After years of research, Bill Kilpatrick and I are proud to announce the release of our book, Chess Is Child’s Play (available April 16th, 2012)!  Please check out this book today on amazon. They are still running a pre-release special of 41%.

Chess Is Child’s Play teaches any parent, of any skill level, to teach their child, of any age, to play chess.  Children aged four and up can benefit from these lesson. We also have exercises for two- and three-year-olds!

Chess is one of the oldest strategy games known to man. Studies show that children who learn chess at an early age gain such valuable life skills as:

• Problem-solving ability

• Improved patience and focus

• Enhanced imagination

• Greater self-confidence

Chess makes children smarter. Give your child an advantage in life and teach him or her to play today!

I ghostwrote a book this year called Joshua’s Missing Peace. My client Lori Suthar kindly offered to give me a ghostwriting credit on the cover, so this will technically be my first author credit. I’ve written many books, but prior to this I was, well, a ghost!

When Lori approached me about her story, I was immediately interested. I am very passionate about the subject and feel this book will save lives.

Here is a brief synopsis:

When math whiz Joshua began behaving bizarrely at the age of four, his parents pursued help from the medical community. As is typical, Joshua was shuffled off to a psychiatrist who prescribed heavy medication. Both parents, being holistic in nature, were horrified by the changes in their brilliant son. His behavior worsened, as did his ability to do simple exercises in school.

As Joshua’s symptoms increased so did the medication. Their loveable son was turning into a psychotic stranger before their eyes.

Frightened and frustrated, his parents researched solutions, finally putting together the missing puzzle pieces, discovering the true nature of Joshua’s mysterious illness. He had a severe, but treatable, version of Strep throat, called PANDAS.

Driven to help other families avoid the needless suffering they endured, his mother, Lori Suthar, chronicles the details of their son’s two-year nightmare in Joshua’s Missing Peace. Her unique humor is laced throughout the book, as she shares this inspiring story with her readers.

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If you’re interested in purchasing a copy, please email me. The cost will be $18.95 plus $3.99 for shipping.

Chess is Child’s Play is a book written by parents, for parents. It is written for YOU!

Chess is one of the oldest strategy games known to man. Studies show that children who learn chess at an early age gain such valuable life skills as:

• Problem-solving ability
• Improved patience and focus
• Enhanced imagination
• Greater self-confidence.

We have created an easy, step-by-step method for teaching chess that parents of all skill levels can use to teach children of any age.

You don’t have to know how to play in order to use the system in this book. This book will teach you the game, while showing you how to teach your child to play. You will learn together.

Please visit the site on Amazon and receive a special 41% off on pre-orders.

Chess Is Child’s Play will be released this April!

We recently got a hold of a giant chess set and the students LOVE it! In fact, I think we may have gotten a few new students because of it.

Dan and I decided to have a Giant Chess Board Day at Delphi this Wednesday for our students. Children will be able to take turns playing on the life-sized chess board.

I must say that when I introduced the giant set to the class three weeks ago, I was amazed by their enthusiasm.  During one class four boys formed two teams of two players to play.  They walked the board in between moves, squatting down to gain a new perspective on the position.

I never considered how these angles might help a player, but it does provide a unique viewpoint.

When I tried to get them to come in and play with the indoor sets they all pouted. Then they complained for the rest of the session that the normal sets were “way too small.”

I’m looking forward to Giant Chess Board Day!!

After years of having people “just find me,” I decided it was time to get a website designed. Thanks for Connect Up Marketing, I now have a new site!

Please visit me at LauraSherman.com and let me know what you think!

Do you like my owl?

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I’m pleased that our youtube video is still going strong. People seem to enjoy watching it:

Last week I started teaching my 2 year old to play chess. She has been watching her older brother and sister (aged 7 and 4) play for some time and was ready for her first lesson.

We started by discussing the pieces and their names. Two pieces a day is what I suggest at this level. End when they still want more!

Serena did very well.  I was impressed.  Her big sister came over and helped out at one point. She liked playing the game of passing pieces back and forth, calling out their names.

Next step will be to introduce the board!

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

It is important to teach your child to write down their moves as soon as they can. This allows you (or their chess coach) to go over their games with them.

One of the most important resource a player has are their own games. Going over all their games with someone else will help them improve like nothing else can. Even if they do so just with their opponent, they will learn new insights into their moves and see new possibilities.

In the beginning, writing down moves can be tedious. It takes time and can slow down the game. You need to push through this with with your child and see that they continue to record their games.

After a while, it become second nature. They will get the skill down quickly and it won’t interfere with their playing.

Another reason to start this early, is that tournaments demand that you record your moves. It’s a rule, so it’s better to learn how now, get used to it and not let it be a distraction!

Image via Wikipedia

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have backup plans for my backup plans. As a result I am rarely caught off guard.

Where did this skill come from?

Last night I realized that this viewpoint came from chess. When you play many games, and you care if you win or lose (which I do), you tend to create backup plans on the board.

For instance, it’s a good idea to not leave your pieces unprotected. If a bishop is out in the middle of the board and there are no pieces guarding it, it’s open to attack.

Now you might say, “Well, no one is attacking it now. Why worry about it?”

What often happens in a game is an opponent can make use of that potential weakness and attack it while also attacking another piece. It’s difficult to defend two things at once.

So if you try to keep all your pieces connected, making sure they are protecting each other, you have a built in backup plan. It’s like bringing that umbrella when the sky is blue.

Life is like a chess board, full of lots of activity. Each position has a lot happening, different threats and battles. You must get used to looking at it all at the same time, evaluating it as a whole. And then creating safeguards to make sure all areas are not only safe, but flourishing!

I was talking with a friend the other day about our the importance of teaching chess to children.  He told me how chess had helped him as a child and as an adult and then pointed out that chess really has a “rate of return” for children.

As a parent I know many of you work hard to put food on the plate.  Extra expenses, are well, expenses that are extra, right?  You would do anything for your children, but the money has to be justified. 

So is there a “rate of return” in investing in chess lesson for your children?

Most definitely!

When children learn how to play chess, they learn a lot more than just how to move pieces on a board.  Most games have some benefit, but chess has survived and flourished through the ages, because it brings more to the table.

If you google “chess and education” you will see numerous studies that have been performed all around the world, testing children before and after learning chess.  I think everyone would agree that children’s test scores will improve as a result of chess lessons.

But is there something more, something a bit more quantifiable?

Let’s fast forward to your child’s first job.  How will he or she tackle that experience?  Will they know how to solve problems on the fly or will they plague their new boss with silly questions?  Will they think outside-the-box and come up with new innovations for their position?  Will they understand the importance of teamwork and be an asset to the company?

Chess teaches children all of these skills and more.

You can either teach your child chess or hire someone to do so (or persuade your school to teach chess during school hours).  I promise you that your time or money will be well spent.  You will receive an excellent rate of return!