Talk about a smart group of kids!  Last week I had the opportunity to visit with the students at Garwood Elementary in Idaho.  I asked them what they like about chess and their answers were wonderful, so much more than, “It’s fun.”  One little girl said, “I love chess because it helps me strategize.”  Those thinking skills are so important!  On that note, I taught the students the APE Dance before I left.  Now it has nothing to do with monkeys, it’s all about Analyzing, Planning, and Executing, those valuable skills used on the chessboard and in life.  Send me a note if your classroom would like to learn the APE Dance.  I loved visiting Garwood and hope to be in more schools soon, maybe I will visit your school next!

The people in Antigua were so nice and helpful.  Rotarians drove us to all of the schools to visit with the children and teach a lesson.  The kids were eager learners and jumped right into the lessons.  Most of these schools have computer labs (also sponsored by Rotary) so hopefully our kids in the USA will play online chess with kids in Antigua.  Get out your maps everyone!        

There are 60 primary schools in Antigua; if all goes well, within a few years First Move will be in all of them!  I will be going back in February as part of a Rotary trip and I will hold a Chess Festival!  We will have a little tournament, learn the chess song and do the APE dance. 

Thank you Rotarians, teachers, Principals, and students of Antigua for a wonderful trip!

Here is a little bit of background on the making of a segment on the Today Show.  Two people from the Today Show and two people from AF4C flew to Houston.  We met up with the folks from Spring ISD to go over the schedule.  I am so impressed with the leaders of Spring ISD, they were so organized!  The producer from the Today Show commented on how everything was lined up so well; great work Spring ISD!  The next morning we all met at Northgate Crossing Elementary school.  The plan was to shoot for two hours and head back to the airport.

The Chess Lady made a special appearance for the kids and they surprised me with a chess cheer!  We sang The Chess Song, and performed The APE Dance, showed off our smarts, and played chess.  After four hours of shooting, the people from the Today Show had to get to the airport.  But they still weren’t done.  They visited Notre Dame Academy, an all girls school in New York to get a few more shots to wrap the story up.

Thank you Today Show, Spring ISD in Texas, and Notre Dame Academy in New York!!

It has been a wonderful summer, but I am ready for school to be in session again!  I welcome back our returning schools and am very excited to say hello to our new schools.  Nearly 60,000 students will be using First Move this year.  Wow!  I will let you know what I am up to and if I am coming to your area.  Be sure to let me know what you and your class are up to as well.