Children's Ski Schools

[BackCountryGirl]

Hi, Divas. I hope some of you might be willing to help me out. It's the start of a new season and I am getting ready forms, procedures, and training manuals for use in the program that I supervise. Before I started teaching, I consumed ski school services all the time, but not recently. If you have kids that you put in ski school and you'd be willing to share with me the things you like about how it's run and the things you dislike, I'd be appreciative. If you're willing to ask your kids what they like and what they dislike, even better. I'm not looking for names or specifics, just general things. I'm sure any of the instructors here would appreciate your feedback, too! And, if this violates the "commercial" rules, mea culpa!

 

[ski diva]

BCG, I think this is a great topic, and if it helps you out, even better!

 

[geargrrl]

Keep it fun!!!

maybe this is stating the obvious, but...

I think instructors working with kids really need to keep the "fun" in skiing.

My younger son ( now 19) had an instructor who wouldn't let the little kids do the fun little whoopdedoos on the sides of the cat tracks. You guys know what I mean- the one the little kids love. She was really stern and strict, and my son actually got kicked out of the ski school that season because he refused to listen to her and broke out of the line to ski the whoopdees anyway. We are talking five year olds here.

It's a big family joke now (in fact, ski area joke) that my son was kicked out of ski school at age 5, but to me the bigger thing was that he knew he could be having more fun and that this lady shouldn't' have been teaching little kids. He did have some great group classes later on, where they really new how to combine fun and action with learning.

just my two cents.

Now, I WISH I had ideas on how to handle parents who only view ski school as baby sitting, or who don't dress their kids right.

gg

 

[BackCountryGirl]

GG: That sounds like a new, good thread. I'll start "Things that instructors would love for parents to know before they drop their kids off for a ski school lesson."

I don't mind the babysitting thing -- even in an older kids' program, we get a lot of kids parked so that their parents can ski. Sometimes, those kids would rather not be in a lesson and are aware of the fact that they're being parked. When that happens, the instructor must make it fun, as you say, and serve as the "cruise director" so that the child can have some positive peer/social experiences.

 

[Shannon D]

I think that's a great idea. As a young mother, I definatley want to be prepared when we put the little one in her first lesson.

 

[BackCountryGirl]

Shannon D. I just post in the "mirror-image" thread. I hope you'll find it useful!