Real snow, skiiing lessons for 4 and 6 yr old - advice?

[katepol]

My dds will soon have the opportunity to try skiing in a huge inside snow dome. They are having 3x 1hr lessons in a small group.

The both have tried roller skates and fall over a lot lol! dd1 can ride a bike with no stabalisers, but is a bit wobbly. She also tried ice skating a while ago and loved it, but only managed to get round once without falling over, and was more walking than skating iykwim...

So, is there anything I can do to help them in advance? I think they will have a ball if they feel ok with it (ie are ok about falling overlol!), but am worried that if they don't start confident, they will hate it. Any ideas ?

It is very different to any of those activities . ds can't skate or ride a bike but can ski! Posture and strength in thighs and torso help. btw they will spend a lot of time intially standing around and stepping sideways up the slope so prepare them for that as it will feel awkward and tiring keeping balanced.

My dd started this winter (one just gone) started just walking on her skis and getting used to having them stuck on her feet! She got the hang of the balance really quickly and was sliding down a mini slope by the end of her first lesson - with me to catch her at the bottom!!

It's the best age to start, they have very little fear at that age. I was a qualified ski instructor for 10 yrs and taught many many children around this age. Balance and co-ordination are the most important thing. They will have a ball, the first lesson will be alot of walking around, learning how to side step and some straight running probably with a few games involed. They may start to learn to snowplough on the second lesson.

Make sure they have a comfortable pair of long socks on, tracky bottoms rather than jeans and a good pair of gloves.

You could get them to practice bouncing their knees towards their toes keeping their feet flat on the floor. little bounces to help them think about keeping their weight forward.

I hope they really enjoy them selves.

We did lessons with 3 yr old daughter at MK Snowdome before going on ski holiday. Would not worry too much about balance etc but would advise having a practice at home at putting on all the snowsuits etc before you go for the lessons as my daughter found that all a bit weird! Also if they are young practice with the gloves to see if they fit - took us ages to find a pair that actually fitted and stayed on. Mittens much easier to put on than gloves.

You do need proper warm waterproof trousers as well - don't let them try and do it in normal trousers with a coat on as the Snowdome is really cold! If you haven't got your own then borrow or hire at the snowdome. They won't enjoy the lessons if they are cold and probably won't last the hour.