Last week the 4^th graders went on their ski trip to Hachikogen. Before going, the children were required to fill out a form letting the school know how much experience they had skiing. From there, the children were split into groups so that everyone could learn within their own group at a similar pace.

Although many children had enough experience to be able to ski without much more instruction, there were many children that had never skied before. These children awaited this trip with both excitement and anxiety.

After a long bus ride and a quick lunch, the children started by first learning how to put on the ski boots. Some children had a bit of difficulty with this as the boots are very heavy and stiff. This also made it difficult to walk for some of the children.

After finally getting out on the snow, everyone split into their groups. Groups that had more experience went directly to the lifts to be taken to the advanced trails while the beginners started from the basics.

First, they started by learning how to connect their boots to the skis and how to disconnect them as well. This was tricky for some as it was the first time for them to balance on a foot connected to something that would slide on snow. After trying out both feet, they then practiced sliding around with only one ski. The children were able to catch on to this concept easily and were soon moving on the practicing with both skis on.

The next step was for the children to learn how to stop. They were taught the 八の字 stopping method. Children were told to imagine the kanji for the number eight and to arrange their skis in this form when they wanted to slow down or stop. This would prove tricky for some children since it requires more control and movement of the skis, but they soon mastered it in no time.

By this point everyone had enough confidence to ski on their own and they all headed over to the bunny hill to test out their new skills. Since it was the first time with skis on a hill, the children took their time skiing to the bottom, but as they repeated the process, they started to become much more comfortable and were able to make it to the bottom of the hill much quicker.

At the end of the day everyone looked forward to what the next day had in store for them and the chance to be able to ride the ski lifts like everyone else.

After having a good night’s rest and a filling breakfast, the children were once again ready to get out on the snow. With the newfound skills they had gained from the day before, the coaches led them down a nice naturesque trail. During this time, the children had much more of an opportunity to test out gaining speed, maneuvering back and forth as well as slowing and stopping.

After finishing this course, the children were faced with their next challenge. It was time to ride the ski lift. Everyone rode the lift one by one and were able to enjoy a relaxing ride back to the starting area. Getting off the lift proved to be challenging for some, but everyone was able to make it off with no injuries and just minor delays to the lift.

With the remaining time, the children were the led to a different lift which went higher up the mountain. This gave the children one last chance to ride the lift and a chance to ski on a trail the rest of their classmates had been using for the past day and a half. Everyone put all the skills they had acquired over their lessons to use and were able to make in back down the slopes with no problems at all.

Following their last ski session, the children thanked their coaches and headed in for a hot bowl of curry to warm themselves up before loading back into the bus to come back to school. This would be the end of a very exciting experience for all the children and especially those that had never skied before. We are sure that everyone enjoyed themselves and felt a sense of accomplishment after being able to ski down the slopes on their own.