Chess anyone?

Passing this along from Ron Small roon78@yahoo.com, please email him if you are interested......

The Vernon chess club has gotten off to a great start. A team of two of the club's members won third place at a tournament in Manchester this past Saturday, and one of the members won first place in his division.

We would love to add a few more students to the club. David Aldi is a fantastic teacher and the kids really enjoy his coaching sessions. There are other homeschool chess clubs in different areas of the state, and we envision tournaments involving all the clubs. It will be a lot of fun and a great learning experience!

The Vernon Chess Club meets at Trinity Lutheran Church from 12:30 to 1:30 on Tuesdays. We do 8 week sessions at the cost of $80 per session. Joining now (2 weeks into the first session) is not a problem, and David has agreed to pro-rate the fee.

Any children who have an interest in chess are strongly encouraged to join us!

Please email me at roon48@yahoo.com for any further info or with any questions.

Many thanks,

Ron Small

(Benjamin, 11 & Naomi, 8)

Ellington

REMINDER: Anyone interested in playing chess??

Passing this along from Ron Small  roon48@yahoo.com;  email him ASAP if you are interested

The Homeschool Chess Club will start on
 Tuesday Oct. 16, 2012

12:30pm to 1:30pm

 at Trinity Lutheran Church

 20 Meadowlark Road, Vernon, CT.

The teacher David Aldi is a skilled chess player and teacher who works with schools and homeschoolers throughout the state. He is extending a special homeschool rate to us of $10/child/session. Normally his rate is $15/child/session. We will do 10 week sessions. Parents should email Ron Small roon48@yahoo.com if they are interested so he can keep a count of the kids. He needs a minimum of 10 kids, so email him ASAP! They can bring payment and pay David directly at the first class. Coming a few minutes early to take care of that would be great.

Class description:

Learn to play the game of chess! This is for players that want to learn new strategies and ways to win as well as other chess “secrets”. Beginners are also welcome (those that do not know how to play at all).

You will learn all the basic moves of the chess pieces, their values, piece interaction, and how to win (checkmate).

Additional subject matter might include an introduction to master-level chess techniques and secrets that will

improve your chances of winning chess games in tournaments. These intermediate and advanced topics
would be the following:

 (1) Forced checkmating patterns 

 (2) How to win with just Kings and pawns on the board

(3) The concept of "Zugswang" (the requirement to move even though every move loses)

(4) Zwishchenzug (The "in-between" move that can upset the balance in a given position).

 This class will also cover "How to evaluate your game" and an "Organized thinking process" that will lead the player to finding good moves in most chess situations.

Focus will also be on recognizing critical positions during the course of a game.

Note: The 60 minute session will is broken down to an approximate 30 minutes of “instructional coaching session” and 30 minutes of play. This class is designed as to be a “chess workshop”.

last minute field trip posting

Passing along this from Karen Cupit, please email her at cupit_kj@sbcglobal.net ASAP if you are interested...

Foster Farm Field Trip

90 Foster Street, South Windsor

Tuesday, October 16th, 2 p.m.

(rain date: October 23th)

PLEASE RSVP BY OCTOBER 12th

CORN MAZE, HAY RIDE and PLAY AREA!

Adults and teens: $8

Younger kids (under 13): $6

Preschoolers: $4 (includes story time)

Two full sized corn mazes encompassing 8 acres of land and 4 miles of trails!

www.fosterfarm.com

Homeschool Class at Springfield Museums

Passing this along from Holly Klein    hrklein498@yahoo.com, please email her if you are interested........

Springfield Museums  

http://www.springfieldmuseums.org/

October 30th 

Grades 3-8

9:45am: Arrive at the Springfield Museums

10:00-11:30am: History Detectives
http://www.springfieldmuseums.org/learning_and_travel/school_programs/view/98-history_detectives

11:30am-12:00pm: Lunch (an indoor location will be reserved for you)

12:00-12:30pm: Self-guided time to explore the museums on your own

12:30-1:30pm:ScienceIsland   http://www.springfieldmuseums.org/learning_and_travel/school_programs/view/119-science_island

1:30-2:30pm: Self-guided time to explore the museums on your own

2:30pm: Depart

The program fee for this visit would be $7.00 per student. All parents directly responsible for the education of their children would be admitted for free under our educator chaperone policy. You would also be able to bring one free parent chaperone for every ten students you bring to the museums. Additional parents would be welcome, though they will incur the same program fee as the students.

***To sign-up for this program, email Holly Klein @ hrklein498@yahoo.com by Friday, October 12 with the number of students & chaperones. Payment needs to be mailed & received by Wednesday, October 17 to confirm your spot (contact me if there is an *issue with that). Make checks out to Holly Klein & mail to 55 East Eldridge St., Manchester, CT 06040 or you can give me the money at StarHill on Fridays. The Museum needs to treat this as they would a school, so there is just one payment & one contact person for this program. Thanks for your understanding.

Next session of Homeschool Gym at Star Hill starting next week

Sign up NOW for next session Homeschool Recreation
At Star Hill Athletic Family Center in Tolland, Ct.

The next 6 week session starts on Friday October 19

 at 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM.
Activities will be planned each week on the turf fields, basketball/volleyball courts, and the indoor track. Children ages 4-16 will enjoy activities in both smaller age-appropriate groups and larger groups. While the kids are playing, Moms and Dads are welcome to use the track in the dome to get their exercise! Pre-registration is required for this program. $35 per child for members, $45 per child for non-members.
Please register your children by Wednesday October 17, 2012

To register online click on this link:
http://www.starhillsports.com/vacation-week/home-school-programs

Also don't forget on Wednesdays Homeschool Swim; enjoy fun and games in the indoor pool. $5 per person. Star Hill members free. 12:30pm - 2:00pm. Wednesday swim time usually includes time for free swim and then structured games. Children wearing flotation devices must be accompanied by a parent in the water. No pre-registration for this program.

Star Hill Athletic Family Center
100 Gerber Drive

Tolland, Ct

860-871-8800

Hooked on Phonics for sale

Passing this along from Donna Meier, please contact her if you are interested

Hooked on Phonics is a great learn-to-read system. Both my kids learned to read using it, and now I am selling our set. The original price is $200. Our set is about 10 years old and we are asking $50 or best offer. If you are interested, please let me know. Thanks! Donna 860-794-9851 dcm111@cox.net

Homeschool Chess Club forming in Vernon

Passing this along from Ron Small  roon48@yahoo.com;  email him if you are interested

The Homeschool Chess Club will start on
 Tuesday Oct. 16, 2012

12:30pm to 1:30pm

 at Trinity Lutheran Church

 20 Meadowlark Road, Vernon, CT.

The teacher David Aldi is a skilled chess player and teacher who works with schools and homeschoolers throughout the state. He is extending a special homeschool rate to us of $10/child/session. Normally his rate is $15/child/session. We will do 10 week sessions. Parents should email Ron Small roon48@yahoo.com if they are interested so he can keep a count of the kids. He needs a minimum of 10 kids, so email him ASAP! They can bring payment and pay David directly at the first class. Coming a few minutes early to take care of that would be great.

Class description:

Learn to play the game of chess! This is for players that want to learn new strategies and ways to win as well as other chess “secrets”. Beginners are also welcome (those that do not know how to play at all).

You will learn all the basic moves of the chess pieces, their values, piece interaction, and how to win (checkmate).

Additional subject matter might include an introduction to master-level chess techniques and secrets that will

improve your chances of winning chess games in tournaments. These intermediate and advanced topics
would be the following:

 (1) Forced checkmating patterns 

 (2) How to win with just Kings and pawns on the board

(3) The concept of "Zugswang" (the requirement to move even though every move loses)

(4) Zwishchenzug (The "in-between" move that can upset the balance in a given position).

 This class will also cover "How to evaluate your game" and an "Organized thinking process" that will lead the player to finding good moves in most chess situations.

Focus will also be on recognizing critical positions during the course of a game.

Note: The 60 minute session will is broken down to an approximate 30 minutes of “instructional coaching session” and 30 minutes of play. This class is designed as to be a “chess workshop”.