Ready to keep practicing your swim skills? Since we can’t be together at the pool, our team has put together a few “homework” assignments for our swimmers, ensuring they’re water-ready when we get back in the pool! Read all the way through for a few additional recommendations to help pass the time.
For our smallest swimmers in our Water Acclimation Program…
We love the water: In these levels we want to continue to focus on developing a positive relationship with the water and this is a great time for a safety reminder as well! Below are some suggestions to discuss and review with your child (depending on your child’s age) regarding bath safety and some reminders for you as well.
- Never leave the child alone in the tub and ensure they understand that they should not run the water or have a bath without you as a parent present.
- Speak to you child about the dangers of standing and slipping in the tub and if possible, purchase a non-slip mat for the bottom.
- Bath time toys should be put into the water after the child is in the bath. This avoids them reaching in for the toys and falling in accidentally.
See attached for some more tips on water and bath safety from British Swim School’s Director of Aquatics, as recently published in Parents magazine.
Go to the beach! (without leaving your home): With the time we have at home now this is also a great opportunity not just to use the bath for “bath time” but using it to have some fun as well. Have a “beach day” at home and allow the kids to get into their bathing suits and while “at the beach, in the ocean” look for fish of all different colors and play with water toys. If your tub is large enough, you can even have more than one child in the tub at a time and seize this opportunity to remind them about water safety rules while they’re having fun. Play some summer music and even have a picnic after your time “in the ocean.”
… and for our friends in our Water Survival Program…
- In the bath: In these levels we focus on teaching our students to remain calm when learning to float because we know that the calmer they are, the better their body will float, which could make the difference in saving their lives! If you are able to work with your children on floating in the bathtub, encourage them to sing a song and float in whatever position they are most comfortable. Another trick is their head position: we encourage our students to look up and at us because this helps their body be in the proper position. By reminding your children to do this, it will help when they get back to the pool to keep their progress towards water safety!
- Watch a video: Here’s a short video emphasizing water safety rules that should be enforced at home, at a pool and around any body of water. This video is geared towards adults but children will enjoy it, too!
…for those in our Stroke Development Program…
In our stroke development levels much of our focus is on proper stroke technique for our legs and arms. Here are a few tips for practicing the Backstroke and Breaststroke at home!
Backstroke:
- Have your child practice flutter kicks by lying on their stomach creating “white water” or “boiling the water” with their kicks. In our lessons, we focus on slow and steady movements without big splashes!
- Have them stand with their back to the wall and alternate their arms extending them all the way until their fingers reach the wall. Be sure to remind them to rotate their shoulders!
- Remind them that it is important to point their toes! They can practice this laying on the floor or couch and flutter kicking their legs while pointing those toes.
Breaststroke:
- To practice proper arm technique we need to make a pizza. Circle the arms around and meet the hands at the chest. Palms together and push up like you are cutting the pizza in half. Repeat and enjoy 🙂
- The kick for breaststroke can be practiced in a chair or on the couch. Click on the image below to see how!
…for our Special Abilities students in Dolphin 1 and 2…
In our Special Abilities class it is even more important to make sure that the child is calm when practicing their float. It is also important to have the child comfortable with getting their ears in the water. This is because if they ever fall in by accident, we want them to know what that feeling is, so they don’t panic! Try singing “The Wheels on the Bus,” and when you do the “wipers on the bus,” dip their ears in the water. This can be done in the shower or in the bathtub!
… for our Adult Students…
One of the best ways to keep up with your progress in the swim program is to work on your core strength. Core strength is essential when you are a beginner learning to stand up from a floating position, to when you are working on your stroke development and learning to master the freestyle and backstroke.
The link below will provide you with directions to do this at home!
…and just for fun!
Looking for some new ideas to keep everyone entertained this week? Here are a few of our favorites:
- Make a penny spinner – Take a cereal box, a penny, glue and some markers and voila! You have a penny spinner! Try this fun craft, and once you’ve made one, experiment with different sizes and designs! Click the image below for instructions.
- Talk in code – Older kids will love to learn how to write in “spy language” – this site has six different codes for kids to learn! Click on the image below to discover more, and encourage your child to send you a note in code (and make sure to write back!). They can also write a coded message for a friend – just snap a photo of their letter and the decoder and send via email or text.
- Print 25 pages of activity pages! – Need an easy win? These fun pages (attached) include options for all ages – coloring sheets, word searches, puzzles and more.
We’d love to hear how else you’re practicing your swim skills at home, or any other fun activities that we can share with our swim families! Send us a short video via Facebook – link below – so we can share how everyone is doing!
We can’t wait to see everyone back at the pool!
