We have a pair of vintage 3-pin cross-country skis my sister-in-law gave us. (Wowzer that sentence got it’s fair share of hyphens.) Anyway, my older two boys used them in the past and this season Scout is thrilled that she finally fits into the boots!
And I was equally excited because this means we can go skiing during the day while the boys are in school, she can ski and I can carry her little brother in the child carrier.
Here are the 3 tips that helped Scout learn really quickly…
- 1. Start Without Poles - Poles will just get in the way at this point. When you’re little one is just learning you want them to focus on swinging their arms from front to back.
- 2. Ski On A Groomed Trail - Skiing on a groomed trail gives kids a feel for how wide their stance should be and a guide for their skis so there will be less falling down and crossed skis. Where we went there wasn’t a groomed trail so Damon skied in front while Scout followed in his tracks.
- 3. Pretend To Kick A Ball - Have them pretend to kick a ball with each glide they take. Their body weight is on their right foot while they kick the ball with their left foot. Their weight then transfers to the left foot as the glide comes to an end. Then they proceed to kick the right foot forward.
Scout picked up the cross-country ski movement really quickly. Once we went over the basics I let her loose to explore. She went up and down hills, in circles and even enlisted Kaiser in the effort…
Skijoring at its finest…
Once she started doing well with the basic skiing motion I added in the ski poles.
She had some tumbles and stumbles along the way but she didn’t seem to mind…
I hope you found this helpful! We’re headed out again tomorrow. I hear there’s more snow on the way! Yippee!
Do you have any favorite cross-country ski spots?
Gear Spotlight: On this outing Scout wore the Icebreaker pocket hat and over the calf snow socks. Icebreaker makes active apparel from New Zealand merino wool.
cross country ski, nature for kids, how to, ski, snow, teach kids, snow sports, skijoring, nordic, XC ski
Looks like she really enjoyed being the main character in this blog! Great pictures.
We’ve just begun getting our kids out x-c skiing and are fortunate to have Whistler Olympic Park in Callaghan Valley just up the road. The trails are groomed fantastically (and I’m a former trail groomer), though we only get out on a fraction of the trails. That will, hopefully, change over the years. I can’t agree w/the “no poles” mantra enough – hold out as long as your child will let you as it does help develop a truer technique. Having the set tracks also helps, even on the downhills.
Linda she makes it a point to be the main character around our house
Jon what a great place to raise a family. Have you been exposed to biathlons much? I’d like to do one but don’t know where to start. Any advice? Enjoy the trails and thanks for your input!
Kicking a ball – what a great tip!!
Hope to see you at OR!
Hi,
I’m also interested in biathlons, but I haven’t truly poked around w/this. There are programs at Whistler Olympic Park (WOP), including for kids 8 and up. I have every intention of giving the opportunity for my now 6 year-old to give it a go if he’s interested. And if my 4 y.o. daughter (who is learning to ski well, pole-less-ly!) wants to give it a go when she’s old enough, we will. I’m not that into shooting rifles these days – I grew up doing it, but I’m not that interested anymore. Former students of mine discovered an archery version of the biathlon – I’d be interested in that! Sorry I can’t be of much help.
I visited your site for the first time today and I’ll have to check it out more! Seems like interesting stuff! I’ve made it a point to get my elementary students outdoors and now I’m able to get my own kids outdoors, too. We only recently moved here – came out from Maine last April. It’s an incredible place, but much harder to get younger kids outside in a natural setting than it was in Maine. We were fortunate to have owned 27 acres and the kids could just tromp about. Where we are currently living, it’s very steep, the forests are rather thick (not conducive to bushwhacking!) and there’s a slight issue of habituated black bears and not necessarily friendly cougars.
Great post. My kids know how to downhill ski, but they haven’t yet tried their legs at cross-country. Nice tips, thanks.
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