Chess Is Child’s Play: Teaching Techniques That Work, is now out and available! You can find it at any major bookstore or on amazon, but if you order through me, I will sign it for you!

As some of you know, I have been working with my partner Bill Kilpatrick on this project for three years. We have been teaching children of all ages, perfecting a system that is easy and fun to apply.

We wrote this book for parents who might be intimidated by the game, so that they can learn to play along with the child.  Of course someone who is expert at chess will also benefit from the knowledge, as they will learn how to teach a young child.

When you teach a four-year-old to play it is imperative that you take a baby-step approach, defining all the terms along the way. We lay this all out for any parent to use!

We employ a “mini-game” strategy that is a lot of fun. Younger and older children enjoy playing these mini-games, and it strengthens their play, as they can focus on certain aspects.

Chess Is Child’s Play has been out for only a month and the reviews are pouring in!  Here are a few:

“Your book transformed me. For 41 years I was afraid to learn chess, and in reading and learning from your book, I was able to teach myself AND my 5-year old son. We play all the time, our brains are working and I am proud to finally understand this refined and incredible game. THANK YOU for your incredibly accessible, fun, and super-practical instruction.”

“An excellent book for teaching children of any age how to play chess. You may even adapt it to teach adults. Don’t know how to play chess? Use this book to teach yourself. Each chapter of the book is a clearly explained lesson. The illustrations are crisp and the pages have plenty of white space, which makes it easy to follow the instructions. The lessons make learning chess fun. You follow the learner’s pace. Each chapter ends with tips on how to deal with problems learners may have with the lesson. With this book in hand, adults can approach teaching children chess with confidence.”

“My son, Danel, is 40 months old. He already knew the name of the pieces, but I didn’t know how to continue teaching him. Today I’ve started teaching him with the help of your book. We’ve started with Chapter 4. I was very happy, because he could do all the games and exercises. I tried to continue with the rook, and, incredibly, he was very concentrated, and happy, and he wanted more and more. We only did 2-3 exercises of the Rook, but he could move them perfectly and we played some of the games. I couldn’t believe. He said that he wanted to play another day.”

When you order Chess Is Child’s Play, please do write to me and tell me how the lessons are going.  I want to know!

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.

***

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!