Chess Players

I love this photo of the three youngest in the playroom window playing chess.  I think the kids played it with their cousins in August, and Thomas has taken quite a liking to the game. The other kids enjoy it too, but it's a different level of intensity that Thomas plays with. He couldn't beat the neighborhood chess champion though. (We have a little friend his exact age who is winning chess competitions!)

We're starting to find the things that make Thomas tick. He loves chess, animal facts, and geography. One day he was fascinated by the Roman Numerals on the Stations of the Cross in church. He's a bit more introverted than the rest of us, and I think all of our social activities can sometimes overwhelm his senses. Even last week while we were at evening mass for the Immaculate Conception, I brought him an animal field guide to look through and his eyes totally lit up! Mass can be even more challenging for him than the toddler, so it may be that we need to find some things like this to peak his interest for now (God created animals, right? So it's kind of a religious book?!?).  He's starting to read well for his age, so pretty soon he'll be able to read through the hymnals and missals.

Along with chess, the children have been playing lots of games both upstairs and downstairs, since we now have a game cabinet in the living room. It's neat to see them work together, and sometimes a little chess can count for some schoolwork on a crazy morning!