So here we go. swallowing the bullet and heading to go skiing with a 3 year old after hours of searching the web about whether taking a 3 yo to ski lessons is a good idea in the first place and prepping for several more hours to get her physically and mentally ready for the big day. We sang 'ring around the roses' and 'we all fall down' and she pretended she's skiing and making turns on the carpet.
Just a side note before our own day, I searched the web and there are numerous controversies regarding taking kids at that age to skiing. Some usually in Canada and European Alpine believe that 3-4 is a great age for a child to start, ( I actually saw a 22 month old boy from BC ski with so much control and balance after a short time with his 7old brother and dad) as their bodies are so flexible and adaptable, while others argue that 4 is a better starting age for kids in terms of muscle strength, concentration and being able to wait for their turns with the other kids in a lesson. However, most agree that it really depends on the individual child and no two children are the same in terms of their capabilities and readiness. I have to confess that Arah also had been doing some gymnastics before which helped with her coordination and stability. My ultimate goal was to casually introduce the sport/ hubby to her as per my usual philosophy of ' through the back door approach' and just test the water and see if she enjoys it. I intend not to push if there is any resistance from her to not scare her or leave a bad memory in her mind. So with all that being said and established, today's craziness adventure began.
Although Arah started to throw a tantrum right from the beginning with her confusion with new ski jacket, helmet and unfamiliar mittens and wanted to wear her fleece school pants instead of snow pants, we succeeded to meet with our friends who had come from Denver and Philadelphia and load up in 3 rows of the SUV and head to the Rockies.
and although she obviously started the day with another hundred new questions like "why are we going to the snow?" or " I want to go home now" after just one hour of lessons, she proceeded to impress with hardly any convolution to say the least after a short break and a hot chocolate. I think above pictures prove that she was in fact the shortest and youngest in the skies there but held on not so bad for her own good. I actually think that it also helped that she is so short and light and has such low center of gravity and hardly gains any substantial momentum. But still I was initially nervous and couldn't leave her alone for more than 10 inches. But slowly conceded to believe that she has a knack of getting this thing right. Perhaps she'll learn that she's a Colorado girl after all!
Later on we found out happily that she had actually learned a thing or two like 'french fries style' in that short period of lessons. She still needs to work on her 'pizza wedge' if she ever starts to look at any piece of pizza for a change (smile)
Here is Arah coming down on her own nonchalantly and effortlessly and saying I wanna go up! Her dad also says 'wait wait' but she hardly has a fear.
Other videos would just take so long to load but basically Arah comes down with no hesitation and there is a scene where everyone just moves out of her way as she just comes down so steady and with no reservation. She is such a serious, and confident little girl!
on the kiddie "lift".
So far she's liking skiing so we think it was a productive day for us after all.
She is such an exuberant, bubbly, loud, and adorable 3 year old.
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