RMR Pros

Alpine Children’s 1st Class Lesson

Alpine Children’s 1st Class Lesson

Assessing the Terrain

Is Magic Mountain close/open
Carpet use:
The carpet is a tool, and smaller kids with limited muscle development will benefit from using the green carpets. Kids that are older, can use this as a last resort. If they are closer to adult body, they can learn to walk on their edges.

Introduction

Get down to your students level, and remove your goggles/glasses to make eye contact
Learn kids name by using an interactive game
Ask questions about their age, school, famil, sports, movie/tv, computer games, favorite color, etc. throughout the whole lesson where appropriate
Allow opportunities for students to get to know one another
Give students an idea what they are going to do during the lesson
Show them where the lesson will be held
Draw their attention to things they may have never seen before (snow guns, lifts, etc.)
Point out how you differ from other instructors (color helmet/hat, skis, etc.)
Play in the snow!

Check Equipment/clothing

Be sure boots are buckled snug
Make sure pants are not inside boots
Are the boots on the right feet?
Does your student need mittens adjusted, face covered, helmet tightened, goggles adjusted?
Check to see if mittens/gloves need adjusted, face covered, helmet tightened, & goggles adjusted
Introduce parts of the ski

Boot Activities (optional)

Practice climbing and side stepping in boots
Guide toes in, toes straight, and toes out. (can do this in a seated position with legs extended or on back with legs in the air)
Play a game of tag or rely race to work on bending the ankle and having fun (there are no winners or losers, suggest getting the team to do it under 1 minute, etc)

One Ski Activities (very flat terrain)

Draw in snow (with edge of ski) and erase (with flats)
The clock (stepping in a circle with the ski being the hands of a clock) do in both directions
Climbing
Scooter turns through a slalom course
Getting up

Two Ski Activities (flat terrain)

Build off of what you did in the boots, using the same imagery as the lesson progresses
Make different shapes with the skis, (parallel, wedge, herringbone)
Shuffle, hop, flex, extend, hop from foot to foot, tap tip and tail
Skating, skate whenever you can throughout the lesson
The clock (same as 1 ski)
Shuffle skis forward then glide on 2 skis to a natural stop
Have your students skate whenever you can throughout the lesson
Climbing
Getting up

Straight Run (on the rug)

Use a hoola hoop to pull smaller students to the rug area if they have difficulty climbing up hill, or you can push them up the hill with your hand in the small of their back
Fore/aft
Flex/extend
Foot to foot
Hop
Shuffle
Introduce small steps at end of straight run to start direction change and to get your student back to the rug

Wedge

Turning

Guide ski tips back and forth slightly across fall line
Introduce shallow turn to one direction, practice in the other direction
When using colors to aid in turning, red signifies a student’s right, and blue the left
Practice turns to a complete stop, and stress to students that this is how we control our speed and stop
Connect turns

Magic Carpet

Controlling speed by turning

Reinforce different turn shapes and speeds utilizing the different props that are placed on the hill
Small stepping or shuffling after the fall line to complete turn shape

Explore Discovery Area

If lesson started in Magic Mountain, the next step is to ski the same tasks in the Discovery hill. This will give the child a place to ski without having to venture up the chair lift if they are not ready.
If the students are ready to proceed to the chair, take an assistant with you to help with loading the chair. Only go up the chair lift, if you can be back to the lesson starting place by the time the lesson is over. This is important so that we do not have worried parents!