With a week in between lessons, you might be concerned that your kids don’t have enough time in the water to practice their swimming skills.
But there’s good news! Several of the techniques we teach at lessons can be taken home to the bathtub. We met up with Hope Bayer, a co-owner at Goldfish Farmington Hills, Rochester, Macomb and Carmel, Ind., who worked with Mini Swimmer Carl to demonstrate five bathtub-ready skills:
- Goggles
- Underwater Conditioning
- Blowing bubbles
- Kicking Legs & Pulling Arms
- Sea Otter Float
Check out the video below to see these techniques come to life:
The skills you just watched are some of the most important we teach. The lessons learned in the Mini levels instill lifelong swimming techniques that will guide your child not only through graduation here at Goldfish, but will stick with them should they decide to swim competitively.
Let’s dig into the benefits…
Goggles work on comfort with the water and balance. Underwater conditioning makes the transition to splashy and then underwater dips more natural. Blowing bubbles works on breath control. Kicking legs and pulling arms trains both the mind and muscles to perform techniques for later swimming strokes. The Sea Otter Float (or back float) is an important safety skill and is fundamental to the execution of the backstroke.
If you have any questions about how to work with your child at home, please ask! You can leave a comment below or feel free to ask one of your child’s favorite swimming instructors during lessons.
*Just a reminder, all of the supplies we in our Mini classes are available at our Treasure Island Pro-Shops inside every Goldfish. Get prepared before bath time! In the video, you saw Hope and Carl use a pair of goggles and a duck pour for underwater conditioning.
