Great Resources for Children’s Instructors
By Marsha Curtis, Advanced Children’s Educator, Stowe, VT
It often times takes a certain level of resourcefulness to acquire educational materials on teaching Children’s snowsports. Unlike a college course with a syllabus and a list of course texts, information for a snowsport educator is scattered throughout a variety of manuals, videotapes, books, magazines, and on-hill (or off-hill) clinics with no consolidated list of recommendations.
Children’s snowsports education incorporates a wide variety of topics (e.g., skiing, snowboarding, games & activities, child gro& development, educational theory, etc...). Unfortunately, because the subject matter is so varied we find ourselves sifting through heaps of information before we are able to locate the gems of insight we are looking for. There is an abundance of useful information out there; one just needs to know what references are available and where they can be acquired! From the fundamentals to the academic, there are materials that will help any level Children’s instructor. Here are some to check out!
For those of you looking to strengthen your knowledge of the fundamentals, PSIA offers some great resources. Each of these can aide in establishing a strong foundation of knowledge to become a master kid's instructor:
Captain Zembo's Ski and Snowboard Teaching Guide for Kids –
Great games for kids; also some great tricks for communicating with your young students. Order it from the Eastern Division Pro Shop, by clicking here.Power Play – Kids & Snowsports Video –
Awesome resource! This video shows the skills and movement patterns in action! It's a great way to gain some teaching ideas and improve your eye. Order it from the Eastern Division Pro Shop, by clicking here.Recipes for Learning: A Cookbook of Tricks for Teaching Kids –
Some great nuggets of wisdom from expert kid's coaches! This little booklet is jam packed with helpful information. Order it from the Eastern Division Pro Shop, by clicking here."Kids Movements are Fundamental" (The Professional Skier, Fall 2001) –
This article offers a succinct explanation of how children move on their equipment. Read this and watch the Power Play video together... well... no... not at the same time... but, read the article then watch the video - watch the video then read the article; they supplement each other well. You can find this article at the psia.org TPS/TPR Archives.Basic & Advanced Study Aides for Children’s Accreditation –
These materials do a great job covering the essentials. They can be downloaded from www.psia.org.
Combined, these resources will provide you with information on technical skills, bag-o-tricks, movement analysis, movement patterns of young skiers, and the ins-and-outs of the C.A.P. model (Cognitive, Affective, and Physical development).
So, as you were glancing over my reading list, were you saying to yourself, "Yup, got it. Saw that. Yea, own that too. Duh, like I haven't read that already!" Are you ready to read some different material? Check out some of the following:
How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk -
Offers great tools for successful cooperation and positive communication with children. A quick and easy read.How To Talk So Kids Will Learn -
Ditto!A Mind At A Time -
Discusses different learning patterns and how an individual can identify and be successful in relating with each of them.A Piaget Primer: How A Child Thinks -
A clearly distilled summary of how human intelligence develops. Easy to read with great analogies to help explain the stages of intellectual maturation. It will help you to understand why kids say and do what they say and do!Frames of Mind: The Theory Of Multiple Intelligences -
A bit on the academic side, but fascinating. Hopefully, it will inspire you to play around with different ways of delivering information and working with your students' strengths.
All of these books should be available through your local library or bookstore. Stepping away from the direct topic of snowsports, these references focus on developing the communication skills and understanding needed to successfully teach anything - not just skiing or riding.
These recommendations are just some of the gems that others have shared with me, or that I have happened to stumble across over the years. All of them have helped in improving my understanding of kids and/or snowsports; hopefully, they will be able to aide in yours. Just remember, the most impacting knowledge is that which is gained from experience. Don't forget to take this information out on the hill with you. Play, experiment, have fun with this new information in your teaching!
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