INTRODUCTION
• For students Grade 3 and up
• Classes are 1 1/2 hours long for 12 weeks
• 8 students per class
Kids make Chess-sets!
Chess Shop uses a system where children can safely experience the satisfaction and pride of using real tools to make a lasting keepsake: a quality chess-set, pieces and board.
The pieces are made on hand-cranked lathes with blanks made from dental plaster, a durable, but easily tooled type of plaster. For safety, the pieces are tooled with files, not chisels. The boards are made by the kids with beautiful scrap hardwoods. Dust is collected with a vacuum system that is attached by hoses to each station.
For every student to get needed attention, student/adult ratio is important. The classes are kept to 8 students. The Chess Shop director needs at least one adult assistant per class provided by your organization. These assistants do not need to have chess or woodworking experience.
Children are very interested in learning real skills. They like to make projects that have real value - for themselves and for others. Children are very proud of their chess-sets ... and families get enthusiastic about having their child make an heirloom quality family keepsake. Kids love making something that family members value and encourage.
Kids and family can't wait to play with the new set. The Chess Shop course culminates in a chess tournament with family members.
Making a chess-set motivates kids to learn and play chess. Chess Shop includes chess lessons. See Learning Chess
As with making anything from scratch, as children make chess sets, they begin to understand the process of construction, of putting parts together to make something unique; they develop a confident "I can build it" attitude. Children exercise their creativity and learn the values of planning, patience, hard work, problem solving, and the satisfaction of work well done.
CHESS-MAKING TECHNIQUE
Making Chess Pieces • The Lathing Station • Making Chess Boards • Making Chess Boxes • Making Checkers
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Making Chess Pieces:
The pieces are made on hand cranked lathes with dental plaster, a durable, but easily tooled type of plaster. For safety, the pieces are tooled with files, not chisels. Students hold the files against the cylindrical plaster blanks. As the lathe is cranked the blank is shaped. The plaster is easily filed away, making shaping the pieces easy and satisfying. Children can be very creative with shaping distinctive and striking pieces.
The Lathing Station:
Four hand cranked lathes are operated from this station. Files are kept in the wooden tray between the lathes.
Dust created by shaping the plaster blanks is collected with a vacuum system that is attached by hoses to each station. Dust is not a problem.
Making Chess Boards:
These professional looking chess boards are deceptively simple to make. Students can choose from beautiful contrasting color hardwood scraps: walnut, cherry, maple, red oak, white oak, etc..
The board-making technique: (see photos above)
- Step 1: Students choose four dark and four light 1 1/2 inch wide strips of wood and glue these together with bar clamps.
- Step 2: The Chess Shop director takes these glued boards home and cuts them into 1 1/2 inch strips, creating strips with alternating squares.
- Step 3: Students re-glue the strips to create the checkerboard pattern.
- Step 4: Students sand and wax the boards. Kids enjoy this step and spend a lot of time sanding to a fine finish.
- Step 5: Students paint a frame and glue it on to the back of the board.
Making Chess Boxes:
Students make boxes to keep the chess pieces. The decorative handle is cut with a hand-cranked scroll saw. Students love using this tool.
Making Checker Pieces:
Checker pieces are made with polymer clay. The technique we use is called "cane technique". Students make sheets of colored clay with pasta machines. The students roll these sheets together to create "canes" which are sliced into checker pieces (see drawing).
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COURSE OPTIONS AND FEES
- Enrollment: Enrollment is limited to 8 students per class
- Schedule: Classes are 1 1/2 hours long for 12 weeks
- Cost: The Chess Club fee is negotiable. The supply cost is $12 per student.
- Course Options: The students who are interested in Chess Shop have a number of options:
- Make a full chess set, 32 pieces and a board. The most interested students can make this complete set.
- Students can make checkers. Students enjoy the technique for making checkers (see Techniques/checkers).
- Students can work as a group to make a set: Some students prefer to make fewer than 32 pieces. These students like the idea of working together to make a set as a gift for an important person in the program or in the community.
- Make a Tick-Tack-Toe board (3x3 square board, with X and O pieces)
- Make a "Tic Tac Check" set: "Tic Tac Check" is a game that teaches chess moves while playing something like Tick Tack Toe. It requires only 8 pieces (2 pawns, 2 rooks, 2 knights, 2 bishops) and a 4x4 square board.
GALLERY
Chess Boards • Chess Pieces • Chess Boxes • At Work • Tournament • Tic-Tac-Toe
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Student-made Chess Boards:
Student-made Pieces:
Chess Boxes:
At work:
Tournament:
Tic-Tac-Toe:
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LEARNING CHESS
Chess Shop includes learning chess with the award winning "Quick Chess" system by Amerigames International. "Quick Chess" teaches chess with 10 minute mini-games which concentrate on the moves of particular pieces.
CHESS RESOURCES
ASAP: (Philadelphia) Since 2004, ASAP has organized nearly 700 chess clubs in public, parochial, independent and charter schools, community and recreation centers, libraries, places of worship and homeless shelters across Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Scholastic Chess League
America's Foundation for Chess: This organization has created a professionally designed, standards-based curriculum titled First Move (this curriculum has been adopted by many schools). First Move uses the game of chess as a learning tool for 2nd and 3rd grade students.
Chesskids.com: Play full games and chess exercises online. This site also teaches the rules of chess and has links to other chess resources.
Chess4kids.com: This site offers a chess curriculum for kids that can be used online.
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Sherina Carranza Poorman: Mrs. Poorman is an experienced woodworker and educator. She is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College where she majored in Fine Arts. As an employee of the Lower Merion School District for eight years, Mrs. Poorman assisted children with special education needs. She left the district in 2001 to devote her time to after-school work.
She has years of experience creating with wood for and with children. She has helped children build go carts, play houses, furniture, theatre sets and props, toys, and a myriad of practical items for their families.
Mrs. Poorman creates educational materials for after-school programs, which can be downloaded by after-schools from the web site she created for the purpose: www.hiphiphooraymagazine.com. Over 100 after-schools around the country subscribe to this after-school resource.
Resume
Samples of Mrs Poorman's woodwork
WOOD SHOP FOR KIDS (sister site)
CONTACT
Sherina Poorman:
Phone: 610 525 7564
email: brick476@verizon.net
