MiniChess initiative at Philena Primary School, Olievenhoutbosch
information supplied by Jolandie Nieuwenhuis
photographs by Linzé
The
MiniChess Program:
The
MiniChess™ Program was created & designed by Woman of the Year, Marisa van der Merwe, who with years of
experience in the fields of teaching and chess training; saw the vision of
empowering students by helping them understand maths and science through chess.
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| Jolandie (left) and Marisa |
The MiniChess program was developed over
years of teaching chess to “entry phase” learners (gr.1/R to gr.3, i.e. 5/6 to
8 years of age) as part of the school curriculum. It has already been used on a
trial basis, with great success, at a number of schools in SA.
It is organized into structured lessons,
with detailed lesson plans in the Teacher’s Manuals and
attractive Project Books for the learners. The program uses tried and
tested methods for teaching chess to little ones, including the use of
so-called “MiniChess” games. The learning process is broken down into small
steps, building confidence while keeping it fun, and is in line with the skills
level of the young child at that specific age, eg. colouring, cut and paste,
form recognition, simple pattern recognition, a little bit of writing, etc. in
the case of 6 year olds (grade 1). The program consists of 4 levels (grade1/R,
grade2 and grade3), each grade accommodating the continual development of
skills and capacity as the child grows. The program continually links chess
concepts with maths-, science- and life skills.”
Denel Land Systems' Involvement:
As part of the Mentoring For Success
Program, the Mentees (Team Mighty Moves) needed to complete a Make A Difference
(MAD) Project.
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| The enterprising young people from DLS that organised the event with Marisa holding the prized chess set. |
This Project entails taking up a challenge that will make a
difference either within the company or the community.
The team chose a project which involved
implementing the MiniChess program within an under privileged school within the
community. Initially we will implement the program within the Grade R class at
the Philene Primary School in
Olievenhoutbosch. The program will be implemented in
partnership with Moves for Life.
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