Separating the Herd

[Isk8NYC]

I had an eye-opening experience in a first-week beginner group lesson.

We had a mob of kids register for the same level, so the Director assigned two instructors and said to split up the group.

Some of the skaters were already moving and some were struggling after we did the inital fall down/get up, march orientation.

I wanted to see their skating levels, so I said "Okay, everybody....march to the other side of the rink."

It was so simple and easy - everyone who scampered off to the other wall went into one group and the kids who were still at the starting point became the other group.

I usually evaluate one or two skaters at a time to split a class. This saved so much time and effort!

[Skittl1321]

Excellent strategy!

We had a teacher missing last night, so of our 3 basic 1 classes, we combined 2 of them. That class had everyone moving, except one skater, who fell, and cried, fell, and cried the entire class. Thankfully there were 3 of us teaching, and I always get the crying ones... It was a very trying night. Not sure which class this girl is normally in, but it's tough when the whole class "gets it" and then one kid doesn't.

[Isk8NYC]

There's two schools of thought on the criers.

Some people coax and cajole: I saw a fish under the ice over there, wanna go see it? (We have a big happy shark with sharp teeth painted at center ice.) Did you fall? Here's a sticker - that's a badge of honor. Everyone falls!

Then there's the Mean Lady who says: Why are you crying? Everyone falls, there's no need to cry. Mom doesn't want to see you crying. Your dad says to stop crying. Time to go back to the lesson, so dry your eyes and we'll try again.

It depends on the kid's personality. If they are crying because the fall hurt, the coax-and-cajole will work.
If it doesn't work, and the kid's not really injured, the mean lady act usually works.

If all else fails, I take them to the parent and suggest a water break, making sure they send them back for the rest of the lesson.



There's a student in this group that was also in the last session. He's very young (3) and takes a while to warm up to new people. I kept him in my group figuring I can transition him to the lower-level group where he belongs once he gets to know the other instructor.

I didn't want to set him back to when I first met him: the sobbing child crawling across the ice to the escape (door) because the mean stranger asked him to let go of mom's hand, lol. I think the other instructor took it as an insult, since she started telling me about her background and experience.

Ah well, gotta do what's right for the kids. I'll move him in two weeks after he's comfortable with all the new faces. I'm actually hoping that move will make him less clingy and encourage him to listen and try harder since he happily ignored most of what we worked on last night, lol.

[Virtualsk8r]

Isk8NYC - Dividing the herd works well with higher level skaters as well. On our first night of LTS we put all the fresh-to-the-ice and known beginners into one large group with a few coaches and volunteers - and then sort them out usually by size (3-4 year olds in one group and older kids in the other), then have them move to assess.

However, the returning skaters who we know have earned badges, and the newcomers who say they can skate - are all grouped together based on badge levels and put into high or intermediate level large groups. I usually have the high level and have the skaters show me their forward skating skills and stopping across the ice and then assess their backward skating skills going the other way. Keeps the kids moving and parents think they are getting their money's worth apparently! I do this a couple of times because many skaters haven't been on the ice since last March, even though they have passed a higher level badge skills can get rusty. Then I weed out the stragglers and send them to one coach. The remaining skaters are asked to do basic things such as one foot glides forward, double sculling, and turning fwd-bwd while gliding. Most of these skills the skaters should have passed at this level, but you would be surprisesd how many can't. These skaters go into another group and the remaining ones are in the higher group.

Seems to work for us. Of course, we do adjustments after the first class. I tend to spend my first class working on basic forward and backward skating skills, and stopping - no matter what level I am teaching - using both the circle and the width of the ice. By the end of the first class, the skaters are exhausted from moving and I have a better idea of how to plan my next lesson.

[Skittl1321]

There's two schools of thought on the criers.



Oh- what i meant about the criers is that I always get them because the boys just don't know what to do with them! I'm a cajoler "it's alright, lets give it another try" and a redirector "can you sing your ABCs", though I also do a bit of the "be a big girl! Mom wants you to stay on the ice"... I give it a few minutes of redirection, and then take them off the ice. The men I co-teach with (we do have another man who is a great redirector, who I don't teach with much) just take them right off. They see crying child and think "hurt". I see crying child and think "child". Parents don't usually like for them to come off the ice so quickly, since they are paying for lessons!

Now hysterical screamers- they go off ice. They are just going to hurt themselves.

[londonicechamp]

Hi

Well, when I was doing group lessons in the UK (London), the coaches originally put me in the advanced group. Our advanced group was not that advanced, in terms of jumps and spins, so coaches did allow us to do whatever spin and jump, up to our own individual choice. However, if the coach finds that a student is not ready for a particular move, will send them back down a level (a group lower), and told them that they will be back to the current group in a few weeks' time.

londonicechamp

[kayskate]

I absolutely agree w the divided the herd approach. It works at all levels. Sometimes, however, it is not possible b/c of too few kids in a grp, combining levels, or too few coaches available. In this case, I divide the herd myself and keep everyone moving by offering skills to one grp and then the other. Everyone is practicing the skill appropriate for his/her level. Someone mentioned parents thinking they are getting their $'s worth. This is important. Parent want to see the kids skating. It does not really matter if some kids are doing swizzles and others are marching. They want to see each child getting instruction.

Criers:
I have tried all of the approaches mentioned. If the kid is frustrated b/c he cannot stand up and I do not have a helper, I get the kid a cone so he can participate in the class. I don't prefer this, but their is only one of me. I cannot neglect 6 other children for the one who cannot get up. If the kids is just throwing a tantrum, I take him off the ice or have the helper do this and tell the parent the kid needs a break and can rejoin the class when he is ready. If the crying is b/c a fall hurt, I encourage the kid to get up if possible. I will assist the kid off ice while encouraging him. The parent has usually seen the fall and I will tell the parent "he fell on his bum and needs a break". Of course, the kid is welcome back as soon as his bum feels better. It usually does not take long. Most of the children would rather be on the ice w their new friends than sitting on the sidelines w a not-so-sore bottom.

Kay

[Skate@Delaware]

hahaha! I am the "mean mom"!!! No, not really! I like using my big marker to draw lines for the kids to skate/march on or have them try to rub them out. I did use stickers but our current manager has banned them (he is a meanie) so I need to find an alternative (he says they get dropped and ruin the ice, but we double-check).

I don't really cater to the criers tho-it's counter-productive. The hard thing is getting the "helpers" to leave them and not cater to them.

[Schmeck]

We'd only give out stickers as they got off the ice - that solved the sticker-on-the-ice problem, and was a motivator to get the kids to stay on the ice for the entire lesson.