The Critical Component of Learning That Gets No Respect

We all know what learning looks like. It’s a bald guy with glasses, sitting quietly in a tower reading philosophy or math and taking occasional breaks to sustain himself with sips of tepid water and nibbles of dry bread crusts. Learning any other way is a pale imitation of that ideal, right?

Of course not, but something close to that is what we expect when it comes to our kids’ learning. We want them to pay attention to the teacher. We want them to buckle down and concentrate. We want them to do it the way grownups do.

The reality is that even adults benefit from another kind of learning that yields better, faster results than the old school, ruler-to-the-knuckles style. What is it?

The Critical Component of Learning That Gets No Respect

What is this super learning tool, and how can you use it to teach your kids to swim?

It’s play. When kids—and adults, for that matter—play, they explore situations beyond what they’ve actually experienced, develop problem-solving skills, and create new neural networks.

When your kids are creating huge towers out of blocks, they’re learning physics. When they play princess or imagine being cats, they’re learning sociology and psychology. When they play with plants or bugs, they’re learning biology.

They’re also learning how to think, they’re learning about themselves and other people, and they’re creating friendships with the people they play with. Playing is a safe way for the brain to learn, because you can use your imagination without risk.

You can take advantage of this when you’re teaching your kids to swim by using your imagination to create games and ways of looking at the lessons you’re teaching that turn them into play.

Make improving form a game. Make getting from one place to another a race. Make learning a new swimming skill a secret mission. This isn’t just a chance for your kids to play, it’s a chance for you to play and a chance for you all to play together. What’s more fun than that? As a special bonus, they’re learning to swim.

If you’re out of creative ideas for teaching swimming skills, check this site every Friday for specific ideas.

Time to Play! How Does the Water Feel?

Kids learn by playing. The more you can make learning to swim fun for your kids, the more they’ll like it, the quicker they’ll learn, and the more fun you’ll have teaching them.

A critical aspect of learning to swim is getting a feel for the water and how it interacts with your body. You can make a game out of focusing on the sensory experience of moving in water. Here’s how.

How does the water feel? Does it feel…prickly? No! Slippery? Bubbly? Sparkly? Bumpy? Smooth? Silky? Soft? Rough? Sloshy? Rubbery?

The more silly, ridiculous words you can think of to describe how the water does or doesn’t feel, the better.

Did you and your kids think of any really good ones?

Time to Play! Getting into the Pool

Kids learn by playing. The more you can make learning to swim fun for your kids, the more they’ll like it, the quicker they’ll learn, and the more fun you’ll have teaching them.

If your kids are working on getting into the pool by themselves, try having them play this game.

How would different animals get into the pool? Try it like a cat, a bear, a butterfly, and a hummingbird. How about a crocodile—check out some cool Youtube footage of that—a duck, a frog, a tiger, a dog, or a hippo?

A word of warning: make sure to screen the Youtube possibilities before you share them with your kids. There’s nothing like an errant viewing of a crocodile in a swimming pool to make your kids afraid of the water.

What’s your kids’ favorite animal to imitate?