Posted on

Time to Play! Front Crawl

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 is about stealth and imagination. You can use it to help your kids learn to be aware of their bodies while they’re working on their swimming skills, all while they’re having fun.

Ask your child to imagine having his body move through the smallest possible hole in the water. How small can he make the hole? Can he be like a spear or an arrow moving through the water? Can he be like a needle moving through the water? Can he be silent and move without a splash? What body positions can help him do this?

P.S. My seven-year-old son would like you to know that today he found a crab at the beach that was as big as his fist!

Posted on

Time to Play! Front Crawl

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 great way to practice teaching the front crawl in a fun way.

Have your kids race. This isn’t just any race, though. Race with imagination! What’s the rush? Where’s the fire? (Probably not in the swimming pool.) Imagine you’re Paul Revere riding to alert colonists that the British are coming. Imagine you’re Cinderella racing to get home from the ball before she turns into a pumpkin. (Do I have the details of that story right?) Imagine you’ve got to get to home base before being thrown out.

Posted on

Time to Play! Back Float

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. The back float is an important swimming skill, and it can be a tough one to learn. It’s particularly important to distract your kids from the hard work of practicing by turning it into play. Try playing this game to practice the back float.

How flat can your child make his body? Can he balance something on his belly? Start with something easy, like a coin or two. Work your way up to something really challenging. How about a glass of water (in a pool-friendly plastic cup)? How about the family cat? (Okay, don’t try that last one.)

Posted on

Teaching Your Kids to Move Underwater

Once they have a feel for moving in the water and for breath control, most kids love to dive under the water. It’s fun and freeform and as close to being a fish as you can get. Here’s how to teach your kids to move underwater.

Moving Underwater: The first stage

Have your child stand in the pool in a spot where he can touch the bottom. Ask him to touch his toes. Next, drop sinking toys or coins and have him pick them up.

The Next Stage

Move to deeper water. Have your child hold onto the edge of the pool and try to pick up sinking toys or coins from the bottom.

Show him how to move his hands from his thighs into a palms-together position and then move them like an arrow into streamline position. Next, have him turn his hands so that his palms face away from each other, shape his palms into cups, and pull his arms out, with his elbows slightly bent, until his hands touch his thighs. Have him practice this motion out of the water and on the surface until he’s ready to use it to propel him to the bottom of the pool. At this stage, he can use a flutter kick.

Once he feels comfortable with his arm motions, have him try moving his legs like a frog to kick. He should bring his heels to his bottom and then kick both feet out to the sides with his ankles flexed. When his feet are extended to the sides, he can flick his feet like flippers to point his feet and bring the soles of his feet together, legs straight. Have him practice the movement while he’s lying on his stomach on dry land. The power of this kick comes from the flick of the ankles and the quickness of the return to straight legs.

And, Finally

Have him play with the movements. How would a fish move through the water? How about a frog? A dolphin? A whale? A shark?

Have him swim under water from one side of the pool to pick up a sinking toy or coin you’ve dropped on the bottom of the other side.