The penultimate Baby level, but don't worry, we have lots of Toddler levels for you and your little one to enjoy once the Baby levels are complete! Please bear in mind that you may need to move to a different pool which is appropriate for the more boisterous and exciting skills we teach in our Toddler levels, all leading to the big one, a 5 meter swim unaided. If you think Barney Beaver's Level 5 course was fun, just wait and see what we have in store for you both this term! So, without any further delay, let's jump right in.
Last term your baby was entering the pool from a sitting position on the side. This term your teacher will show you how to teach your baby to jump in from poolside in a safe and easy manner. Although this exercise is loads of fun for your baby, there is a serious side to it as well. Your baby will become accustomed to, and really enjoy, a more vigorous entry to the water, helping them to cope if they were ever to accidentally fall in. This skill will become a firm favourite during the warm up section of your class and will impress your friends and family when your baby swims on holidays, although it may make the lifeguard nervous.
We will work on independent paddling this term with a new stage of our paddling exercise called "Locked hips". The idea is to restrict the baby's kicking and encourage them to put all their focus into paddling thereby improving propulsion and making it easier for them to eventually lift their head out of the water to breathe. Your teacher may even encourage your baby further by making it a race.
The lifesaving skill of "Diving for toys" is even more exciting this term as your baby dives closer and closer to the bottom of the pool to retrieve the ring. Your teacher will show you an easy and effective technique to help your baby get nearer to, and eventually achieve, that impressive goal.
Our volunteer swims also become more exciting this term with the addition of a little lift, making the entries to the water more boisterous and even more fun for the babies, in the unlikely event that they aren't having enough fun in the pool already.
Swim, breathe, swim will have an additional "Tap, tap" signal added this term to help your baby to understand that we want them to try and lift their head up to take a breath. Your teacher will demonstrate this using the doll and the babies in the class and may even give you homework. If your teacher does give you homework, make sure you do it as it will improve your baby's understanding of the skill.
Here are some of Oscar’s favourite new skills. He is delighted we are listing some, but grumpy because we haven’t got room to list them all:
Are you going on holiday or swimming in a cooler pool outside of your Aquatots lessons? Then our Holiday packs for more fun in the pool, or an easily fitted wetsuit to keep your baby nice and warm might be the perfect thing.
These useful items and many other quality products are available in our our web shop.
Don't forget to browse all of our other quality swimming merchandise while you are there.
SHOP NOWWhen it is time to say goodbye to Oscar Otter's Level 6 course, make sure you book into Toby Turtle's Level 7 course for more structured learning and loads more fun in the pool. In Level 7 we will be encouraging you to go underwater with your baby, should you wish. You can wear goggles and see just how much fun your baby is having below the surface, after all, why should you be left out? Don't worry if you aren't a water baby as it's not compulsory and your teacher won't tell you off. By the end of this level, we would expect most babies to be jumping in from the side of the pool safely and completely independently. Your teacher will help you and your baby to achieve this impressive goal during the term.
"Monkeyarms" is a fun new exercise which teaches your baby the lifesaving skill of making their way to an exit point by moving along the side of the pool. Your "Little Monkey" will love this one.
And the "biggie" for the babies is playtime where they will run and jump off the big raft and swim to you. It doesn't get much better than that!
Toby Turtle is looking forward to meeting you both and showing you what he can do. Yes we do know he is a bit of a show off.