Hi there, my name is Morris The Manta Ray and I love to play.
Although I am an excellent swimmer, I am a very relaxed fish so we are going to have lots of fun doing our gliding and resting skills. Otto said you did so well last term, so I can't wait to see if you can glide and speed through the water like me!
Let me tell you a little bit more …
Your toddler should be very happy and confident in the water, wanting to spend more time under water than on top! We introduce the beginning of our distance attempt swims with SBS using less assistance and we see them getting that bit closer to achieving their 5metres.
Each skill is getting more demanding and often combined with other skills. The skill "Star float" (on back) and Push off wall through big Hoops requires good co-ordination, and are great fun to do.
This level becomes more fun and boisterous with "high in the sky, with a little drop" and "diving for toys, under the bridge". We still continue to promote and teach life saving skills such as Learning to climb up onto an unstable raft and swimming away from the parent back to the side.
I am the largest species of flattened fish and can grow up to 9 metres wide! You can mostly find me in warm, tropical waters all over the world and I love hanging out around coral reefs.
I am closely related to my shark friends but unlike them I do not actually have any teeth and eat small fish and plankton by sieving it through small plates in my mouth. I swim around the plankton herding it into a tight ball, then I speed through with a wide open mouth. Sometimes, if it is a large ball of plankton, I like to somersault through. It is easy to spot me in the wide-open ocean- I have very smooth grey, black or blue skin and am white on my tummy and wings.
Once in a while, I also visit a cleaning station, usually near to a coral reef. I stay very still close to the coral surface and cleaner fish, such as Wrasses and Butterfly fish come and clean around my mouth and gills to remove parasites, left behind after feeding.
I am a docile, friendly and graceful swimmer. This term I will help you do a "star float" like me and with your push and glides. Together we will be able to shoot through the water like a rocket with less help from our mums and dads!
Even though I am a slower swimmer I can still be flexible so my friends have asked me to help you to "chin lift" your head out of the water when we do our swim breathe swim. As well as that I am known to be acrobatic so I can show you how you can dive in for rings standing from the side as well as through your mum's and dad's legs!! We are going to have so much fun!!
Next term, you will be meeting Florrie The Flying Fish