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Preschool Aquatics
Parent & Child
Learn to Swim
Preschool Aquatics
The American Red Cross Preschool Aquatics program is somewhat new, but has had great success here at Red Hawk. The primary objective of Preschool Aquatics is to promote the developmentally appropriate learning of fundamental water safety and aquatic skills by young children 3 years to 6 years of age.
There are no skill prerequisites for Preschool Level 1. For Preschool Levels 2 and 3, children must be able to demonstrate the exit skills assessments of the previous level. As instructors, we will integrate an evaluation of all children during the first lesson, regardless of level, to determine an appropriate starting point for each child.
Upon completion of Preschool Aquatics, children may enroll in the American Red Cross Learn-to- Swim Program. A child who completes Preschool Aquatics Level 1 or 2 and is 6 years old may enroll in the next level of Preschool Aquatics or move on to Learn-to-Swim Level 2. A child who completes Preschool Aquatics Level 3 may enroll in Learn-to-Swim Level 3.
In Level 1, your children will learn the most elementary aquatic skills, which children continue to build on as they progress through the Preschool lessons and Learn-to-Swim levels. At this first level, children start developing a more positive attitude and safe practices around the water.
The objectives of Level 2 are to build on the basic aquatic skills learned in Level 1 and to give children further success with fundamental aquatic skills performed to a slightly more advanced degree than at Level 1. Most skills in this level are still performed with assistance, but this level marks the beginning of independent aquatic locomotion skills as well. Children continue to explore using simultaneous and alternating arm and leg actions on the front and back to gain more proficiency for future strokes. Level 2 also adds to the self-help and basic rescue skills introduced in Level 1.
The objective of Level 3 is to build on the skills learned in Levels 1 and 2 by providing additional guided practice of basic aquatic skills at slightly more proficient performance levels and greater distances and times. Skills in this level are performed independently. Instructors will teach children to improve coordination of combined simultaneous arm and leg actions and alternating arm and leg actions. As in all levels, we will continue to present additional safety skills and improve comprehension of previous knowledge.
All classes will have 8 lessons to a session and the lessons will be no more than 30 minutes. There will be no make up lessons. There are no more than 6 children in a class. Close supervision is necessary to make practice effective and keep the members of the class safe. Children will be taught from the stairs and will initially do activities one at a time. If inclement weather arises you will be contacted and other arrangements may be made available. There are no refunds if sessions are cancelled or rescheduled due to inclement weather.
Young children are more susceptible to hypothermia than older children, even at relatively warm temperatures. Our outdoor Lap Pool will be kept at 83 degrees for their comfort. Our Lap Pool has a gradual depth of 3 to 51/2 feet deep and is easy to enter with a handrail for children’s safety. To help lessen noise and distractions, depending on the number of students in the class the pool will be sectioned off for lessons. Parents will receive a newsletter at the beginning of each session, a tool to let parents know what their children are learning at each stage. An achievement card will be shared by the instructor with parents to show what progress in skills their child has achieved. Children will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the session.
Please remember to bring your own towels to the pool. Thank you for joining us in our adventure of Preschool Aquatics. We look forward to the opportunity to teach your children!
Parent & Child
American Red Cross Parent and Child Aquatics familiarizes young children (from ages 6 months to about 3 years) to the water and prepares them to learn to swim in the American Red Cross Preschool Aquatics or Learn-to-Swim courses. It is not designed to teach children to become good swimmers or to survive in the water on their own. Parent and Child Aquatics gives parents safety information and teaches techniques to help orient their children to the water. It also provides direction regarding how to supervise water activities in a responsible manner. These courses are a bonding experience that will fill instructors, parents and children with wonderful life long memories.
There are no skill prerequisites for Parent and Child Aquatics. Children must be at least 6 months old to be enrolled in Parent and Child Aquatics. A parent or other care-giving adult is required to accompany each child in the water and participate in the classes. Parent and Child Aquatics introduces infants and young children to aquatics in two levels. Most participants begin in Level 1. Once infants or young children are able to comfortably perform the skills in Level 1, they progress to Level 2. Level 2 builds on the skills learned in Level 1.
Level 1: Is for children who are 6 months to 18 months old and either has no water experience or one previous session of water adjustment lessons. The goals of Level 1 are to provide safe water activities for parents and children. Children will learn how to enter and exit the water safely. They will begin to feel comfortable in the water through submerging, water buoyancy on their front and backs and using life jackets.
Level 2: Is for children who are 19 months to 36 months old and have had two or more previous sessions of water adjustment lessons, children who will submerge only reluctantly (or not at all) will learn to submerge in a rhythmic pattern. Children that require flotation support at all times will learn to perform combined stroke on front and back.
All classes will have 8 lessons to a session and the lessons will be no more than 30 minutes. There will be no make up lessons. If inclement weather arises you will be contacted and other arrangements may be made available. There are no refunds if lesions are cancelled or rescheduled due to inclement weather. Parent and Child Aquatic classes maintain an instructor-to-parent and child ratio of no more than one instructor to 10 pairs. If any participants have disabilities or any special needs, there may be a co-instructor.
Infants and young children are more susceptible to hypothermia than older children, even at relatively warm temperatures. Our outdoor Lap Pool will be kept at 83 degrees for their comfort. Our Lap Pool has a gradual depth of 3 to 51/2 feet deep and is easy to enter with a handrail for parent and children’s safety. Parents will receive a newsletter at the beginning of each session, a tool to let parents know what they are learning at each stage. An achievement card will be shared by the instructor with parents to show what progress in skills their child has achieved. Children will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the session.
Swim diapers must be worn at all times for all non-potty trained children. Swim Diapers will be for sale at the front desk for your convenience. Please remember to bring your own towels to the pool.
Thank you for your time, patience and the opportunity to teach your children!
Learn to Swim
American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim teaches aquatic and personal water safety skills in a logical progression. It consists of six levels. Participants in Level 1 are oriented to the aquatic environment and gain some basic skills in each category. Throughout the levels, participants build on their basic skills to learn various propulsive movements on the front, back and side. As the levels increase, participants learn to refine the different strokes and build endurance. Each level includes exit skills assessments that put together many of the skills learned in the level.
A booklet will be provided, Raffy Learns to Swim or Waddles in the Deep, for the different levels of lessons 1 through 4. It will ensure better communication between children, parents and instructors. We will offer a Newsletter at the beginning of each lesson, a tool to let parents and participants know what they are learning at each stage. Achievement cards are also used by the instructors to track a participant’s progress throughout the sessions to show what skills they have achieved and what skills still need additional work. Participants who meet the requirements for a level are eligible to receive a certificate of their achievement.
Level 1- Introduction to Water Skills:
There are no prerequisites for this course. The objective of Level 1 is to help students feel comfortable in the water and enjoy the water safely. In level 1, we teach elementary aquatic skills, which students build on as they progress through the six Learn-to-Swim levels. Students who have had pleasant water experiences complete this level quickly. However, fear of water may be a major issue for some students regardless of age. Before students enter the water the first time, we will show them the area in which they will be swimming. We will explain the safety rules for our facility and explain the buddy system and pair off students. We will emphasize that this system helps students help each other learn and provides added safety. If the students are old enough, we explain and demonstrate how buoyancy helps keep them at the surface. We impress on all students, especially younger ones that they can and will learn to swim if they follow our directions. We will encourage them to try out new things, even skills they consider scary at first. We will encourage your child to explore movement in the water. Please help us to observe what comes naturally to them and build on their strengths. Encourage your child to ask questions, so we can begin to address any fears. As the course progresses, we will provide a wide variety of experiences to meet the course objectives. Each task will be approached with creativity and enthusiasm so that learning to swim will be fun, safe and rewarding for everyone.
Level 2- Fundamental Aquatic Skills:
Students entering this course must have a Level 1 certificate or must be able to demonstrate all the completion requirements in Level 1. The objective of Level 2is to give students success with fundamental skills. Students learn to float without support and to recover to a vertical position. This level marks the beginning of true locomotion skills. Students explore simultaneous and alternating arm and leg actions on the front and back to lay the foundation for future strokes. Level 2 adds to the self-help and basic rescue skills begun in Level 1.
Level 3- Stroke Development:
Students entering this course must have a Level 2 certificate or must be able to demonstrate all the completion requirements in Level 2. The objective of Level 3 is to build on the skills in Level 2 by providing additional guided practice. We teach students to coordinate the front crawl and back crawl. We introduce elements of the butterfly and the fundamentals of treading water. As in all levels, we present additional safety skills.
Level 4- Stroke Improvement:
Students entering this course must have a Level 3 certificate or must be able to demonstrate all the completion requirements in Level 3. The objective of Level 4 is to develop confidence in the strokes learned thus far and to improve other aquatic skills. We help students improve their skills and increase their endurance by swimming familiar strokes (front crawl and back crawl) for greater distances. We help students continue to build on the butterfly and introduce the elementary backstroke, breaststroke and elements of the sidestroke. Basics of turning on the wall are also introduced.
Level 5- Stroke Refinement:
Students entering this course must have a Level 4 certificate or must be able to demonstrate the entire course requirement to Level 4. The objective of Level 5 is coordination and refinement of strokes. Participants refine their performance of all the strokes (front crawl, back crawl, butterfly, breast-stroke, elementary backstroke and sidestroke) and increase their distances. Flip turns on the front and back are also introduced.
Level 6- Swimming and Skill Proficiency:
Students entering this course must have a Level 5 certificate or must be able to demonstrate all the skills required to complete Level 5. The objective of Level 6 is to refine strokes so students swim them with more ease, efficiency, power and smoothness over greater distances. This is also the time to introduce other aquatic activities. Level 6 is designed with two options- (6-1) Personal Water Safety Skills and (6-2) Swimmer Fitness. Each of these options focus on preparing students to participate in more advanced courses, such as Water Safety Instructor (learning to teach swim lessons) and Lifeguard Training (must be 15 years of age), or other aquatic activities, such as competitive swimming.
The Swim Instructors of the Resort at Red Hawk are trained in the American Red Cross Water Safety Instructors program or the Instructors Aide program.
Thank you for your time and for trusting us with your children’s swim lessons.
Please remember to bring your own towel. Call us anytime you have questions or concerns, 626-8699.