Interesting Learn-to-Skate class...

[CanAmSk8ter]

Last weekend, I taught my first two-year-old! I think she's probably close to three, but she's definitely not three yet. I was surprised to see a two-year-old listed on my sheet, but our director said that the mom signed up her older daughter and asked if we'd take the younger one too, that the dad had taken them both and she could stand up and skate a bit on her own. They got there pretty late and by the time they got her on the ice class was about half over, but given the attention span of kids that age I'm not so sure that was a bad thing. Anyway, she couldn't figure out how to get up by herself, and got to the point where she'd fall and just hold her arms out to me :) but I think her skates were part of the problem- they were those horrible plastic ones. The mom said they had gotten her a pair of secondhand figure skates but that they were still a half-size too big, so I suggested getting an innersole for them and trying them out next week. Even if they're a bit big I think she'll do better with a toepick.

The class was trying, mainly because I've got the little one and a four-year-old who needed a lot of help, but I've also got a five-year-old and a four-year-old whose dads have taken them skating, so they're pretty mobile, and then I've got three who are kind of in the middle. I think one of our fourteen-year-old competitors might come help me this week, but does anyone have any game ideas that work especially well when the class is varied like this?

[I think I can]

Simon Sez. Make the touch toes etc.

[phoenix]

draw a big target w/ a bullseye on the ice. Kids line up, first one stands on a big dot, or X, or whatever you draw, & throw a beanie baby at the target & then go get it & pick it up & bring it back for the next one to throw. Teaches waiting your turn, balance & turning around, teamwork. They LOVE it!! I think even the 2 yr old could do it. And KUDOS to you for taking her on!

[Clarice]

I have a bucket of homemade bean bags that I use for a lot of things - skate while balancing one on your head, throw and fetch, etc. If I have a little one who can't do whatever it is I have the rest of the class working on, sometimes I'll dump them all out in a corner and have the small one pick them all up and put them in the bucket (pretend to pick flowers or vegetables or whatever), while I keep an eye on the older ones practicing swizzles. I also like to draw stuff on the ice, and can adapt those games for different levels, too. If the older ones are doing swizzles around the "bugs" I drew, the little one might be stomping on the bugs. I've used foam alphabet letters like kids play with in the bathtub, too - I can be working with the older kids, and have the little one going back and forth finding me a blue letter, then a red letter, etc.

[Isk8NYC]

I taught the tiny ones for several years. Markers are a lot of fun, if they're allowed (ask first). Draw a pumpkin vine that trails across the ice in curves. Then have them march through the patch looking for the pumpkins you've drawn. They have to march with wide steps over the pumpkins so they don't squish them. (Teaches them balance and mobility.)

I used some inflatable bowling pin characters, which were nice because they were a few inches tall -- easier for wobbly kids to pick up. They had colored number tags printed on them. We'd play, well it was "fetch", where they would get the pins in order and line them up on the wall by the glass. (The pins were skinny enough to stand.) Then, we'd count them off in order. When they were stronger, we'd use them for swizzles and gliding curves, even to mark out a temporary circle so we wouldn't have to go to the middle.

Good luck. Just make it fun for them. By the way, you really do need at least one helper with a diverse group like that.

[Mel On Ice]

we do the balloon game where each kid names their favorite color, we do backward wiggles and on the count of three we yell "pop!"

I have older kids in snowplow and our game last night was "add on." First kid did forward strokes, the second did strokes + a hop, third did strokes + hop + leg lift.

This is much better than the kid who cried for 30 minutes that he hated me.

[samba]

I mentioned in a previous discussion that my nearly 3 year old grandaughter goes to a toddler group at our rink, they have it properly barriered off so no-one can skate into it and the kids have loads of toys on the ice like push along toys and plastic rocking horses, she doesnt even know she is skating because she is just keen to get from one toy to the next, its great fun.

Cheers
Grace

[skatergirlva]

I taught a two year old boy privates this weekend. He's two years and 3 months. He was quite funny. He didn't have any fear of the ice, but he was definitely more interested in what was going on around him. He had a cute fire truck helmet on and so I drew a truck for him. He could stand on it by himself, but than chose to sit down and stare at it. While our progress was limited he did have fun and we shall try again next week.

I've taught a two and a half year old girl. She could rollerblade, so she actually caught on quite easily to skating. The more creative you are the easier it gets. I have a 4 year old boy that I teach privates two and he only skates if I draw train tracks around the rink and then we pretend he's Thomas the Train. He's actually quite good, but just needs the appropriate motivation. :)

Happy Teaching!

[CanAmSk8ter]

Yeah, it's amazing what will (and won't!) motivate some kids to get on the ice, isn't it?

Last weekend, my little one was having a cranky day. Crying, didn't want to get on the ice, etc. (Mom said she had fallen asleep in the car on the way to the rink). I had my bag of Beanie Babies with me, and once I got the other kids occupied, Mr. Scorpion waved and convinced her to come skate ;) Those Beanies are worth their weight in gold- not the first time they've come in handy!

Anyway, thanks for all of the great suggestions. We had this weekend off but I will definitely be trying some of them next week!