Taking the ice

by Amy On Sunday I was one among a large crowd of parents watching their kids and significant others skate around the ice at Barbara Ann Scott Arena. It was our kid’s first class in the City of Ottawa Frosty Blades program.

I have never been a good skater, and I always felt as though I was missing something, so I signed her up as soon as I found this program with a starting age of 2 years. In her class the parents join the kids and help them around on the ice so they can find their footing.

We were all excited to buy the kid her skates and hockey helmet (helmets are required for all participants in the class, parents included).

In the first class they worked on standing up with skates on, bending down and standing up and moving around on the ice. Joe is optimistic that by the end of the 9 weeks Maggie will be comfortable getting around the ice on her own.

All I know is at the end of the first lesson she started crying when they came off the ice and asking for more skating.

The city has introductory skating lessons for all ages – toddlers to teens and even adults, which is something I might consider. There are indoor rinks scattered around the city with public skating and outdoor rinks that are free for practicing. We’re lucky enough to have one right next door.

There’s also a great program called I Love to Skate, which is a partnership between the Sens Foundation and Canadian Tire’s JumpStart program that provides skates and helmets to kids who wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to learn.

Amy is mom to two year old Maggie and a 6 year old schnauzer named Henry. You can read her blog at amyboughner.ca where she writes about motherhood and anything else that’s on her mind. She also shares a blog with her husband at boughner.ca where they talk together about parenting a daughter.