Teaching Checkers To Kids
Robert Pike: Teaching Checkers to Kids of All Ages
Every organization counts on its young people to support its established veterans. The American Checker Federation is no different. We look to our youths to bring fresh ideas to the table and to make our organization even better.
Parents, how do you get your kids away from mind-numbing TV and computer games? Teachers, how do you raise those SAT scores while letting your students have fun? And youths, how can you learn and do what your parents tell you to do while playing games with friends? The answer to all these questions is checkers.
Perhaps no one has been more instrumental in selling checkers to the youth than of Chula Vista, California. Mr. Pike, a former Massachusetts State Checker Champion, has been teaching checkers to kids in schools for years with excellent results
The positive effect that learning checkers has made in kids' lives is evident in the following letters:
Checkers Initiative We are in the middle of another initiative which is capturing the excitement of me, the students and staff – checkers! For a variety of reasons, students are noticeably more impulsive than they were when most of us began our professional careers in education. To counteract this and also to enhance the problem solving and spatial intelligences of our students, we have developed an initiative to teach all of our students the game of checkers.
Many studies are beginning to surface indicating a connection between high reading and other academic scores and playing checkers and chess. We are very fortunate to have as a resident of Holden, Mr. Bob Pike, former Massachusetts Checker Champion and author of several books on playing checkers. Mr. Pike has conducted a workshop for all of the teachers and is currently in the process of conducting hour long classes with every grade one through grade five class. He teaches the history of the game, the academic skills the game reinforces, the rules of the game and key pieces of strategy, and concludes by playing a game with the class using a large board with Velcro checkers he has designed. Students take home one of several checker challenge puzzles he has developed. It has been delightful for me to observe the high level of excitement and engagement demonstrated by the students during this process!
I want to encourage every family to support this initiative with at home checker matches – a very productive family activity. In grades four and five, every class will be holding a round robin checker tournament. Top performers in every class will be offered an opportunity to go into a weekly lunch / recess checker activity program conducted by teachers Patricia Hurley and Gerry Bak. They will work on checker challenge puzzles and play each other. Tournaments with other District Schools are a possibility for the future!
-Charles T. Gruszka, Principal
“Developing Competance and Caring”
Excerpt taken from the Dawson Newsletter, Volume 7, April 1997.
Checkers Initiative We are in the middle of another initiative which is capturing the excitement of me, the students and staff – checkers! For a variety of reasons, students are noticeably more impulsive than they were when most of us began our professional careers in education. To counteract this and also to enhance the problem solving and spatial intelligences of our students, we have developed an initiative to teach all of our students the game of checkers.
Many studies are beginning to surface indicating a connection between high reading and other academic scores and playing checkers and chess. We are very fortunate to have as a resident of Holden, Mr. Bob Pike, former Massachusetts Checker Champion and author of several books on playing checkers. Mr. Pike has conducted a workshop for all of the teachers and is currently in the process of conducting hour long classes with every grade one through grade five class. He teaches the history of the game, the academic skills the game reinforces, the rules of the game and key pieces of strategy, and concludes by playing a game with the class using a large board with Velcro checkers he has designed. Students take home one of several checker challenge puzzles he has developed. It has been delightful for me to observe the high level of excitement and engagement demonstrated by the students during this process!
I want to encourage every family to support this initiative with at home checker matches – a very productive family activity. In grades four and five, every class will be holding a round robin checker tournament. Top performers in every class will be offered an opportunity to go into a weekly lunch / recess checker activity program conducted by teachers Patricia Hurley and Gerry Bak. They will work on checker challenge puzzles and play each other. Tournaments with other District Schools are a possibility for the future!
-Charles T. Gruszka, Principal
“Developing Competance and Caring”
Excerpt taken from the Dawson Newsletter, Volume 7, April 1997.
Educators have praised Robert Pike for the critical thinking and social skills the students learn from his interactive presentations. Students love to go home after listening to Bob, anxious to challenge their parents, friends, and siblings with newly discovered skills.
A Brown University graduate and Navy jet pilot, Robert Pike has written many books on checkers, including an official American Mensa game book, Play Winning Checkers, published by Sterling. A few years ago, while introducing his grandchildren to the “granddaddy of board games,” Mr. Pike responded to their intense interest in the game and began searching for primers on checkers. Finding none, he wrote Winning Checkers for Kids and, for younger audiences, Checker Power. Mr. Pike also produced an award-winning video, Learning to Play Better Checkers, that incorporates visualization into the learning process. His checker problems have been featured in Highlights for Children magazine, and he has published two books on checker puzzles.
Things People Say About Robert Pike's Teaching Program
“Your Checker Program is more than entertaining – it encourages and inspires intellectual interaction.”
-Dr. Tutela, Regional Superintendent,Wachusett, Massachusetts
“… not just fun, but a valuable strategic exercise in judgement, conceptual planning, and visualization.”
- Children's Bookwatch
“Your presentation was clear, fascinating and stimulating. Everyone had a wonderful time.”
- M. Lo, Children's Librarian, Boston Public Library, Massachusetts
“We use Checkers with Math to help students visualize geometrically. It also produces social skills.”
- G. Bak, 4th Grade Teacher, Dawson School, Holden, Massachusetts
How would you like to teach checkers to kids in school as Robert Pike has done? How would you like to earn up to $50.00 per hour doing so? Robert Pike’s Teaching Brochure (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) gives you all the information you need to get started. The brochure also lists several books and teachers’ guides, an instructional video, a demo board, and a tournament manual that Mr. Pike has developed and used successfully to teach kids of all ages.
Don’t miss out on this golden opportunity. Our youth need you to help them build a smarter and better world!