Thursday, April 3, 2008

Show and Tell - The Chessboard

I've missed Dana's last two days of Homeschooling Week prompts but I'll pick up today with Show and Tell. Here's the Show part:



The picture is awful but that is one of the most valuable toys, pieces of furniture and homeschooling resources that we have. It's a chessboard. I bought it several years ago for my husband for Christmas. I loved it. It's funky and cool and always reminds me of the, "Square candies that look round," bit from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory because it plays with angles and curves. Those legs on it also flip under so that it can be hung or stored away. So neat. Anyway, the important thing was that my husband hated it. Absolutely hated it.

The fact that my husband hated the board meant it was basically abandoned to the kids and boy, have they made use of it. It has been used for checkers and chess, as a battleground for Pokemon, as a make shift desk for drawing, crafts and snacks, a stage for Barbie performances and an impromptu seat. It's also been rolled around the living room on its side. It's now full of stains and chips and the original funky design I loved is looking pretty tacky and worn. Regardless, my husband and I look at it and laugh because what was originally a huge miss of a present has now evolved into one of the most used and most loved resources in the house.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's great! I love it when something is "rediscovered."

Jacqueline said...

I want one of those! Great story.

Anonymous said...

That is a great little chess board! I love watching my 9yo and 5yo play chess. I'd watch them pondering over their moves, taking turns and looking all serious. It felt so homeschooly.

Don't tell anyone that neither of them knew how to play.

(The oldest does, now, but it was cuter when she didn't!)

molytail said...

Aw, what a cool looking chessboard - and even better for all the fun activities it's been involved in!

My hubby knows how to play chess and he tried to teach me - but, much like his attempts to teach me how to play crib, it never went all that well LOL

Heather said...

That is so cool and I bet they have tons of fun with it. :)