Ages 3-5 years
Shark 1
In this class, your child will be learning the basics of swimming while building strength through practice. No prior experience is necessary for this class! Aquatic skills are introduced and practiced through variety and repetition, and we begin to develop positive attitudes about water and water safety.
These are just a few of the things we will be working on: buoyancy skills, back and front floating, gliding and treading across open water, submerging and opening eyes underwater, rhythmic breathing, surface diving, monkey crawls as well as pool entry and exits. We will use a kick board and pool noodle to help them develop their water buoyancy and build their swimming muscles. They will learn how to safely exit and enter the water from all ends of the pool including pulling out from the deep end. We teach your child water safety topics that will help them make smart decisions around water.
Shark 2
In shark 2, your child will push their basic knowledge of swimming further by gaining skill through repetition and practice. They will begin to preform previously taught skills from Shark 1 at a more advanced level (longer times, distances, deeper water).
We expand on the surface dive technique which is combined with rhythmic breathing. This allows a person to ‘hop’ themselves to shallow water, the edge of the pool or stairs from depths of up to 5 feet. This technique can be life-saving if you are not able to swim to safety, you fall in or if you get a cramp. Many children will be able to swim across open water for short distances at this point as well as back floating independently. They will begin mastering the rhythmic breathing techniques (exhaling when underwater and inhaling as you emerge) Your child will become confident with swimming under water and wearing goggles. We also continue learning water rescue skills and safety topics that will help them make smart decisions around water.
Shark 3
In this class, your child will increase their proficiency in all previously learned skills through additional guided practice, increased distances and times. At this point, students will no longer be using pool noodles and kick boards and will be able to swim across open water independently. Students will increase proficiency with the surface diving technique in deeper water.
In addition, students will begin learning arm and leg movements that will lay a foundation for stroke development. Your child will improve their coordination and control of their arms and legs by learning the basics of the freestyle, elementary back stroke and side stroke. They will be able to back float independently for longer than 30-seconds and will begin learning how to swim in deeper water and retrieve toys from the bottom. We also continue learning water rescue and safety topics that will help them make smart decisions around water.
321 Swim Academy 