At Water Babies, every week you’ll go on an aquatic adventure, visiting a different island with a core set of skills delivered in a fun and exciting way. You and your little one are guided on a swimming journey, led by your teacher – but with help from some very important people on the way; The Swimvincibles.
Here, one of our mums, Kelly, takes us on a journey into a recent lesson with her little boy, Orson – he’s just turned one. On this particular week, Orson’s lovely teacher Katy took him on an adventure to the Floating Forest.
“Without fail, a Monday afternoon is the highlight of my week. Monday is always a special day because I get to spend one-on-one time with Orson but our half an hour in the pool at 4pm keeps me going when we’re rushing around trying to get chores, errands and naptime done and dusted by 3.30! (Since having a baby, I couldn’t ever really know what the phrase ‘there just aren’t enough hours in the day meant!)
Our Water Babies lesson
This week, we arrive poolside and I slide in first, before supporting Orson as he slides in on his tummy and holds on to the side – something he has only recently mastered thanks to help from Katy! We sing our warmup song to get settled into the lesson and Katy shows us parents how to support our little ones to splash water on their face, so they can get used to the water. And then it’s off to the Floating Forest, which Katy ‘welcomes’ us to with the following song.
The Floating Forest is full of thrills.
This is where we learn our aquatic skills
Sculli’s here to guide us, so let’s wave hello,
Let’s push and glide and off we go!
Little was I to know that, this week, Orson would achieve two incredibly exciting things – pushing off the side of the pool and bum-shuffling along a mat, with Katy supporting him.
We work a lot on floating on our back this lesson, which he isn’t a huge fan of – in fact, it’s the only time in the pool I feel any resistance from him. Like all of the other toddlers in his class, he’s far too nosy to lie completely still but I could feel his body soften and relax by the second verse – as a very busy and active little boy, that was a real achievement!
We then worked on the little one’s pushing away from the wall, which is one of the Swim England Outcomes that all Water Babies swimmers work towards. To do this, Orson chose a duck and moved to safety along the side of the pool towards the duck. The duck was then moved behind him to encourage Orson the toddler to turn towards the duck and to me. This was the part he found a little trickier, as he would suddenly get distracted by the far more interesting other children behind him!
And then it was for the highlight of the whole lesson – the mat! Orson is a huge fan of the mat, especially jelly on a plate. This week Katy used the mat to encourage the little ones to stand and walk across the mat to the other side. This helps with their balance and strengthens core muscles, which in turn supports good posture and gross motor skills. Orson is the only one in our class who isn’t yet walking so Katy supported him to move along in a sitting position. His confidence in the water and his ability to trust his teacher during our lessons is one of my favourite things about our class.
Before I know it, 27 minutes have passed and it’s time for Twinkle Twinkle. And whilst I always hope for the sweet and sentimental moment between mother and son, I generally spend the song desperately trying to keep the Splash Mirror out of his mouth!
