but doesn't play him a whole lot due to distance.