Disclaimer: We were kindly gifted a free Kinder snowboard lesson in exchange for a review, however we had already enjoyed lessons for 6 months, which we paid for in the standard way.

If you’re looking for your kids to try something new or for a fun activity at weekends or the school holidays, we really do recommend Kinder Snowboard Lessons at Snowdome Tamworth.

With our first mountain trip since pre-covid, we’ve been keen to help get Lily’s snowboard legs back after a 4-year gap, so 6 months ago we booked her onto the Kinder snowboard lessons to see how she would get on – and we’ve not looked back since!

What are the Kinder Snowboard Lessons?

Kinder Snowboard Lessons are for kids age 4-7 to learn how to snowboard. Lessons are 55 minutes each and are in small groups. You can start with a Kinder Intro Lesson to give them a taster on the fun slope, which includes fun play, and then you progress onto the Kinder 1-4 stages, before the Kinder Snowboard Club.

Is your equipment provided?

All your equipment is provided, including helmet, boots and learning-friendly Burton snowboards.

If you want to buy your own equipment, Burton is perfect, just make sure you get the right size for your kid so they aren’t held back by a board that is too short/long for them.

What do I need to bring/wear?

No surprise, it is cold in there! But kids can warm up quickly too, so we recommend wearing layers. Everyone does things differently, but I tend to dress Lily in a base layer, tshirt and hoody or fleece, with her waterproofs on top.

Waterproof gloves and proper snow socks are essential – I definitely recommend snowboard-specific socks rather than the tube socks that can slide down into boots and make it uncomfortable.

Booking

We joined Snowdome as a member, to allow Lily go get member priced lessons, and initially started her on monthly lessons, increasing now we are closer to heading away.

We block booked lessons for the season, so we could spread them out and take advantage of the Black Friday deal too.

Booking is simple online – you just log in as a member to get your members’ price, then select Ski & Snowboard, then the lessons you would like.

If your child hasn’t done it before, we definitely recommend starting with the intro session – it includes snow play too for them to just enjoy having fun on the snow.

The format

Intro 1 session starts on the snow fun slope, Kinder 1-3 takes place on the learner slope, then Kinder 4 and Kinder Snowboard Club are on the main slope.

Intro 1 is more of a taster to get standing on the board and learn how to strap in/out.

Kinder 1 then teaches kids to stand up and use their heel edge, with Kinder 2 & 3 then focusing on heel & toe edges, and steering the board. Kinder 4 is then the next step to getting kids turning on the board.

When kids get onto Kinder Club, they can build their confidence to be able to ride at the recreational standard and progress to the Junior Club for kids up to age 15.

What we think…

Lily is 7 years old and is always excited for her snowboard lessons.

She really has progressed so much and although it isn’t quite the same as being in the mountains, it really has helped her learn board control and how to ride on real snow, which is very different to if you learn on a dry slope.

She has been on Stage 4 for longer than the others as learning to link turns is one of the tricky elements of learning to snowboard, which is best picked up in the real mountains when you have space to turn more.

The SnowDome has been amazing to give her those basics she needs to be able to take to the mountains and be able to enjoy herself, without being back at the start again.

We also hope it means that as a family, we can enjoy some time riding together on the mountains, without her just being in the lessons all week. To be able to do that as a family and finally back in the mountains together after 4 years, I think will be an incredible feeling.

We have huge thanks to give to the instructors at SnowDome. The lessons are always small, with around 2-5 kids in, which gives kids a great opportunity to progress at their own pace under fantastic supervision, while having fun too!

Even though we’re now heading off to Morzine for some lessons with Mint Snowboarding, Lily is still talking about coming back to the Kinder Snowboard Club when she gets back, so I know this isn’t the end of her awesome journey to snowboarding at SnowDome Tamworth.

What else is there to do?

There is so much to do at the SnowDome and you can make a whole day out of it at weekends or in the school holidays.

You have snow fun, climbing walls, ice skating and a swimming pool to enjoy while you’re there too – we recommend signing up to their newsletter as they often do great deals during school holidays.

For afterwards, you can also enjoy great coffee, tea, donuts and snacks in the Lifthouse coffee shop too.

At Christmas, we also love the Winter Wonderland too, which we visit every year!

For more on the Kinder Snowboard Lessons at SnowDome, click here. You can also check out our review of some of the SnowDome activities here.

Check out our interview with Mint Snowboarding at Tamworth SnowDome here, where we chatted about teaching your kids to snowboard!

If you’re looking to take your kids to the mountains, we recommend Treeline Chalets.