Parents and childcare providers are always looking for fun, interesting and enriching new activities for kids to take part in. Chess classes are exactly that, and yet all too often it is presumed that they are only suitable for older children. The fact is, Chess Mates has been proving that children from as young as two years can get tremendous benefits from chess, and that, with so much of a child’s brain development occurring prior to their fifth birthday, starting chess when they’re young provides kids with a head start in life. Available throughout Brisbane, perfect for childcare centres and schools, and also available on weekends (currently in Bulimba, Sunnybank and Kenmore), Chess Mates offers a fun and fulfilling experience for all participants.
The Chess Mates Difference
While in the past chess classes only taught children aged eight or older, Chess Mates is aimed at kids from as young as two, all the way up to ten years of age. They also believe that chess classes shouldn’t be too focussed on being competitive. Instead, their chess classes for children are designed to be much more enjoyable, by focussing on having fun and making new friends while learning. The purpose of the classes are to teach students chess in a fun and engaging environment, with the underlying aim of building valuable life skills to help them when they are older.
For younger students, Chess Mates focuses on developing confidence in students through songs and stories and for everyone to have fun regardless of their ability. They aim for students to pick up skills in chess and to teach their new-found skills to their parents with the aim to foster a bond through chess. For schools, they teach chess classes with a focus on teamwork and co-operation. In both situations, they provide individual reviews which are sent out to parents on a term basis with the aim of involving parents in their child’s journey and progress.
The Benefits of Chess Classes for Children
Parents and carers want the best for their children, and chess has the power to develop their potential in many ways. For example, it has been shown that learning chess from three years old can improve overall performance at school by nearly 20% compared with children who have not played chess. Other amazing benefits include:
- Developing confidence — children gain confidence through mastering even simple moves and through peer teaching
- Concentration and attention span — children’s attention and concentration is engaged for the whole half-hour lesson
- Memory — children will learn to recall the moves taught in previous lessons
- Emotional, social and cognitive development — studies have shown that learning chess can help children to develop emotionally, socially, and cognitively, which has major benefits for children with autism, as well as children in general
- Critical thinking, creativity and planning — chess involves strategy, creativity and planning, enhancing children’s skills in all of these important areas
- Spatial awareness — learning how different chess pieces move helps develop children’s spatial awareness
- Problem-solving — children will learn problem-solving skills as they work out ways to protect their pieces or achieve checkmate
- Independent and abstract decision-making — to make a move in a chess game, children must learn to be decisive
- Emotional intelligence — among many other things, learning to deal with, and process, the emotions of winning and losing develops children’s emotional intelligence
How can you get your child involved with Chess Mates?
Simply visit http://chessmates.com.au/, where you can watch the great video below about why chess classes might suit your child and find out more about the program and classes available.
You can find out more about Chess Mates’ wonderful classes in this video –
Parent Testimonial: “Adela enjoys playing chess and she learn new things all the time which is so great.” – , Adela’s Mum.