Children’s Education and Certification

What: This interactive workshop exam is an assessment‐based certificate program offered to PSIA/AASI certified instructors designed to help instructors understand the stages and ages of child development and how it pertains to teaching snow sports.

CS1 certified instructors ski or ride as a current level 1 and teach more like a level 2.  The CS1 is similar to a level 1.5.

Participants will apply child development understanding into creative lessons plans for Beginner/Novice into Intermediate Zone lessons. You will have the opportunity to share your knowledge with the group and compare it to the CS National Standard.

For Snowboard-specific Children’s clinics, The Fundamental Movements (Flex and Extension / Rotation) and Board Performance (Tilt, Twist, Pivot & Pressure) will be explored with fun applications for a children-specific clinic.

Why: Children are the largest population we teach.

 Understanding how the stages of ages of child development  affect lesson planning and implementation is a critical step to successful snow sports lessons for children.   Participants will learn tools for creating engaging  and playful lessons.  Play is how children learn.  The CS1 program provides instructors a foundation on tips and tricks for creating age and stage appropriate fun for kids while providing a truly inspired safe, fun and educational experience. 

How: The CS1 Hybrid (running 2020-2021) consists of an online e-learning portion, two 2-hour online prep webinars, on-snow teaching scenarios, and technical discussions regarding how children and young students learn and progress from the Beginner/ Novice into the Intermediate Zones. CS1 addresses all children’s ages through the Intermediate Zone.  The clinic is designed around the concepts and knowledge gained by completing the Children’s Specialist 1 E-Learning course as well as reviewing the Children’s Instruction Manual, 2nd Edition & the PSIA AASI Children’s Specialist National Standards and other resources in the Education Resources below. In the second part of the clinic, each participant will apply this knowledge to a specific age and stage of development. Participants’ achievement will be relayed via verbal and written feedback from the clinician throughout the clinic and at its end.

Pre-requisites:

1. Obtain Children’s Manual.
   (Find it in Education Resources below.)
2. Strongly Recommended: Complete Central’s CS 1 Study Guide. (Find it in Education Resources below.) Use the Children’s Manual to complete it.
3. Required: Complete Children’s Specialist e-learning course, using completed study guide to assist you.
   (see Education Resources below)
   –Additional Resources on how to access the E-Learning Course on the Learning Management System (LMS) can be found here.
4. Strongly Recommended: Complete Children’s Specialist Teaching Log — submit to clinician running the event.
   (see Education Resources below)
5. Required: 2020/2021 Hybrid Exam Procedure — Register for and attend the pre-snow webinar where you will create a lesson plan that features the following:
   
   
   • Pick two different ages to which to teach the same lesson.
   • Choose the terrain of your choice in the green to blue zones.
   • Explain the motivations and hopes for the kids and parents in this lesson.

   • Identify the skiing or riding level of the student relative their stage and age of development.

   • Identify the stage of cognitive development for kids in this lesson.

   • Use CAP appropriate communications for the cognitive and social/emotional age of the students _share how you would do this and why?

   • Describe the differences for the two ages and stages of psychomotor development in your lesson.

   • Describe the differences in the cognitive development for the two ages and stages in your lesson.
   • List some social and emotional  behaviors you would expect to see with the two age groups.
   • Make it playful.

6. Attend the on-snow validation session and rock the lesson plan you shared in the webinar!

7. **CROSS COUNTRY: If you are participating in the CS1 Cross Country discipline Clinic; complete the CS1-XC Workbook-2018-19 Form Ext
   ***Please submit Cross Country Children Specialist handwritten Workbooks to the event coordinator or to submissions@psia-c.org. For email workbook submissions, allow at least one business day after submission to register for the clinic. Please contact the office at info@psia-c.org if you are unable to register 48 hours after your email workbook has been submitted for the on-snow clinic
   **All Written Exams & E-learning Courses must be taken online prior to registering for the on-snow portion of the exam. To take your course/written exam please click here.
8. Be sure to check other prerequisites in the Certification Pathways Guide below.

What: The program builds on your knowledge from CS1 with the focus placed on how children move.  As you complete the CS2 workbook, you will gain a deeper understanding of how and why children’s movements change as they grow and develop. You will apply this understanding to select and create appropriate playful and engaging age and stage appropriate learning activities to advance a child’s development in Beginner/Novice through Advanced Zone lessons. Additionally, you will be able to create specific stage and age appropriate lessons for each member in your class.  In CS1 you apply your knowledge to the group at large, in CS2 you create a specific lesson for each member within your class. You will have the opportunity to share your knowledge with the group and compare it to the CS National Standard.

CS2  certified instructors ski or ride as a current level 2 and teach more like a level 3.  The CS2 is similar to a level 2.5 .

Why: Great teachers understand the why and accurately assess abilities, determine the strengths of and opportunities within their student.

Great teachers know how to encourage and motivate the students at their specific age and stage of development. In this program, you will learn what it takes to be a great children’s snowsports teacher and will be recognized as one.

How: Similar to the steps in CS1, however, the lesson plan and on-snow skills validation will require the ability to manage the needs of up to 4 different students and provide a more prescriptive reason why the activities chosen will help the students. 

CS2 is a 2-day clinic with the pre-event requirement of a workbook. Participants will need a copy of the PSIA Children’s Teaching Manual and the Children’s Ski and Snowboard Movement Guide to complete the CS2-Workbook 2018-19 Form Ext (See Education Resources below.)

The clinic is designed around the concepts and knowledge gained by doing the workbook and will be reviewed and practiced, during the first part of the clinic. In the second part of the clinic, each participant will apply this knowledge to various age and stages of development. Participants’ achievement will be relayed via verbal and written feedback from the clinician throughout the clinic and at its end.

Pre-requisites:

• Children’s Specialist Level 1 certification
• Complete and submit the CS2 workbook— at least 2 weeks ***prior to attending the clinic and must be submitted to the office before registering for the clinic.
  (See Education Resources below.)
• Cross Country participants please note that there is no Workbook requirement for XC Children’s Specialist 2.
• ***Be sure to check other prerequisites in the Certification Pathways Guide below.

***Please submit Workbooks to submissions@psia-c.org or by postal mail to P.O Box 2144, Frankfort, MI, 49635. For email workbook submissions, allow at least one business day after submission to register for the clinic. For postal mail, allow at least 5 business days after submission. Please note sending your workbook via the submissions email is highly recommended.

Please contact the office at info@psia-c.org if you are unable to register 48 hours after your email workbook has been submitted for the on-snow clinic.