5 Reasons To Send Your Kids To Ski School

February 22, 2017 / momwithamap /

If you’ve been following the blog this week, you’ll know that we recently visited Beech Mountain Resort. This was the children’s first time on skis. Additionally, my husband and I hadn’t been on a ski slope in 20 years. To say that our own skills were rusty would be an understatement. For us, putting the kids in ski school wasn’t a debatable topic.

However, I know many who discuss the necessity of ski school. While there are certainly decisions to make when planning a ski trip, ski school really shouldn’t be one of them. Here are 5 reasons:

1. Reliable Instruction: Have you ever tried to break a bad habit? It’s really, really hard. Learning to do something correctly the first time makes life so much easier. Qualified, professional instructors not only know how to ski, but they also have experience teaching others to ski. They have cute tricks up their sleeve to help kids enjoy learning too. For example, my 5-year old’s instructor yelled out “french fries” when he needed to put his skis parallel. She used the term “pizza” to describe the skis in a controlled wedge. He LOVED the code words!

Miller did really well with the 1 on 1 instruction needed for his age.

2. Group Accountability: One of the best ways to learn is to watch others. By participating in a group ski school lesson, kids are able to observe peers trying new skills. My 9-year old participated in a group lesson. Being a part of a group learning a new skill is a humbling experience. She was not the best beginner, but encouraging words from others helped increase her courage. Her group of beginners progressed through skills quickly.

Mary Grace knew her peers were watching her test out a new skill.

3. No Balking: Going along with group accountability, the experience of being with someone other than a parent kept our children from quitting or complaining when they didn’t pick up on the skill right away. My son struggled to get his foot in the ski. He almost toppled over on the first couple attempts. His facial expressions transitioned from determination to fear. Had I been working with him, undoubtedly he would have quit; however, his instructor patiently asked him to keep trying and amazingly, he did it! The look of pride on his face was priceless and he knew at that moment that he would conquer the mountain!

4. Rules: In addition to teaching the children the skills necessary to make it down the mountain in one piece, the instructors also taught ski etiquette. Although there was no official test at the end of ski school, I couldn’t believe how many rules the kids learned in such a short amount of time. My daughter even corrected me later in the day because of something she learned in ski school.

5. Freedom: Essentially you’ve payed for top-notch babysitting. My husband and I used most of the time to practice on our own ski abilities. My kids expectations of my skills would have been high, and my confidence was low. Spending some time getting reacquainted with the feel of skiing helped us to all enjoy the rest of the day more thoroughly.