And off they go!
In oversized snow onesies, clunky boots, and eyes bright with the gleam of mountainous adventure, you watch your kids waddle away behind the friendly ski instructor you just met. For parents and kids alike, a first week in ski school is potentially a world of unknowns. Where will they go? How do they carry the kit? How will the kids cope with the elements?
Will they have enough snack money? (the answer to this one is always no)
Kids Academy and Penguins with ES is designed to be a fun, approachable, and educational way for your kids to spend the day on the mountain while you zoom off to the slopes and/or the spa. Kids make technical improvements, and we ensure a safe and fun time with our enthusiastic and qualified instructors.
A typical week in Penguins or Kids Academy will begin at the meeting point on Monday, where you will get a chance to meet the instructor who will be leading the group for the week. Here, you can also chat to our resort management, who will often be milling around doing management things, and always with a second to spare for you.
Once you’ve met the instructor and snuck another 10 francs of snack money into your child’s pocket, the group will depart and head up the mountain. From there, the week will follow a five-day programme of technical development and slope exploration. For a full-day option for the little ones, we recommend booking the Kid’s Club with Petit Verbier : here, they will have the opportunity to explore the Verbier town and participate in creative activities and outings throughout the week!
During the week, your child will do lots of singing, playing, and skiing, improving on the snow as they make new friends and grow in confidence. Then, on Friday afternoon, as the final day comes to a close and the sun dips below the rolling peaks, it is time for the prize-giving… Each child gets a certificate attesting to their technical prowess during the week, as well as a medal (these can be hard to part with come suppertime )
However, the legendary appeal of a week of ES ski school can be hard to visualize for parents and kids alike come Monday morning.
Therefore, to help with the anxiety felt by many parents dropping their kids of for the first time at ski school, ES has devised a list of 5 top tips to make sure your kids are prepared, enthusiastic and ready to roll (or glide!).
TIP 1 : Get them outdoors!
This may seem obvious, but the mountain are a wild place. While ES’s priority is always the safety and enjoyment of your child, lessons are always more fun if you can focus on the skiing, rather than being pre-occupied by unfamiliar elements.
Perhaps not as wild as the Alpine mountainside, but definitely a good introduction to the outdoors, is your local park or backyard. Spending an increased amount of time outdoors in all weather conditions is a tried and tested method to build up your child’s resilience to the outdoors, and also to foster enthusiasm for nature and adventure; two key components of time on the mountain with ES.
A child who is unfazed by putting on their rainboots and rainhat to go out and play in the puddles, will most likely also be unfazed by putting on their skiboots to go out and play in the snow. Your child will develop their strength, balance and co-ordination with time outdoors. All of these are important elements in making their first ski days easier and more rewarding.
TIP 2 : Kit on in the Kitchen! For younger children, a common barrier to fun on the slopes is the sheer volume of kit that skiing requires. Proportionally, a small child’s ski helmet will weigh a great deal more than that of an adult, as will their skis and boots.
Coupled with the sensory novelty of reduced sound and mobility due to all the layers, being thrown into full ski equipment on the morning of your first lesson can be an unexpected challenge for children.
Because of this, we recommend introducing your child’s ski equipment bit by bit. Eat brekkie with a ski helmet on! Have a waddle race around the living room in boots and skis!
Try on your ski jacket and pants at home and see how sporty and grown up you look.
Not only will this create hilarious moments and picture opportunities, but it will also build excitement for your kids around their upcoming ski trip. If you don’t currently own any ski clothing of your own, visit Cirkel for a sustainable approach to rental!
TIP 3 : The Dropoff.
Sounding rather like the title of a bad 2000’s Adam Sandler movie, the Dropoff at the start of the ski day can sometimes be a high point of tension. While we do have a human-sized Penguin mascot at the meeting point to dance the tears away, it’s possible for you to take steps to introduce time away from the family grownups into your child’s routine.
A great was to do this is playdates! Time with cousins, friends, and grandparents can reduce the anxiety and stress your child feels around being put into more independent situations.
Getting them used to doing things away from their parents is an important part of their growing independence. So look out for gym classes, sport, yoga, arts and crafts classes, and other ways to introduce your children safely to the idea that they can have lots of fun even if you are not there.
TIP 4 : Let it snow!
Our fourth tip is not so much focused on the ski lesson itself, but rather around what you can do to get your child excited for the snow and winter.
We recommend reading books about winter, watching movies set in snowy places, drawing pictures of the mountains, forests, skiing and any other winter activities, or even visiting an indoor slope!
Some great wintery books include :
The Snowman, by Raymond Briggs
Frozen
Frozen 2|
And lastly, for a bit of parental engagement, “Eddie the Eagle” on Disney+ is a tremendous watch; watching Taron Egerton soaring through the air in various colourful catsuits is sure to get the energy up for your winter trip!
TIP 5 : Don’t forget your sunscreen!
Everyone knows your kid is the coolest on the mountain, so they may as well look it… A
jacket, ski pants and skis are the obvious necessities, but a warm pair of gloves cannot go
amiss.
To help you out on the hectic first morning, ES has devised a universal list of ski school must haves!
Below is your morning checklist :
Helmet
Goggles
Snack
Boots & skis
Liftpass
Gloves
Suncream
Hot chocolate money (6chf a day usually does the trick!)
Then they will be fully ready for their first day on the snow!
European Snowsport offers a full programme of children’s private and small group ski lessons. Their ES Penguins lessons are for children aged 3-5, with a maximum of 4 children in the class, and kids specialist instructors, who love helping the little ones get going on the snow with lots of games, songs and fun activities. Then 6-12 year olds can join ES Kids Academy, with a maximum of 6 kids in the class, and instructors who will inspire your children all year round. Private lessons are a great way to get children started on the snow, with plenty of individual attention and learning at their own pace. For more details, just get in touch with European Snowsport and they will be happy to help you plan your time on the snow so that everyone in the family has a fantastic adventure in Verbier.
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