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Time to Play! Feeling the Water

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. Helping your kids get a feel for the water will give them a leg up when they’re learning every swimming skill. This game can help give them awareness of how moving their bodies in the water feels.

Play Rock-a-bye Baby. (If your kids are older, you can make it campy, even though they’ll secretly enjoy it.) Start by holding your child just at the surface of the water. When you get to “the cradle will fall,” allow your arms to drop a few inches quickly. Your child will get a feel for being in the water by himself with all the security of your arms. After you’ve played a few times, talk about the physical sensations of rocking in the water and falling. Is it fun? Does it feel delicious?

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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. This game can help you ease a kid who’s nervous about the water into climbing into the swimming pool.

Have your child pretend to be a plant or tree reaching its roots into the ground. Have him sit on the edge of the pool. How does it feel when the tips of his roots—I mean toes—touch the water? Can he dip them in farther? Can he wiggle and stretch them? Can he stand on the step and reach his arms up like branches while his legs are under the surface? Can he stretch his roots down to the next step? What nutrients are his roots getting from the water? What kind of tree is he? A cherry tree? Does he giggle if you pick cherries from his branches? Try not to tickle!

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Time to Play! Side Breathing

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.  This game will help your kids practice an exaggerated rolling motion that will help them learn to rotate their bodies while they swim. That rotation makes side breathing easier.

Can your kids roll in the water like otters? Go to an aquarium or watch videos of otters playing. Remember, if you get the giggles, you’re more likely to gulp water, so take breaks as needed.

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Time to Play! Backstroke

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. Here’s a fun way to help your kids focus on their kick while you’re teaching them the backstroke.

The goal of the swimming kick is to keep it small, gentle, fluid, and from the hip. Only the toes break the surface of the water. There’s very little splash. To help your kids focus on that kick and on keeping it small, try to tickle their toes whenever they break the surface. Can you catch those toes when they’re barely breaking the surface? Try your hardest, but no fair tickling the tummy or behind the knees. That would be cheating.

Okay, maybe just a little tickling the tummy.