Ski School

Today I worked at the barnehage's "ski school" as one of 3 adults with a group of 12 kids. This is the group of 12 kids from the 'utegruppe' that would normally be in the forest this week, but every February the barnehage sends the 'utegruppe' to learn how to ski instead of playing in the forest. I was so thrilled to be invited as one of the 3 adults! (It was only because there was a meeting that day for the teachers that would otherwise have been there -- I'm not that special..)
I didn't take any pictures unfortunately, but it was a lovely day and we went to the Gulhella meadow (where our family used to ski last year quite a lot because it is close to our old house), which I know quite well. Anyway, first we all learned the proper way to get up after falling and we practiced that several times. Then we skied around the meadow a couple of times, then had lunch, skied some more, then had a rest on some reindeer skin rugs, then played a game. The game is called "the hawk and the doe" and it goes like this:
One person is the doe (deer) and stands between 2 poles some distance away from the group, which is standing between another 2 poles. Another person is the hawk and stands between the doe and the group.
The doe shouts "Ok my pidgeons, you must come home now"
the group shouts "No! We are afraid that the hawk will get us!"
The doe shouts "What does he eat?"
Group answers, "MEAT!".
Doe shouts, "What does he drink?"
Group answers, "BLOOD!"
And the doe shouts, "Well come home anyway!"
And then the group tries to ski home to the doe past the hawk. If the hawk touches you, you become part of the hawk force in the next round. If you make it home to the doe, you get to do it again. So the hawk force gets bigger and bigger until everyone has been tagged, and then a new doe and a new hawk are chosen and it starts again! Of course there was some pushing rather than gentle tagging, and some kids were always the first to be targeted by the hawk, but I found the whole game very interesting. I love the message that it's okay to be afraid of something but you have to go for it anyway! Anyway, that was my day :-)
Tomorrow Auntie Sioned is coming to visit for a week and we are so excited!