Skiing games to play with kids?

A snowHead

Can anyone give me some ideas of skill improving, yet fun games to play with kids while skiing please?

We are planning on skiing with our 6 yo son for two hours every weekend at MK, and wanted some useful, yet fun stuff to do with him. He will of course be getting appropriate rest/hot chocolate etc. breaks, we aren't expecting him to ski for two hours continuously! wink

A snowHead

Once he gets going on skis it will be getting him to stop for breaks and drag him off the slope at the end that will be the problem if he is anything like my now 9 year old who started when she was 5. By 6 she would happily do a 3 hour dome session and would have to made to take breaks.
Things to keep in mind, if he can't ski to a reasonable standard MK will probably insist he has lessons with them before being on the main slope with you and the domes are starting to get busy now so maybe not much room for much more than skiing the slope.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Sorry, I should have explained. He has been skiing every week for a year at MK in lessons, most of which have been two hour lessons, and had a week of ski school in France, and a handful of private lessons on our local dry slope. He's pretty competent, good balance, and starting to be a little more consistent with his parallel skiing.

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Good stuff, does MK have a kids club doing the snowsports (or whatever they are called this year) award? Chloe loved doing those at that sort of age but the rest of time mostly just wanted to go as fast as possible down the slope.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

We've decided to take him out of the MK lessons for the moment, as we didn't feel we were getting great value for money, so we are just going to have family ski time once a week and build on his skills doing fun stuff. He will be doing his ESF levels on our trips to France, so getting formal lessons there.

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How about doing a run/turns as a different animal? Using the various animal characteristics to work on important balance and movement skills. Just for starters, stork = one legged skiing, mouse = making yourself really small, elephant = making yourself really tall, bird = skiing with arms out to the side, tortoise = skiing really slowly, kangaroo = making little jumps etc etc. There are loads of fun things you can do with kids to challenge and develop their balance, and get them solid on the outside ski for parallel turning.

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Ahh OK, with Chloe it was practising things like switch skiing, 180s and 360s and the other tricks and skills they were doing in the club sessions like the animal skiing mentioned above that took up most of her time when skiing with me.
Though to be honest C is such a snowHead

it didn't (and still doesn't) take any thinking to amuse her if she has skis and snow covered hill

After all it is free

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Funniest with Chloe was when we got to chatting to a couple of squaddies on the Tamworth travellator, one a good skier one just being cleared to ski on his own in the fridge. Skied down, C straight lined it and finished alongside good quaddie who done the same, cue loads of micky taking when not so good squaddie made it down about being beaten not only by girl but one about 1/3 his size. Bit later we set off together again and not so good was 3rd down behind his mate and me. 'I beat her, I beat her!' he yells and his mate just pointed back up the slope to where C was skiing switch round the slalom cones out for a lesson and between each cone doing a 360.

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First lesson in skiing - kids will always ski faster and more bravely than you, no matter what their size. Toofy Grin

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Fenfilly, and when they start skiing a bit too fast and don't turn, try turning things in to a competition like who can fit the most turns in on a designated pitch. Works on their numeracy skills at the same time Smile

You know it makes sense.

juliad, Yep guess the problem with dome skiing is the only way the littlies can get going fast enough to meet their need for speed if not being distracted by something is to straight line the fall line in a racing tuck.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Fenfilly, a crowded day at MK is not the ideal time for learning to ski switch. wink

A snowHead

And now is the time the fridges are getting crowded!

A snowHead

never underestimate the capacity of kids to just go round and round and round and round. My 22 month old grandson did the same jigsaw about 40 times this morning. Kids have more staying power than adults, who quickly get bored.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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Once he's got the idea of the animal game, take it up a notch by skiing behind and calling out which animal he has to change to now (and ideally choosing a shape what will help their skiing rather than hinder what they're trying to get their skis to do at that moment). Then let him have a go at the back choosing which animal you have to be - most kids love this role reversal, and you can get them doing better shaped turns without them realising.

Another one my daughter likes is a kind of virtual postman game; I make a big show of carrying up a really heavy pretend sack full of presents that need delivering to all the houses on the way down. There is usually one house at each landmark like lift pylons etc. I then pass the parcels to her and she has to deliver them without stopping or against the clock - I think we invented that one when she just wanted to straight line it down the middle in a snow plough.

Get them to ski in front, and you have to copy everything they do; get them to make it really hard for you. Then switch round and you get a run where they have to copy you.

One legged skiing always seems surprisingly popular with children.

Jump turns? See how many you can do before the bottom - be prepared to get well and truly beaten if his legs have the same springs my children's do.

If it's not too busy, and you're careful, you can ski down holding hands and really swing them round the turn where you're on the inside. Works better with two similarly sized people, but can be done.

Picking their favourite fruit: pretend you're skiing through fruit trees and they have to reach up and pick a fruit at the start of each turn, then put the fruit in a (pretend!) bucket on their skis as they finish each turn. Or make them sweetie trees if they prefer.

I usually come at this problem in reverse: rather than think up a fun game I instead work out what movements I want them to be making, then make a fairly simple game like the picking fruit one that gets them doing it. Doesn't need to be complex or at all plausible as a 6 year old doesn't care about that. Or if they have other favourite sports try and work out how we can work that in. E.g. football - let's pretend to be goal keepers; ballet - let's ski down really gracefully and maybe do some spins; basketball - let's bounce a (pretend) ball all the way down; and so on.

Some things work better with props, but a 6 year old's imagination is usually way more effective.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Awesome, thanks so much for taking the time to suggest all that kieranm, I realy appreciate it. Some superb ideas there.

We skied at MK for a couple of hours last night and had a blast. I skied with little'un for the first hour and The Huz skied with him for the second hour. I was doing things like pretending to be aeroplanes, reaching up as high as possible to initiate turns, and crouching to touch our boots on the traverse, The Huz had him doing bunny hops on the traverse, playing follow my leader, and practising hockey stops. We all had so much fun, and I think we made a few other slope users smile into the bargain! Very Happy

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Fenfilly, it's made me smile just reading that!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Fenfilly, fun! snowHead

After all it is free

Oh good Pedantica, I'm glad! Very Happy

There was one moment when my Small Son made me look like a prize plum. I was 'zooming' down the slope being an aeroplane, complete with sound effects, and so intent was I upon my performance, that I failed to notice that rather than following in my stead, he was skiing on another part of the slope clearly embarrassed by his mother's amateur dramatics!

I docked him a jelly baby for his impudence! wink

Fenfilly,

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Fenfilly, He was probably thinking you needed the practice so you could keep up! Sounds like some good fun!

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Fenfilly, For skiing switch stick up your thumb, strech out your arm and push it back behind you while keeping your thumb in your eye line!

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Well.....apart from that... Laughing

A snowHead

Fenfilly, Surprisingly little, It will shift your weight and separate your upper and lower body, and actually take your skis round for you and as you turn switch just do it with the opposite thumb to take yourself back the other way.

A snowHead

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Skiing games to play with kids?

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