Minne-Loppet Program Teaches 3rd Graders (And Their Teachers) Lessons On Skiing
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The City of Lakes Loppet Festival is always a weekend to remember, but the Loppet Foundation makes sure that all winters are memorable for some third graders.
Eight elementary schools in north Minneapolis are part of the Minne-Loppet program where they learn to ski for free. But the skills they learn from skiing end up being lessons for life.
Thursdays are the favorite here at Lucy Lane Cleveland Park Community School. It's the day the third graders get outside and ski.
"Every Thursday the kids get excited because they know they're going to be out there," said Scott Teigland, a third-grade co-teacher at Lucy Lane Cleveland Park Community School.
"I like it cause when I go down hills, I go fast," said Antavian, a third-grader and first time skier.
"Kids get kind of a little bit nervous in week one," said Teigland. "Today was super special because we're not getting a lot of the 'aww' or 'no.' It's mostly laughing and cheering on."
The Minne-Loppet program has been in north Minneapolis schools for 12 years.
"We've probably taught more than 8,000 kids to ski already," said Anthony Taylor, Adventures Director at the Loppet Foundation. "It's a program designed to teach them to ski and in doing that we use the elements of skiing to also teach them nutrition and self-care."
For most of the kids, it's the first time they've ever been on skis.
"It was like you're trying to ride a two-wheeled bike for the first time," Telisa, a third-grade student, said.
Minne-Loppet brings in the coaches and provides all the equipment, from skis to gloves and snow pants if the kids need them.
It also helps that their favorite teachers are learning with them.
"I was falling down every single day," Raymond Johnson, a co-teacher at the Lucy Lane, said. "Now I'm out here skating like I'm in the Olympics. They eat it up, they're like 'I'm going to be like you I'm not going to fall either.'"
While they're busy sliding and gliding, they might not even realize they're learning lessons that'll stay with them for life.
"I failed but I kept going," said Antavion. "It's fun and easy but don't give up because you'll have a lot of fun."
"Everybody falls and it's us teaching them how to get back up," Teigland said.
"It's easier to give up, it's easier to fall down and say 'forget this'," Johnson said. "But it teaches them, you know what, you're going to get better and they have gotten better. I'm very proud of my kids, very proud."
For more information on the Minneloppet program, click here.
