New Teacher

[sk8ryellow]

I was just given my first learn to skate class today and it is tot one with three tots. The children are very weak on the ice even though we did stuff off ice and other such before we got on. I feel as if the kids were bored the whole time because whatever games I had in mind they werent even able to get up all the way on the ice or even march in place yet. I also felt lost when I would help one child and the other two would just sit there because they cant do anything. Advice would be greatly appreciated. I am very excited to be promoted to teaching and want to do the best I can.

[Skittl1321]

Tots can be tough- it gets even harder if 2 start moving and one still can't!

One thing I say a lot to little ones is "stand like a statue". If I'm trying to gather the whole class together, I have the other ones give me funny faces, scary faces, etc as they stand like statues.

Games we play that stand in place- head, shoulder, knees and toes (for balance), "elevator" (dips- standing is 5th floor, all the way to the basement- where you fall), monkeys jumping on the bed (just bend knees, practice falling and getting up).

Try stomping on bugs in place to help get their feet moving, then you can try to start moving a bit more. Start your second class off ice again, but the second one almost always goes better than the first!

[Virtualsk8r]

Little ones love to chase soap bubbles around - and they are so busy trying to pop the bubbles that they forget they are on slippery ice. Works every time. Get a giant bubble wand at the $ store - or a few of those bottles of soapy liquid that come with the wand - and blow till you can blow no more. The kids giggle - they pop - they chase them....even those tykes that like to spend the first few lessons on the ice will try to get on their knees to pop or chase them.:lol:

[kayskate]

I like the bubble idea. Will try that one.
Also you might get cones for the kids to just touch so they can stand. Sitting on the ice makes them too cold.Ask the skate director if cones are available and allowed.

Kay

[Skittl1321]

Little ones love to chase soap bubbles around -

Once they are moving I LOVE bubbles. I'm scared to use them with non-mobile ones because they tend to lunge towards them and blades go flying...
The parent/tot class uses these (and hockey pucks) a lot- but the kid has a "holder". (Actually the hockey pucks have created a huge jealousy of the snowplow boys towards the parent tot kids. They all want to go to that class, and we let them- but the actual skating skills are much lower level...)


Once they are moving- we do tons with beanie babies. Balancing on their heads, throwing and retreaving, marching in and out, we make up tons of games with the beanies.

Another thing we've recently added is pool noodles. You can use them as limbo sticks, or to play "tag"- we chase the kids and whack them if we catch 'em. They think it's hysterical.

[Virtualsk8r]

I like the bubble idea. Will try that one.
Also you might get cones for the kids to just touch so they can stand. Sitting on the ice makes them too cold.Ask the skate director if cones are available and allowed.

Kay

Pointy cones - like the ones used on soccer fields, etc.---- are a little dangerous for LTS little ones. Not only can little eyes be injured by the points........but little boys can...ahm......do themselves damage. Better to find domes (available in lots of colors and come on a storage stick but are expensive...can find online) or use breakfast cereal bowls in bright colours for skaters to kick and play ice soccer with.

I've never had a problem with bubbles and non-skaters. Usually tots are dressed for bottom warmth. The little ones don't really chase the bubbles but are simply fascinated by them, which takes their minds off the slippery feeling of standing on the ice.

I really don't like using hockey pucks, because the danger of a little one stepping on the puck and going flying, is very real. I 'm really anal about safety and like to keep the ice surface as safe as possible, so I don't use beanies or things that can't slide on the ice until the skaters are moving. One thing I did use frequently with LTS tots - was a Tigger and Elmo that giggle, wiggle and laugh. Put it on the ice just a few feet away from the skaters (under coach supervision) and the little ones will gravitate towards it...crawling, toddling or skating. They love familiar toys on the ice as it gives them a sense of comfort.

I also use foam letters, hoola hoops, bean bags (on helmets for balance when they can handle it), dollar store foam balls (kiddie size) and lots of colorful magic markers to draw animal trails, ladders, fishes in the water etc. on the ice.

[phoenix]

lots of colorful magic markers to draw animal trails, ladders, fishes in the water etc. on the ice.

Yes! I refuse to teach tots w/o markers. Draw bugs on the ice & have them stomp the bugs---sometimes that will motivate them to move.

The key is it all has to be games and fun, and a distraction from the fact that they're in a very alien environment.

[slusher]

I teach these sort of groups often and also mentor other coaches in how to do so because we get a lot of ex-competitive skaters who want to be coaches and they are given tot sessions to start out with. They have no idea what to do since most of them skated naturally as a kid. The biggest challenge is realizing how low you have to go, both physically and structurally. Physically, meaning down to their level, and structurally meaning that getting them to stand up will be the biggest achievement you might ever accomplish in the time you have them. Readjust your goals. I have had kids who sat on the ice for six weeks of lessons and couldn't get up by themselves. I would love to have only 3 kids in a group at this level.

There are three major accomplishments: Getting up on their own, staying up on their own and moving on their own.

I sit on the ice. Some of the other instructors chirp at me about it but I cannot bend over for 50 minutes. Yes, our tots sessions are 50 minutes long (don't ask). I'll get up and down but for quite a while I will sit crosslegged, keeping my skates tucked under me. I don't kneel as I've had kids fall on my blades sticking up behind me. During this time we are working on the practice for getting up on their own, and with three kids I can use two hands, one for each to help and the third can steady themselves on my shoulder or knee. This also works for kids learning to bend to pick things up off the ice. If they can't get low enough, they can get low enough to pick up the beanbag off my crossed knees.

Then we move onto things they can do standing. This is the stress on the back part of the job because I will just pick them up and stand them up. They can probably stand up on their own, I hope, and then we can play stretching games while practicing balancing and staying steady on two feet. Don't expect them to learn standing up before moving, the two skills are learned concurrently. If they're stood up, or helped to stand up, they'll skate quite well. The helping to stand up part goes from a full pop them up with me doing all the work, to a steady hand and holding the skate, to a hand to the pinky to the "I'll hold my hand here in case you need it".


From the standing position we work on shifting weight and lifting feet, baby steps and then realizing that steps can actually move places. So quite often, I'll stand them all up, we'll work on steps, move a little, then fall down, stand them up, move a little, fall down, repeat. Then we go back to learning to stand up practice on their own. Now there's nothing to say that their moving steps have to be only forward. I will make kids take backwards steps right away. Two steps forward, two steps backward, two dips, two claps, that sort of thing.

So an entire session consists of learning how to stand up, and secondly, doing things while standing. For brand new non-physical three year olds, we could be doing this for 4-6 weeks, and then they'll need a hand to help to stand up for another while. Of course there's always the three year old that stands up and skates right away and copies a spiral from the big kids, you have no idea what it's like to see natural talent, wow.

It starts getting a little hairy when one or two kids start to move. Then you turn the entire group into a moving group, and basically pick up the ones that can't stand up on their own, and then pick them up and leapfrog them along. It is very much like a mother duck herding ducklings.

Often there will be one kid that won't get up, won't stand up even when picked up and turns into jello. I just pick them up and bring them along. Eventually they scream and cry because they really don't want to be there, and that's when they go back to mom for a break. Dealing with parents is an entirely different subject.

[kayskate]

50 minutes! OMG! My rink has 30 min, and that is too long for me and a lot of the kids. The attn span of a tot is very short. Add to that how little they can do, and 30 min becomes an eternity.

I worked at one rink where I sat on the ice w the kids to teach them to get up and the director kept yelling at me to get up. Obviously, I did not stay at that rink, but that is a different story.

The cones we use for kids who can't stand are the big kind that are almost the size of a tot. The kid can hold it, but not really lean on it. We try not to use walkers unless a parent insists. Walkers do nothing for posture and proper standing b/c the kids just lean all over them and don't fall, so they are not motivated to learn to stand and get up on their own.

Kay

[JazzySkate]

Ask your Director if washable markers are allowed. They're great for drawing, i.e. ice cream cones/smilies/flowers/stars, etc. for scraping (prep for Snowplow stops) or just for visuals; line them up single-file and have them follow you slowly as you draw an obstacle course (or maybe draw one before session starts, if there's time), i.e. fishes, footballs, sharks, stairs, circles, inverted U shape for a tunnel ("dip in place") a "Stop" sign for stops (or slow stop), "Go" within a circle for go, catepillar with numbered circles. Kids are visual, love seeing drawings, and I guarantee you they'll return every week.

I made up a game called "The Polar Express." Line them up, designate an Engineer and Conductor. Whoever falls must give their "ticket" to the Engineer and becomes the caboose! Before moving, everyone makes a whistle sound, like a train and moves their arms like train wheels. Take them on a serpentine course. If you've drawn an inverted U, have them "dip in the tunnel." This never fails to get them moving-and no one wants to fall, lol. Got the idea from long-distance train commuting into the city.

[tazsk8s]

50 minutes! OMG! My rink has 30 min, and that is too long for me and a lot of the kids. The attn span of a tot is very short. Add to that how little they can do, and 30 min becomes an eternity.

Amen to that! 50 minutes...yikes. Our Tot and Special Rec classes are 30 minutes on Saturday's which is completely do-able. The Basic 1-8 and freestyle classes are all 40 minutes. Someone brilliantly decided to add a Parent-Tot and Special Rec class on Monday nights during the same time the Basic's, because the enrollment on Mondays was pretty low. But they made them 40 minutes instead of the 30 minutes that we have on Saturdays. The Special Rec is usually ok because we have several different levels in that class anyway, gives me a little more time to get through everything. Trying to fill that extra 10 minutes of Parent-Tot, though....ugggggggggh.


We try not to use walkers unless a parent insists. Walkers do nothing for posture and proper standing b/c the kids just lean all over them and don't fall, so they are not motivated to learn to stand and get up on their own.

Agree with that as well. We have the metal A-frame walkers and they are downright scary. The kids using them still fall in spite of having them, and then there's one more thing for them to get tangled up in and get hurt.

[Skittl1321]

I really don't like using hockey pucks, because the danger of a little one stepping on the puck and going flying, is very real. I 'm really anal about safety and like to keep the ice surface as safe as possible, so I don't use beanies or things that can't slide on the ice until the skaters are moving. One thing I did use frequently with LTS tots - was a Tigger and Elmo that giggle, wiggle and laugh. Put it on the ice just a few feet away from the skaters (under coach supervision) and the little ones will gravitate towards it...crawling, toddling or skating. They love familiar toys on the ice as it gives them a sense of comfort.


The pucks scare me too but the teacher who uses them hasn't had any issue- it's a parent tot class though, so the adult/kid ratio is 1:1 plus a teacher. I wouldn't use them in snowplow. I haven't had any issue with the beanies- kids step on them all the time, and most don't fall when they do. They do slide on the ice. I don't think I could get through a class without beanies!

The wiggling Elmo toys are expensive! Did someone donate those?

I agree with you, I'm so anal about safety- some of the other teachers scare me! (I do a lot of "choo choo train" type games with movers, but we are never actually connected, other teachers will have them all holding onto hip, and then falls become huge pile ups- and tots have no concept of "knives attached to the feet" and it terrifies me.) If a game results in a lot of falls where the kids are close together, the game quickly changes. I'm okay with falls, but NOT with bunch ups. I try to keep them arms length from each other. Especially ones who are preschool friends, they often will grab onto each other (resulting in taking the other one down)- so I'm often reminding them "it's okay if you need to hold onto a teacher, but it's not okay to hold onto a friend"

I'll hold hands a little bit, but not much- I much prefer them to stand not moving then to have to have the whole class holding onto me. I don't let them hold onto the wall though. I haven't used cones, but we did have one little boy push our toy box. He insisted on wearing hockey skates, and was never able to stand up on them (he couldn't walk on the mats either)- after many suggestions to his parents to put him in figure skates, they wouldn't- so we gave him the box to lean on. Unsurprsingly after 6 weeks of still not being able to even stand up unsupported (or walk off ice unsupported) he didn't return.

[Virtualsk8r]

The wiggly Elmo and jumping tiggers were courtesy of my dd -- they didn't stay at the rink so she didn't miss them! I guess I could relate to the tots since I had one....

I make all my games non-contact with all ages.....Mr. Wolf is done using skills as well as time (what time is it Mr. Wolf? Time to do a two foot spin etc.) When it is lunch time - the first skater to cross over a line I draw near the boards, without falling and NO grabbing.....wins. NO Board banging at any time or the skater has to time out. Same with Simon Says -- I use skating elements from the badge...or red light green light --- kids get the hang of no contact after a week or two and focus on the skills rather than running down another skater.

[vesperholly]

I draw on the ice a lot. Sometimes I draw faces on the ice and we stomp on the faces to get them to work on marching in place. I'll draw baseballs for the boys and faces with ponytails for girls.

Kids also loooooove when I bring stuffed animals. I bought a whole bunch of small ones at the Target One-Spot for $1 apiece, and got a small laundry basket. I let each kid pick an animal, put the basket a few feet away and have them put the animal in their "home". The basket is perfect for transport, too.

When they get more mobile, we do cars. First I ask them what color car they want to be. Then we practice "revving up" in the parking lot (standing still) by doing dips, and we all say "vroom vroom!" I talk about how cold it is, and say "let's go somewhere warm!" Many times, a kid will pipe up with "Florida!" So we "drive" to Florida — first we march, then we do two-foot glides to go on the highway.

Lastly, I like to bring tiny smiley-face stickers for the kids as their "reward" for completing each class. One of my rinks has plastic nametags, and I line up all the stickers on the tag. It's a good way to identify kids who are in my class too :)

[slusher]

50 minutes! OMG! My rink has 30 min, and that is too long for me and a lot of the kids. The attn span of a tot is very short. A
Kay

Amen to that! 50 minutes...yikes. Our Tot and Special Rec classes are 30 minutes on Saturday's which is completely do-able. The Basic 1-8 and freestyle classes are all 40 minutes. Someone brilliantly decided to add a Parent-Tot and Special Rec class on Monday nights during the same time the Basic's, because the enrollment on Mondays was pretty low. But they made them 40 minutes instead of the 30 minutes that we have on Saturdays. The Special Rec is usually ok because we have several different levels in that class anyway, gives me a little more time to get through everything. Trying to fill that extra 10 minutes of Parent-Tot, though....ugggggggggh.

.


That's how we ended up with 50 minutes. They never used to offer tots, then decided to offer learn to skate to 4 year olds. Last year the enrollment numbers were down and they opened it up to 3 year olds. We share the same ice. I've tried several times to suggest that they make it 30 minutes but they got complaints from the parents (or maybe one parent I bet) that if they were there for one child in Learn to skate, the other could stay on the ice that long too. Besides they would have to offer a reduced fee for only 30 minutes and revenue is always a hot topic. So some days, we practice lying on the ice making snow angels. Or rolling around. Mostly in the middle of the session is a rather long break of Sticker Time.

The good kids that can skate at age 3, and we have a bunch of them get put into a learn to skate group and generally are happy to be on the ice for 50 minutes as they've learned to move. It is the sitters on the ice that aren't getting anything out of the extra time.

Seriously, when you've got 10 kids who can't stand up and 50 minutes, and miraculous progress would be that they stay in a standing position for a count of 10 before they fall over, you earn your money. The challenge for all the new coaches who get put on these sessions is that the three activities they planned for the kids who could move are impractical for what they have to deal with and then they (the coach) start freaking out!

But, it's probably the most satisfying group to teach because when they learn that they can stand up on their own, and move about, they're thrilled. Also, being able to say about a skater who has won a major competition "I taught them how to skate".

[Isk8NYC]

We used to have an hour-long class. 45 minutes of instructor-led lesson time followed by 15 minutes of free time. The instructors were paid for the full hour, but later they cut it down to 45 minutes paid time, but I couldn't leave those kids on the ice unsupervised, so I donated the last 15 minutes.

I initially had the role of Evil Mean Lady - the one who closed the doors and kept the kids from sneaking off the ice, lol. Lately, I've been the Parent & Me coach, but due to poor enrollment, I stepped down this session. They didn't need two instructors and the college kid who I teach with needed the $15 more.

They recently reduced it to a 45 minute class, so we teach for around 35-40 minutes then goof around with the kids and parents.

[cazzie]

Don't they have parents on the ice? Our rink did that (which is why I learnt to skate) - couldn't imagine coaches being expected to cope with a crowd of little ones! Having said that my son went to these age 4 and was instantly better than I was so not sure how much good it did other than boosting his ego. Many parents fell around as much as their kids but we all seemed to laugh together. Coaches were quite friendly and it was a laugh.

My strongest dislike though of objects on ice was hula hoops. Son learned to throw them over me and I had a few bad falls tripping over them.

[sk8tmum]

Are you playing music during the session? Action songs, which many of the tinys are familiar with, can get them moving and doing the "actions" which can distract them from the OMIGOD I'M ON SKATES fear, and also gets them moving their bodies around enough to keep them warm. Just playing popular kids music can also help as if they're enjoying the music, which many of them will with their favorite BackYardiGans or Wonder Pets music, they will be happier ... happier kids=more skating=happier parents.

A good rousing rendition of The Ants are Marching can get them marching about.

Cones can also create a problem ... if the skaters starts using them to skate around and their feet are splayed around the base and they are on their inside edges, it gets to be a very hard habit for them to break.

[sk8tmum]

Don't they have parents on the ice? Our rink did that (which is why I learnt to skate) - couldn't imagine coaches being expected to cope with a crowd of little ones!

No parents on the ice here; they would have to have Skate Canada memberships for insurance coverage, I believe. Instead, senior skaters who are accruing volunteer hours for school or scholarships, or who are simply learning how to coach, assist on an unpaid basis or perhaps for ice time credits.

[sk8ryellow]

All of your suggestions have been very helpful. What I am getting is that the key to success is fun and the key to fun is games, bubbles, markers, and overall just things that make them forget that they are on the ice! I cant wait till saturday to try this out.

[Clarice]

All of your suggestions have been very helpful. What I am getting is that the key to success is fun and the key to fun is games, bubbles, markers, and overall just things that make them forget that they are on the ice! I cant wait till saturday to try this out.

Yup, you've got it! And if you really want to score with the parents, be able to tell them exactly what skill was hidden in whatever game you were playing. For instance, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" works on dips in place, or "Ring Around the Rosy" practices falling down and getting up again. One of my favorites once they're moving better is to draw a playground slide on the ice - we march up the steps and then gli-i-i-i-ide down the slide. Most of my tot classes will happily do that over and over, but if I just tell them to show me a long glide, they won't.

[CanadianAdult]

My biggest source of ideas for preschool groups and parent and tot sessions is daycares. Fingerplays, rhyming songs, all that sort of thing can be adapted for ice movements.

Here's a game for kids that are working on standing up. It's the Five little monkeys song. As an instructor you have to be prepared to do all the actions with the kids. I like this game because the kids can do it while sitting, or from a kneeling position, or actually on their feet. You've got their attention and at least they're not crying or lying flat or crawling away.

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell down and bumped his head
Momma called the doctor and the doctor said
No more monkeys jumping on the bed !!!

Repeat:
Four little...
Three little...
Two little...
One little ....
and finish with:
................and the doctor said
Put those monkeys right to bed!!

Actions:
Jumping: actual jumping, knee bends or if doing this from on their knees, shake arms up and down, some sort of down and up that uses balance.
Falling down: fall. If kids are just on their knees stage, they fall sideways, it helps with the fear of falling from their full height. If they're sitting, they fall, and have to get back to sitting, hopefully encouraged to at least get to all fours and their knees.
Mamma : Instructor mimics phone call - a big fake plastic phone works wonders and children get back up. Pause to let them do so.
No More Monkeys: Big finger wave. Kids love to mimic the adults.

At the very end, everyone will end up lying flat on the ground. I use this at the end of a session, and we go home after. I have several monkey themed activities and have a big stash of monkey stickers to use as well.

[vesperholly]

Another important skill is dealing with criers. I try to ask them questions, like "Do you have a brother or sister? Do they know how to skate? What's their name? Do you go to school?" etc, to distract them from being upset. Often times, if Mommy is standing too close and the kid can see her, that's all the kid can focus on. I've had to politely request parents to discreetly leave and sit in the stands. Out of sight, out of mind.

My favorite trick with criers is to pretend to cry myself — "You're going to make me cry!" 99% of the time, they stop crying and look at you, really confused. :lol:

[kayskate]

My favorite trick with criers is to pretend to cry myself — "You're going to make me cry!" 99% of the time, they stop crying and look at you, really confused. :lol:

Gotta love this one. I'll use it. Hard to know what to do w criers. Thanks.

Kay

[sk8ryellow]

So on Saturday only one kid showed up and she was very sweet but all she wanted was her dad and she did not want to skate. She didnt cry but all she would say was no and i want my daddy. I played little games with her and got her moving a little but her attention was elsewhere. so I think that when I have the other two kids back it will be much easier to do games and other such

[Skittl1321]

Oh you poor thing! Teaching just one tot for an entire class is a unique form of torture. For private lessons for little ones, half the length of a class is generally enough. Thankfully, most parents agree.

[Clarice]

So on Saturday only one kid showed up and she was very sweet but all she wanted was her dad and she did not want to skate. She didnt cry but all she would say was no and i want my daddy. I played little games with her and got her moving a little but her attention was elsewhere. so I think that when I have the other two kids back it will be much easier to do games and other such

Oh, that IS difficult! Sometimes when I only have 1 or 2 we "take a walk" all the way around the rink (be careful not to get in the way of other classes). That takes a pretty long time with little ones. We sightsee along the way - I point out my favorite pictures on the sponsor boards (one has a picture of lizards, for instance - we always stop to tickle them). We look in the hockey boxes, peer into the music booth, see the garage door where the Zamboni lives - you get the idea. Sometimes if they want to hold my hands, I make them "pull me" around the rink - anything to keep them moving. I reinforce marching skills while we do that.

[Skittl1321]

Sometimes if they want to hold my hands, I make them "pull me" around the rink - anything to keep them moving. I reinforce marching skills while we do that.

Ooh- we make the kids push/pull the teachers a lot. They think it's hysterical.

[dbny]

Kids also loooooove when I bring stuffed animals. I bought a whole bunch of small ones at the Target One-Spot for $1 apiece, and got a small laundry basket. I let each kid pick an animal, put the basket a few feet away and have them put the animal in their "home". The basket is perfect for transport, too.

Just be sure your skating director approves. If you have only one to three kids, a plush ball can work wonders. They get lost in playing catch and forget to be afraid. Just hand the ball back and forth at first, and gradually increase the distance. A few times I've had to put the ball away when a kid got wild with it, but that rarely happens. As a last resort when you have just one or two and they don't want to stay on the ice, you can let them use the markers for a while. I always insist they sit first, and I keep the caps so the don't go into mouths.

[vesperholly]

Just be sure your skating director approves.

:halo: She was the one who gave me the idea!