We made it through day one. It would not be truthful for me to provide a glowing report. The tough thing about having three children is that it is hard to find activities that all enjoy. We love to spend time together and provide new experiences, but it seems someone is always a little out of sorts. It is a part of the family experience.
My Montana friends' assessment that Montana cold is more tolerable than Georgia cold proved to be somewhat correct. Despite single digit temps, we were surprisingly comfortable. All except one of my little folks who just didn't enjoy himself at all. He cried more than he laughed. His gear made him itchy, uncomfortable and claustrophobic. When he threw himself on the floor in the equipment rental area in a dramatic display of frustration, I decided the late arrival combined with early wake up (4:01MST) due to the time change was seriously effecting him. We hiked back to the house where he took a 2.5 hour nap. After getting all our gear back on (and investing in defogger for his goggles) we finally got him on the slopes for the first time at 3pm. He seemed to enjoy his runs down the bunny slope and I loved seeing the progress his siblings made in only a couple of hours of ski school.
We recapped this afternoon and he told me he would have more fun tomorrow if we only skied half the time. When we reminded him he only skied 30 minutes he replied, "Right, so 15 minutes tomorrow!"
Maybe.
Being a parent is tough. We want to expose our children to new things--sometimes it goes well, and other times you learn from your flail.This particular child is more resistant to trying new experiences than my other two. I always struggle with how hard to push him--sometimes all he needs is a little encouragement to try. He frequently ends up enjoying something he inititally resisted. But when encouraging pushes becomes pushiness, I cringe.
In this case, 2/3 success is to be celebrated...but it would be dishonest to say I am not struggling with how to make tomorrow a bit more enjoyable for everyone!
7 comments:
So fun! Love your blog, have been a long time "silent" reader.:) But.. my husband and I were Vail ski instructors for 3-6 yr olds for a few yrs... so I have seen these things work.. :)
1. Promise them a few runs in the afternoon with Mom and Dad if they stay in ski school all day, work hard and have fun!
2. Offer an end of the day prize..worth a whole day of learning to ski
3. If your worried I would call, or do a secret ski by to see how they are doing, they are usually great, untill they see parents :)
I hope this helps, just some Ski School tips! Also, you would be amazed what altitude and no sleep can do to the kids, wear them out like crazy!! Hope you guys have a great time!! Skiing as a family is so great!!
I am a long time reader, and I would guess that sweet P is the one not so thrilled about skiing. I am 25 and haven't warmed to it yet either! (no pun intended!)
But I am shocked that he knows that half of 30 is 15. Maybe he's brilliant, but I don't think I knew that at six!
Best of luck!
I also am at a ski mountain...ski school is the.best.money.spent!!! I didn't teach either of my children...and encourage other parents to do the same.
The good thing about learning to ski at that age (I learned at 8) is you are giving them a lifetime sport - I picked it back up 20 years after I stopped and didn't have the same fear as other people my age who were just learning. It really is like learning to ride a bike...also, the learning curve at that age is remarkably quick. Pretty soon he will be completely competent. My 7 year old nephew came up from GA, was dejected at the morning session, but ready to ride the lift by the time my sister picked him up at 3!
We just returned from a trip to Vail. Ski school was the best investment we ever made - my daughter saw it as a means to an end (skiing with her dad) and our son just loved earning the stickers for his ski badges (so we ended up paying for 2 extra days for him). But, this is our third year. Our first trip went very similarly to yours.
Our philosophy: when in doubt, buy hot chocolate and french fries ... together... no matter how much they cost or how early in the day.
Hope the rest of your trip goes well!
Wow! We just got back from our first mountain ski trip to Steamboat. We put the trio in Ski School for three days and it was a great investment and by day three they all LOVED it. Have fun and I am sure that today will go better.
Nicole
We put our youngest in ski school when he was 3. He didn't do so well the first few days until we figured out that he wanted to lead (not follow) the instructor. Once he got to lead down the bunny hill, he did awesome! We found a big difference was taking a snack and go fish break in the lodge as needed. He was usually ready to go some more after the break. I also am learning that if he wants a break to just play in the snow (and not ski) that this is ok too. If the whole ski day experience is not fun, he won't want to do it again. I tend to get a little overfocused on "we are at a ski resort - we must ski". I am learning to lighten up =) Hope today is a great day for you all!
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