This turned out to be a great gift — we got Alex & Christa‘s kids, ages 6 & 8, a cute wooden chessboard. I actually assumed the household already had a chessboard, because Alex plays chess seriously, but I thought the kids might not have a set of their own. It turns out that he hadn’t actually taught the kids chess yet, and they *didn’t* have a board of their own, so this worked out well. I taught them the basic moves yesterday.
“So the little kittens are pawns, and when the kittens are in their home row, they’ve just woken up from a good sleep, and are full of energy, so they have the option of running forward two spaces. But usually they can only go one space…”
Then their dad started chiming in with actual strategy; I predict that within a year, they’ll both be better than I am. Which means, I win — it’s always a win when the student surpasses the teacher. 
This adorable animal-themed set is available locally, Oak Parkers, at Sugarcup Trading, and online in various places, including here: https://store.moma.org/…/my-first…/124566-124566.html
