Hi there, my name is Sally the Sea Lion and I am a marine animal that loves diving and finding food!
Now you have started the child levels I have loads of fun skills to show you, which will help you become a super fast swimmer like me! Get ready to swim even further with breaststroke and front crawl arms and zoom through the water when we wear our Finns and face mask for the first time!
Let me tell you a little bit more …
Well done to your little one for achieving their 5 metres and progressing up to the child levels! In this level we introduce breaststroke arms and we start work on the straight-arm and leg action of front crawl. By the end of this term, many in this level will be able to swim 10 or even 15 metres on their front and/or back and twice a term we will be teaching your child to use Finns and a facemask which is fabulous fun!
Children love snorkeling - it is a great activity to build muscle and improve streamlining as well as good practice for a great holiday activity! Snorkeling sets will be provided in class, however, for hygiene reasons and to ensure your child's comfort we advise you invest in your own snorkeling set. Your teacher will be a happy to advise you on snorkel sets, wetsuits or swim hats if they are needed at your pool!
I am in a scientific group of animals that are called "pinnipeds", which means "wing foot" or "feather foot". You could probably pick out a Walrus but do you know how to tell Seals and Sea Lions apart? We are both large animals, that love our food but if you look at our ears Sea lions have a small earflap and Seals just have a tiny opening. We both have flippers that help us dive in the water but we can also rotate our flippers (unlike Seals) and use them to scoot around beaches and swim-just like you do on snorkelling days!
We live along the coastlines of the Pacific Ocean and are friendly animals that like to hang out in big groups that are called a "raft". Even though we have teeth, about 38 of them, we like to swallow our food whole and don't chew it. We don't need to drink water because we get all the water we need from food! Sea Lions can live right up to 20 or 30 years old!
After we are born our daddies will go hunting for food, while we stay with our mummies keeping warm and being fed. Mummy sea lions can grow up to 1.8M long and daddies can grow to a whopping 2.5M!!
We love diving and swimming underwater-we can dive up to 180 metres and can hold our breathes for up to 20 minutes! We love to eat fish and squid and find our way around by using our whiskers, which can "feel" any food nearby. We couldn't fit all of my friends and me in your swimming pool but we will be watching you and hope you enjoy your underwater scooters and can dive like us by the end of level 15!
Next term, you will be meeting Manny The Manatee