I think when it comes to teaching chess to kids, and even making it interesting in the meanwhile, Chessmaster is the best software you can find.
There is also Fritz & Chester, but I haven't seen it, I think it's aimed at very young kids.
For online resources, the recently opened chesskid looks great.
I wouldn't recommend chesskid as some of the material there is presented in a militaristic and antisocial way. Better is chesskids (notice the extra 's') which is the kid version of chess.com. It's not fully launched yet (I don't think) but they are very close.
For really cheap boards (not very good quality) you can pick up sets at Wal-Mart/Target/etc for around $3 a set. For good quality, and not terribly expensive boards, look at WholesaleChess.com and ChessHouse.com for the vinyl boards and plastic pieces.
For software learning tools, look at the Think Like a King software products. They're a bit pricey but can be purchased in stages. They do not allow the kids to actually play games, rather, they are a set of interactive e-books that teach chess. For something cheaper and more fun look up Majestic Chess at Amazon.com. This is an interactive program that allows kids to play games against the computer and set the computer's skill to various levels. It also has "Adventure Mode" where the kids guide a Knight on horseback through a mideval landscape encountering evil doers and chess scholars, solving various chess puzzles and competing in games, building up a chess set to use for the final confrontation where they defeat the dark lord and free the land from evil.
For material to use for lessons, apart from the SW I mentioned above, there are some great books and videos out there. GM Susan Polgar has a number of wonderful offerings. I'm personally a fan of anything by IM Jeremy Silman. His material is typically a bit more advanced though his Complete Endgame Course is actually sectioned by skill level and is a wonderful resource. Ward Farnsworth and his chesstactics.org site are an online version of his two Predator at the Chess Board books that cover tactical issues in every detail. The web site has randomly selected puzzles from his books.
Find a way to teach me, and you'll be able to teach anybody.
Chesskid.co and Chessmaster GM edition. The learning modules are great in CM GM edition ad sometimes when I play I hear Waitzkin's voice in my head.
Goodluck with your kid
THIS IS TOO O L D!
I think a combo of OTB and online chess would work, but I agree 100% online chess is not the best way to learn, although I suppose it's better than not learning at all if OTB is not practical or possible.
I developed some free software to support kids' chess clubs:
https://sites.google.com/site/fredm/ If you are conducting classes, I suggest playing a game against a computer and asking kids for suggestions. You can point out the advantages and disadvantages of their ideas; you can quiz them on what they think the computer's last move does, what it threatens. You could also play guess the move with them (http://www.chess.com/download/view/guessthemove----training-program). I help to run kids' clubs. I use a projector attached to a PC to follow the above suggestions; it seems to work well. Good luck!
wmoore- Would you be willing to share your material with another new coach? I just started teaching a school club locally and am trying to find good info. Most of my kids don't have reliable access to computers and we only have 1.5 hours per week.
I have 16 right now. from 12th down to 3rd. from maybe 1400 down to barely knowing the rules. I hope to a instill a love for the game and respect for other players. I volunteered to help and when the other coach moved away I ended up running it :)
Any suggestions as to resources for teaching kids chess.
Kids in our community usually don't have much!
Need boards, sets and stuff!
Jim Adamski