Is Stella Ready for Chess?

This week, Stella’s dad asked me again if she was ready to start playing chess. He had gone back to the game shop Stella and he visited to look at a simple chess set during his lunch break. Clueless, I had to admit to him that I had never learnt to play chess and know very little about the game. I have heard from someone that the way children play chess is very different from the way adults play. I have seen (exceptional) children around Stella’s age play chess but just with anything, I told him not to rush if she was not interested. I suggested introducing the chess pieces to her slowly to see if she was interested. Stella loves to learn about the names of things and their functions. I told him about a picture book I had seen sometime ago that tells stories of the chess pieces and how each one moves. Because I couldn’t remember the title of the book, he said he might look it up on the internet. I also told him how some people play modified games on the board to encourage the child to move the pieces properly before playing the complete game. He might be able to find more information on the internet before introducing this great game to his little girl.

Knowing Stella, she may become impatient with explanations if the whole set of chess (including its board) is placed immediately in front of her. She will be itching to have a go ASAP. She likes to learn hands on and understands complicated rules very quickly. Come to think of it, it might be a good idea to introduce individual chess pieces away from the rest of the set so she will not be distracted by the others on the board. She is such a pleasure to work with. Her energy and enthusiasm drives me to work harder to come up with activities for us to do. I love looking up and making activities for young children. The fact that I am not overloaded with other extra chores has made it possible for me to implement these activities more so than ever before. Stella and increasingly Bree are my latest guinea pigs. LOL. This doesn’t mean that I make the girls ‘work’ all day without play. Best of all, the parents totally appreciate the activities I offer them. In fact, Bree’s parents are beginning to look forward to their little girl doing the same things that Stella has been offered.

Now, I started off talking about the possibility of introducing Chess to Stella and how did I ended up talking about what a dedicated nanny I am to my little charges? LOL. This nanny can be quite a show off!