Activities to Teach Children to Ski

Balloon Hunt

• If you're trying to teach children to traverse while going down a hill, you might want to try setting up a balloon hunt. Place balloons strategically along the ski trail so that children will have to weave back and forth in order to reach all, or even most, of them. Then have one child head down the slope and try to pop as many balloons as possible with her poles. Encourage the rest of the children follow one by one and pop the remaining balloons. If the group manages to pop all of the balloons on their way down the slope, they have succeeded in their hunting quest.

Follow the Leader

• For beginning learners, encourage children to play a game of following the leader on the ski slope. Have the first child ski to one destination, and then have the rest of the group follow after him. Then, let him turn around and head to another destination, and encourage the rest of the group to do the same. Continue down the hill in this fashion. If you would like to help one struggling skier, make him the leader, and have him point out his destination before he skis to it. That will help him gain accuracy in his skiing positioning.

Coming In for a Landing

• With a group of younger skiers, you may need to insert a bit more imagination into your games. For example, pretend that you are all airplanes flying overseas. As you ski down the hill, shout out what you "see" as you look down from the sky. For example, you might shout out, "Now we're over the ocean. Did you see that huge shark beneath us?" or "Wow, we're flying over a city. Don't get stuck on that tall skyscraper!" As you reach the bottom of the hill, call out, "Coming in for a landing!" You may even want to teach children how to spray snow as they stop at the bottom of the hill, and tell them that their airplane must be leaking gas.