Get involved. Get active. MOVE!
Play the same songs; predictability is good.
Do things during the songs and games.
Testable goal:
The infant or toddler is comfortable and familiar with the games, songs, and activities done in the Parent Tot swim lesson plans. They are active participants in splashing the water with lyrics, kissing the water when asked, and joyful during activities.
Bonus Goals:
- Infant or toddler knows all the lyrics, songs, and motions that go with them. They sing along, and practice on their own.
- The parent and child are comfortable with the lesson plan enough to skip ahead and do games and songs independently during self-guided time, but still join the group when doing group songs.
Activities to achieve this goal:
fish face and makes a sound. The challenge teaches water confidence, breath control, and communication.
Games:
Most of the Parent Tot activities are games. Here are a few examples of what you’ll find in the Parent Tot Lesson Plans.
Throw a Toy and Get it
Have the child or a parent throw a toy into the water.
The parent does their cueing, “1, 2, 3, Go!” and then pulls the child into their arms in the water, and into a front float.
Do a front float to the toy and get it
Return to the wall, and repeat.
Encourage child to reach for the toy.
Support the chest, remain low in the water.
Goal is to lay flat and stretch out with kicking to “help” move.
London Bridges Falling Down
Push the YELLOW floating mats against the wall so that it creates a bridge.
With every verse lower it slowly.
Instructor sings the song.
Parents and swimmers go through either doing a front glide or a back glide. Their choice, or instructors.
London Bridge is falling down
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down
My fair ladyBuild it up with iron bars
Iron bars, iron bars
Build it up with iron bars
My fair ladyIron bars will bend and break
Bend and break, bend and break
Iron bars will bend and break
My fair ladyBuild it up with gold and silver
Gold and silver, gold and silver
Build it up with gold and silver
My fair ladyLondon Bridge is falling down
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down
M-y f-a-i-r l-a-d-y
A quick London Bridge video; mind the wiggliness of the camera.
Games continued
Throw a toy and get it, London Bridge, pressing a smile face floaty underwater with your feet, doing monkey walks on the wall; these are all games that are also connected directly to a swimming skill.
We are aiming for water comfort, having fun to relax in the water which is a new environment, and learning to DO things with a parent that isn’t just independent exploration and hugs.
Each game should have a purpose:
Throw a toy and get it -> Fun to throw toys, but jump in (underwater opportunity), front float to the toy, supported back float back to the wall. Repeat.
London Bridge -> getting used to back glides with the ears in the water while singing and going under a mat that gets progressively lower in the water, forcing the parent and the child to get closer to going under each time.
Pressing the smile face underwater -> using their feet and hands while sitting on the edge to learn the concept of buoyancy, floating, and submersion.