[demime could not interpret encoding binary - treating as plain text] You are in luck. I just cleaned out my house and unearthed a card for Marge Cline, AKA rivermom who has trained upteen million kids. I have assisted her with her children's classes at the Houston, TX Rendezvous for several years and she is great. And little 8-10 year olds paddle like advanced adults when they finish with her. Her contact info: Marge Cline 1343 N. Portage Ave. Palatine, Il 60067-1850 rivermom _at_mindspring.com 847-359-5047 With kids, you want them to NOT be scared and to feel as though they are playing. So games are the order of the day. But she always starts with a little talk about parts of the boat, dressing for kayaking, etc., and then has each child get in a kayak and them spots him as two parents turn the kayak over, about 2 feet above the ground, so the kids know they will just fall out of the kayak. Another game is to have a lot sponges and have kids throw them at each other, paddle after them and retreive them to throw again. And one of the most fascinating things – she lines all the kids up in a row and then lets them get out of their kayaks, one at a time and attempt to run across all the rest of the kayaks. Of course they all eventually fall in and have to get back into their boats (that's the real point) but they think they are having a contest as to who can run across the most boats. And don’t forget – teach the turning strokes BEFORE you teach them forward strokes. Otherwise, in a lake, you have kids all over who can’t get back. We always have a few people acting as boat herders and rescuers when we teach on the lake. Marilyn Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 10:04:48 -0800 (PST) From: Jack Gilman <hudsonsb_at_yahoo.com> Subject: [Paddlewise] Teaching Kids: Looking for sources Hi All- Our paddling club, in partnership with the local YMCA will be doing some pool sessions with kids from the Y's swim team this winter. Does anyone know of any sources for information on teaching kids to paddle kayaks? I'm sure this will be a lot of fun, just want t get on the right track from the start. Thanks in advance for any help. Jack Gilman Yonkers Paddling & Rowing Club Yonkers, NY *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
mkircus_at_academicplanet.com wrote: Some very good advice. > With kids, you want them to NOT be scared and to feel as though they are > playing. So games are the order of the day. But she always starts with a > little talk about parts of the boat, dressing for kayaking, etc., and > then has each child get in a kayak and them spots him as two parents turn > the kayak over, about 2 feet above the ground, so the kids know they will > just fall out of the kayak. Another game is to have a lot sponges and > have kids throw them at each other, paddle after them and retreive them > to throw again. And one of the most fascinating things – she lines all > the kids up in a row and then lets them get out of their kayaks, one at a > time and attempt to run across all the rest of the kayaks. Of course > they all eventually fall in and have to get back into their boats (that's > the real point) but they think they are having a contest as to who can > run across the most boats. And don’t forget – teach the turning strokes > BEFORE you teach them forward strokes. Otherwise, in a lake, you have > kids all over who can’t get back. We always have a few people acting as > boat herders and rescuers when we teach on the lake. > > Marilyn I teach kids recreational canoeing, and if you have more questions, or want to be more specific about ages and what you want to do, I and others may have more suggestions. My 2-cents worth is: 1. As stated above, start with a run down of the parts of the boat, paddle, PFD, and so on so that people will know what you are talkking about. Include general instructions here such as where or which way to go in the event of getting nervous, instructors being invoilved with a real rescue, etc. 2. Teach the brace first. Gives people an amazing amount of confidence once they see how much control they have over the tippiness of the boat. GaryJ -- Director, Family Canoeing Centre Recreational canoeing courses for the whole family. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Mon, 06 Jan 2003 21:41:23 CST, mkircus_at_academicplanet.com said: > > Her contact info: > > Marge Cline > 1343 N. Portage Ave. Palatine, Il 60067-1850 > rivermom _at_mindspring.com > 847-359-5047 > This is very old information for Marge. She lives in a different home now, but the email address is good. Jim Tibensky *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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