Deciding whether to take very young children skiing for the first time can feel like the biggest decision and every parent will be asking themselves the same questions. At Snowbizz we’ve been teaching little ones to ski for almost 40 years now and pride ourselves on our winning formula.
Getting them started young is a GREAT idea
We’re not expecting to see future Olympians on day dot but our aim is for the whole experience to be positive. If they only do a run or two in their one hour lesson but want to come back the next day? Then for us that’s a success.
Fully qualified British nannies
Having a qualified nanny involved in the one hour lesson means our hand picked instructors can focus on teaching the children while our nanny on duty can help settle nerves and gently encourage them. Our nanny’s task is to be their biggest cheerleader for the hour’s lesson to create a positive and fun environment.
All our team of qualified nannies have at least two years’ experience alongside a full childcare qualification (as opposed to a quick intensive course either in the UK or in in training week). This ensures that they’ve had experience with all of the ages, usually within a nursery setting from the UK, so they can bring the familiarity from home to our creche. Team this with hiring a team who genuinely love working with children and have that sparkly personality, we believe we have a winning combination.
Handpicked Instructors
All our instructors are handpicked by our director, Michel, and are in constant communication, via radio, with both him and the ESF Technical Director throughout the lesson. Almost all of our instructors have children themselves so know exactly what it’s like as they’ll have taught their own. All are regularly tested for their English to ensure there is no language barrier.
Wrap around childcare via Snowbizz creche
What helps the most is the wrap around childcare. Drop off is from 9am in our creche where we have a range of activities – think messy play, arts and crafts activities and full range of all our imaginary play toys. By dropping them off to play first, it can really help settle children before their lesson so they can choose what they want to do before they go to ski.
On the first morning we put out activities that are crowd pleasers, then tailor the rest of the week around the personalities that we have – there is always something for everyone.
A one hour lesson might not seem enough but trust us as it’s a lot on their little legs. By midweek they can be feeling tired – it’s hard work learning to ski and having full reign of a childcare setting! This is a really critical moment as we will never push a child too much and we work with the energy levels they give us to ensure it remains a positive experience. Typically though, the fact they know they can go back to the creche and play with whatever they’d like is enough of a tool to encourage them to make the most of their lesson.
Best time of year to ski
January and March are the best weeks to start your little ones on their ski journey as the resort is so quiet. This helps enormously with any nervous children as the Toton garden is so much quieter and with smaller group sizes it means more 1:1 learning.
March usually means warmer weather and preferred by many of our families but whatever month you choose the fact remains that during January and March you will feel like you have the resort to yourselves.
Puy St Vincent – Doorstep Skiing
Resort wise picking somewhere smaller like Puy St Vincent can be a great starting point for your first few family holidays. There is a lot of kit involved with a ski holiday so being in a smaller resort which isn’t far from anything keeps the stress levels low. In Puy St Vincent, you can ski in and out of your accommodation and everything – the creche and office, supermarket, first lift, ski hire shop and restaurants are all a 2 minute walk away.
Watch your children having fun
A smaller resort also means it’s easier to dot around and watch your child ski in the Toton garden before easily getting straight back onto a lift and enjoying your ski time. The same goes for any older children taking our Junior Ski School, you’re likely to spot them a few times during their lesson.
Peace of mind
We know that parents can be worried leaving their little ones in a new childcare environment. We aim to give you total peace of mind and if there are any wobbles at drop off we can send you a message as soon as they settle (which is often as soon as you’ve gone). The beauty of a smaller resort though is that you can also pop back and check in if you’d like. We find this helps nervous mums and dads as it’s so easy to be able to nip back which is something a smaller resort provides.
Deciding to take your little ones skiing for the first time is a big decision. Booking with Snowbizz we trust we can make your families experience the most perfect one possible.
As one family told us last year, their friends at home thought they were mad for taking such young children skiing, after day two they said how wrong they’d been as our set up worked perfectly for a family with children learning to ski for the first time.
We’re a family ourselves and offer such a personal service that bigger companies can only dream about. If you’d like to know more about how we go the extra mile to make every child’s ski holiday so special please call Sarah and Jo on 01778 341455 to experience the difference.