Children and teachers alike escaped nursery duties at Lutheran Preschool in Martin and recently enjoyed five days of skiing on the massive Turiec hills. This winter’s weather was less than cooperative and we had feared the ski trip would be canceled. But God loves us and He blessed us with wonderful snowy slopes and temperatures just a few degrees below zero for the whole five days. No rain or drizzle and sunny days throughout—in short, a one hundred percent success!
Courage to learn new things
Many children had never skied before, therefore we started by observing the environment, meeting the instructors, and learning about the ski instruments. Eight instructors divided the kids into groups according to their skiing skills. The children stayed in these groups throughout the week.
The more skilled child skiers went on the lift by the second day. Others were taught basic position on skis, while standing on the ski carpet. It was quite fun to watch the child groups as they learned to balance in different positions in order to acquire the necessary stability and security. By experiencing this, the children were encouraged to overcome their own fears and try to learn new things.
Treasure Hunt and Carnival for BIG skiers
On the third day the children went to look for a ski treasure! Students were handed pieces of a split map and were tasked to connect the map pieces clearly so they could recognize the cross (X) on the maps. This was the place the treasure was to be found! It only took the keen competitors a few seconds and soon afterward, they found the sweet treasure. It was a wonderful moment, watching how the children shared their bits of treasure with each other.
Thursday was snow carnival. Parents prepared masks for their children, which attached to their helmets. All the instructors were dressed as pirates, while the children celebrated the carnival in masks of angels, cowboys, cats, sunflowers, ladybugs, football players, or Transformers. The fourth day of ski training was really fun as the slopes were covered with these vivid characters. The great atmosphere contributed to a relaxed day of skiing.
Last Day Races
The last day gave the children an opportunity to demonstrate all the skills they had learned over the previous five days. Parents and grandparents were excited about watching the races and they showed up to cheer on the racers. 
The culmination of our preschool children´s ski training was the expected race evaluation. “Although only three children made it to the top of the podium, everyone was a winner,” evaluated children´s performance and skills teacher Petra Banášová. She also passed on many thanks to the instructors who “created a wonderful family atmosphere with lots of humor and a friendly approach.”
