Here at Swim Academy, we want every child to love swimming, respect the water and stay safe. Considering the recent COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak and our suspension of lessons due to Government advice, we understand that many parents have to work from home and self-isolate whilst keeping children entertained.
We want to help you continue the fun you have in your Swim Academy lessons whilst you’re at home and away from the water, so we have come up with a few super fun activities that you can do which will help to keep your child confident in the water and all whilst having lots of splashy fun!
Blowing Bubbles 💦
Use bath time toys to encourage play in the water. You could place floating boats in the water and encourage your child to blow the boats along.
Play at washing your face 💦
Make water contact fun! The splashier, the better.
Practice skills you’ve learnt in class 💦
You could use your child’s favourite waterproof toy to practice how we break down our strokes in our swimming lessons and allow your child to learn by teaching their doll what they know.
Windmill Arms
Having a strong stroke is important in making effective forward movements in the water. While standing up, practice making windmill motions: Starting with the right arm, have your little swimmer swing it forwards straight up and pressed against the ear, with the palm facing away. As the arm is moved backwards, rotate so the palm brushes their leg. Repeat with the opposite arm and then try both together, so you’ve always got one arm up/down or in front/behind like a windmill.
Leg Kicks
To practice this at home, have your child lie down on the ground on his or her belly and raise up first the right leg, then the left leg — without bending his or her knees! Go slowly at first to ensure correct form. You can make it a fun game by putting your hand there for those little feet to hit as they go higher and higher. It’s hard for little ones to remember not to bend their knees in the water, so if you practice straight legs at home, it will only help when it comes time to start kicking during lessons.
They can also try this lay on their back with a pillow or large book across their knees. Again they need to try and kick their legs without bending their knees. If they do, the pillow or book will move/fall off. In lessons we look for ‘floppy ankles’ and ‘pointed toes’ so this is what we need to focus on when practising both in and out the water.
Back Floating
Get your child to lie on their back in the bath to practice floating, making sure their ears are in the water and hands are by their side. Lie nice and still.
Please keep an eye on our Website, Facebook and Instagram and for up to date class information, fun resources and useful tips. If you have any questions, please give us a call on 0161 883 0222 and a member of our lovely team will be happy to answer any queries you may have.