I know there are some followers who are swim instructors for the Raisin Country Swim School, so I am writing this one with you in mind. I am not sure exactly what the curriculum is, as I know that it began with my curriculum, but was adjusted. That was the plan to do with it, as I knew that there were probably some holes and other ways that it could be better than what I had come up with.
One of the big things though is realizing that the skills and drills in teaching swim lessons all serve a purpose. Nothing is there to fill time, but can be utilized in the teaching of a child to swim. I want to go over some of the progressions that you can see in how you can use the skills taught to carry over into other skills, and the connection could help kids understand how to do it right without thinking of it as a completely new skill.
Let's start very simple. Blowing Bubbles. You are teaching the child to be comfortable with exhale into the water. Then there are Bobs. Here the swimmer is getting comfortable going underwater. Combine the two, and have them blow bubbles underwater and when they come up they take one breath and then back under to blow bubbles again. If you permit only one breath you are also developing proper air exchange that will serve them later as they learn freestyle.
They learn to float on their stomach and their back, and then they learn to roll from front to back and back to front. Do they need more of a challenge? Have them blow bubbles during front float, then roll to their back to breathe, and then back to the front to blow bubbles. Learning to roll early will begin to learn rotation.
I was watching a private lesson today at the YMCA, and I saw a young girl who was a good kicker, and then the instructor was trying to get her freestyle with no body position or proper air exchange. If you want to make the learning freestyle quicker begin with the foundation. Air exchange which begins at the blowing bubbles and bobs stage. (Only inhale when mouth is out of the water and exhale while face is in the water). The next thing is to teach body position. Kicking on their side, this girl was such a good kicker, but had no idea how to kick on her side. Teach proper Head position. Point the head down when they breath. Take a orange cone and put it on your head. Tell the kids that the cone need to point downward when they breath. Visual stimulus that the kids will think is really funny that you put a cone on your head. If the cone points up the hips will sink and they will sink. If the kids can do good body position and proper air exchange it will be easier to teach good freestyle. Not saying that it is easy to teach this as the body position stuff is against everything these kids are used to doing while on land in their natural medium.
Think about skills you teach, think about how they could make other skills they learn later easier. Think about skills they've learned that can help them learn new skills. Try to use the terms of the other skills to help explain what they are supposed to be doing. Incorporate all that you do leading into an ultimate goal. We do it as swim coaches, as we teach through progressions, to finally get to the actual stroke. The concept can be taken in teaching lessons, and most lessons are actually designed for this, but it is not always articulated to the instructors.
Good Luck, as Learn to Swim is a skill not just for some, but should be a skill that all kids learn.
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