Welcome to Toby Turtle’s Level 7 course, the last of our baby levels, but don’t panic...we have plenty of Toddler levels after this one for you both to learn from and enjoy! It was all about your baby in Oscar Otter’s Level 6 but this term you get to join in with the underwater fun too.
** Adaptions to the Aquatots Programme ** To allow Aquatots to operate within current social distancing guidelines, you may find some of the skills detailed below are presented to you differently and in a small number of cases a skill may be removed from the lesson plan until guidelines change. Rest assured in the meantime your lessons will be packed with fun and comprehensive skills for your child to progress just as quickly in the Aquatots programme.
Toby loves swimming underwater with his Mummy and Daddy and in he insisted that your baby has the same family fun in his level. So in level 7 you will get the opportunity to go underwater with your baby to see how much fun they are having below the surface, should you wish. You can pop on a pair of goggles to make the experience even more enjoyable if you like and you may find that your baby wants to try a pair too. If you are not too keen, don’t worry as it is not compulsory but we would really encourage you to have a go as it is a lovely experience to share with your baby. You can also try ‘Piggyback’ and ‘High up in the sky’ underwater together in Toby’s Level 7.
‘Monkeyarms’ is a real lifesaving skill in this level, and loads of fun too. At the end of your 
classes, the babies will be encouraged to make their way towards the exit point of the pool and to climb out themselves, under your supervision of course. This is done in the form of a game of chase with the babies holding on to, and moving along, the side of the pool. You can join in the fun too by being chased or by doing the chasing.
We have a new ‘Volunteer swim’ in this level where you will hold your baby by the shins before letting them ‘jump’ out of your grip to instigate the swim. This is in preparation for the next stage in our Toddler levels where your little one really will jump out of your hands.
We also have 3 new stages of ‘Swim, breathe, swim’ to practice this term, working on your baby’s kicking, paddling and understanding of the ‘Tap, tap’ signal.
Probably the most exciting exercise for you both is the addition of climbing onto the raft and running and jumping off the raft during playtime, and just so there is no misunderstanding, it is your baby that does this skill, not you. This is a great way to end every class and always leaves the babies wanting more.
Here are some but not all of Toby’s favourite new skills. We don’t want to spoil all of the surprises:
Monkeyarms Stage 1
As mentioned above, this is the lifesaving skill where your baby will learn to move towards the exit point of the pool independently and is always a popular skill to do at the end of class after playtime.
Surfacepull with rings
This is a new warm up skill for ‘Diving for toys’ where you will pull your baby around at the surface with both of you holding onto the ring. It is lots of fun to do and can prove to be a useful upper body workout for the parents.
Volunteer swim Stages 7 & 8
In these new stages of an old favourite, we get the parents to hold their babies by the shins before the babies instigate the swim. This is used as a stepping stone to the little ones jumping out of their parents’ hands in our Toddler levels which makes this already exciting skill even more fun.
Ready splash Stage 6
By the end of the term we would expect most babies to be jumping into the pool from poolside independently and this new stage is designed to assist you both to that end.
Playtime on raft Stage 5
Running and jumping off the raft during playtime will be a big hit with the babies and you will be delighted to see how much fun your baby has doing this impressive skill. We add on various other Aquatots skills to this in our Toddler levels so that the little ones keep on learning while having fun.
Does your little one want to be all grown up and carry their own swimming kit just like Mummy or Daddy? Then why not consider competitively priced Aquatots drawstring backpack. Your baby will feel very independent and will be proud to display our logo showing that he or she is a true ‘Aquatot’. This and many other useful items are available at our web shop.
To view any of our products please click on the photo and we will take you there.
Don’t forget to browse all of other quality swimming merchandise while you are there.
When it is time to say goodbye to Toby Turtle’s Level 7 course and all of our baby levels there may be some sadness. There is no need however as we have seven new Toddler levels available to you and your toddler to keep the learning in the pool exciting and even more fun. Make sure you book into Cracker Crocodile’s Level 8 course to experience all the delights of Aquatots’ Toddler levels. Please bear in mind that you may need to change the pool site that you swim at to a larger and more appropriate pool for the skills that we teach the toddlers. Your teacher and our office staff will be happy to guide and help you with this weather you are looking for weekday or weekend classes. .png)
In Level 8 we will happy to introduce your Toddler to the use of goggles in the pool if you wish. We will show you the correct and safe method to put them on your toddler with the minimum of fuss and how to adjust them for correct fit. Wearing a pair of goggles can open up a whole new underwater world to your toddler, making it even more fun, easier to retrieve sinker rings from the bottom of the pool and so much more. You may even want to wear a pair yourself as well.
Cracker has ‘Rockets’ in level 8, yes ‘Rockets’. Okay not real ones but the Toddlers will be learning how to streamline like a rocket during the introduction of our ‘Push & glide’ skills. A streamlined body position is vital for effective swimming and will make learning of strokes much easier later on.
We also have new stages of ‘Turn to Mummy’, ‘Turn back to the side’, ‘Monkeyarms’, ‘Swim, breathe, swim’ and a brand new skill called ‘Around the world’ so don’t forget to secure your slot.
Cracker Crocodile is really looking forward to eating you both (sorry, that should say meeting) and you don’t need to worry because, unusually for a crocodile, he is a vegetarian.