One of my favorite swim classes to teach is Parent
and Child. This class consists of infants to three years old. A great strategy
for this class is singing many songs. I open the class with at least four short
songs and end with the same amount (even if that means repeating songs). Some
good songs to sing with them are Grand
Old Duke of York, Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, If You Are
Happy and You Know it, Motor Boat Motor Boat, and any other children’s song.
Songs are great to help the children relax in the water, especially if they are
uneasy about being in a big pool.
When I sing these songs, the parents will move their
children along to the words. In Grand Old
Duke of York, the children are constantly being bounced up and down. Little
ones that don’t like the water at first tend to enjoy being bounced around in
the water. It helps them to settle down.
I sing Twinkle
Twinkle Little Star to help the children learn the concept of floating as
well as getting their faces wet a little. The children lie on their backs in
their parent’s arms and put their arms and legs out like starfish. If they are
under one year old, I just have them lay on their back without looking like a
starfish. The children then rest their heads on their parent’s shoulder so that
they feel more comfortable in the water. Finally, the parent will sprinkle a
little water over their child’s forehead. Just a little to get the child wet in
the face, but not enough to be splashing and scaring him or her. Sometimes for
small children, lying on their back is scary, so if they are struggling I tell
the parents to sway their children back and forth to the beat of the song. This
will help them relax. I also will sing this song twice in a row. The first time
is to get the children comfortable and situated and the second time is after
they are situated and can really hear the song.
Wheels
on the Bus is another one of my favorites and it’s a favorite
of the children as well. For this song, the children go up and down and side to
side. They also start to learn how to blow bubbles in this song. If they are
too young to blow actual bubbles into the water, I just have the parent dip
their child’s chin into the water to get him or her used to it. Here is also an
example of how I might sing the song. The parents follow along to the words
like they do the other songs.
The wheels on the bus go round and round (walk in a circle)
Round
and round
Round
and round
The
wheels on the bus go round and round
All
through the town
The
blower on the bus goes (blow bubbles)
(Blow
bubbles)
(Blow
bubbles)
The
blower on the bus goes (blow bubbles)
All
through the town
I
will continue this for “children go up and down” and “wipers go swish swish
swish” (side to side).
If You Are Happy and You Know it
is a great song to let children have fun. When I sing this song I will have
them splash their hands, kick their feet, bounce up and down, and blow bubbles.
For most children, splashing their hands is their favorite. This song has a lot
of freedom and as a parent or teacher, you can go anywhere with it. You can
even have them splash their hands and kick their feet at the same time!
Songs
are a great way to get children excited about swimming and they help with
anxiety! Remember to always have fun when in the water, it might be scary to
children, so you have to show them it isn’t!
From google
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