Age: Advanced Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Equipment needed: Kickboards (One for each pair of participants).
Objective: To work on kicking
Description: Have participants pair up, and give each pair a kickboard. Each student should hold one end of the board. When you give the signal, both participants should begin to flutter kick vigorously. The object is to push the opponent backward three out of five times. When the first round is over, participants should pair up with new partners
Age: Parent + Preschool, Beginner
Equipment needed: None
Objective: Water orientation.
Description: Have participants line up in water along one side. You stand some distance away from them and give them commands, such as, "Put your hands on your heads," "Bob up and down in the water," or "Duck under the water." However, they should follow the commands only when "Simon says." If a student responds to a command that was not preceded by "Simon says" that student is eliminated. Those participants who are not eliminated are the winners, and one of them can be the next leader.
Age: Parent + Preschool, Beginner
Equipment needed: None
Objective: Water entry and exit.
Description: Perform this is in shallow to moderate water. Have participants line up along the edge of the pool. Tell them that they are in a plane and are parachute jumpers. Say that when they hear you call out their name they should yell their own name (or they jump in order, calling their own names), jump into the water, go down to the bottom, turn around, push off, then return to the side and climb out. You can give individual support to beginners, if desired. Participants also can pretend to be frogmen jumping from a speedboat.
Age: Parent + Preschool, Beginner
Equipment needed: Water polo ball or small playground ball.
Objective: Buoyancy and Balance
Description: Have participants stand in the water in a circle. Tell them to try to move the ball around the circle by making waves with their arms, not touching the ball. When the ball goes all around the circle, move it back the other way.
Age: Advanced
Equipment needed: Two large plastic hoops
Objective: Buoyancy and Balance.
Description: Move your class to chest- deep water and divide the participants into two equal teams. Tell each team to form a circle by holding hands, then place a hoop over the linked hands of two players one each team. Tell them that, when you give a signal, the student next to the hoop should move his or her body through the hoop without letting go of the other participants' hands. The other participants will have to help that student move through the hoop. The team on which all members pass through the hoop successfully first wins. If a student lets go of another player, the hoop is returned to the starting position and the team must begin again.
Age: All Levels
Equipment needed: None
Objective: Floatation
Description: Move into water that is waist- to chest-deep and have participants line up along the pool wall. Have them push off from the side or shallow bottom and glide as far as they can, staying streamlined. Once the glide slows, they should pull their knees up and stand. Compare how far they glide among the class members or between trials.
Variations: Adding a leg kick and arm motions to the glide, pushing off only from the bottom, or performing glide or kick- glide skills on the back.
Age: Parent + Preschool
Equipment needed: None
Objective: Trust and having fun
Description: (Sing to the tune "Mulberry Bush")
This is the way we splash our hands (splash with hands)
This is the way we kick our feet
(kick with feet)
This is the way we hug our baby
(Hug their child)
Repeat
Age: Advanced Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Equipment needed: Fans (or a substitute like a kickboard or ring)
Objective: Teamwork
Description: Divide the class into teams, and have each team line up at the starting line. Give each student a fan. Tell participants that, on your signal, the first team members should swim to the finish line on their backs, hold the fans out of the water. You may assign a particular kick or allow them to choose one. The next team members start when the first one from their team reaches the finish lines.
Age: Intermediate, Advanced
Equipment needed: Corks, tennis balls, table tennis balls, small rubber bands, life jackets, or other small items that float.
Objective: To work on advanced strokes
Description: Ask the class to turn their backs as you spread various floating objects in a designated area of the pool. Then tell them to turn around on your signal, enter the water (in whatever way you tell them), and gather as many floating objects as they can. When all the objects have been collected, each student should count his or hers. The student with the most objects wins.
A fun variation on this activity is a mystery scramble. In this version each floating object has a number value assigned to it, but the value is not told to the participants until after the objects have been collected. For example, in the first round, rubber balls might be worth 10 points; tennis balls, 15 points; and life jackets, 20 points. The points assigned would then change in the subsequent rounds. The winner in these games is the student whose object has the highest number of points. Either of these games can be played by teams rather than individuals.
Age: Intermediate, Advanced
Equipment needed: Blown-up balloons (one for each student)
Objective: Endurance
Description: Have participants line up in the water along a pool wall and give each one a blown-up balloon. Tell them that, on your signal, they should push the balloon with the nose, cheeks, or forehead while swimming across the pool. This also can be played as a relay team game: One person pushes the balloon across the pool to a teammate on the other side of the pool, who swims it back. The relay continues until all members of each team finish.
Age: Intermediate, Advanced
Equipment needed: Two plastic hoops big enough for each student to dive through.
Objective: Body Position.
Description: Have participants line up in the water along the pool wall. You should stand a distance away from them in the pool, holding one hoop in one hand and one in the other. One at a time, have participants dive from the water through one hoop, go to the bottom, push up, and then dive through the second hoop. Encourage participants to try to get through both hoops without stopping, with arms extended and hands grabbed.
Age: Parent + Preschool, Preschool, Beginner
Objective: To get faces wet
Description: Children touch parts of the body as they are named.
Head and shoulders, knees and toes, Knees and toes.
Head and shoulders, knees and toes Knees and Toes.
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose.
Head and shoulders, knees and toes, Knees and toes.
(Tune: Ten Little Indians)
Age: Parent + Preschool, Preschool, Beginner
Objective: To adjust to the water and to build confidence.
Description: I lift one foot and then the other
I lift one foot and then the other,
I lift one foot and then the other,
I lift one foot and then the other
'Cause I'm a beautiful kid.
I squat real low,then up I go
I squat real low, then up I go
I squat real low, then up I go,
'Cause I'm a beautiful kid.
(Tune: Ring around the Rosie)
Age: Parent + Preschool, Preschool, Beginner
Objective: To adjust to the water
Description: For Parent + Preschool have parents hold their children in a heartbeat hold and form a circle, then circle around. The children should be held above the water; on "all fall down," the children are dipped into the water but not submerged.
Ring around the rosie,
Pocket full of posies,
Splashes, splashes
We all fall down!
(Tune: Row, Row, Row your boat)
Age: Parent + Preschool, Preschool, Beginner
Objective: To adjust to the water
Description: Sing the song three times, the first time in a standing position, the second time crouching, and the third time crouching even lower.
Spin, spin, spin your top
Spin it all around.
Spin it, twirl it, spin it, twirl it,
Throw it on the ground.
Age: Parent + Preschool, Preschool, Beginner
Objective: To learn parts of the body
Description: Clap, clap, clap your hands,
Clap your hands together.
Clap, Clap, clap your hands,
Clap your hands together.
Variations:
Stomp, stomp, stomp your feet, etc.
aise, raise, raise your arms, etc.
Tap, tap, tap your head, etc.
Each verse can be led by a parent/child team, or you can lead each verse.
Age: Parent + Preschool
Objective: To relax
Description: Parents may do any slow, relaxing movements through the water as they sing and carry their child.
Come and go away with me.
We shall sail across the sea.
Come and go away with me.
We shall sail across the sea.
Age: Parent + Preschool, Preschool, Beginner
Objective: Ending of class good-bye
Description: Good-bye to you,
Good-bye to you,
Good-day, Good-day, Good-day.
So long to you,
So long to you,
Please come again and play
Age: Parent + Preschool, Preschool, Beginner
Objective: To orient to water
Description:
I'm a little teapot, short and stout.
This is my handle. (Put on hand on hip).
This is my spout. (Extend opposite arm sideways, hand out).
When I get all steamed up, then I shout, "Just tip me over and pour me out." (Bend body toward extended arm).
S-S-S-S-S-S
I'm a clever teapot, it is true
Here is something I can do.
I can change my handle and my spout. (Change position of hands).
Just tip me over and pour me out. (Bend body toward extended arm).
S-S-S-S-S-S
Another Version: For back floating
I'm a little pancake on my back.
I'm a little pancake nice and flat.
I'm a little pancake on my back
Just flip me over and flip me back.
Age: Parent + Preschool, Preschool, Beginner
Objective: To adjust in the water and to learn parts of the body.
Description:
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
turn around.
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
touch the ground.
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
show your (insert body part).
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
you better skidoo!
Age: Parent + Preschool, Preschool, Beginner
Objective: To feel comfortable in water.
Description: For Parent + Preschool as each numbered Indian is mentioned, the parent holds up one finger, until all fingers are up; then a finger is lowered as the number of Indians goes down. As children get older, they can try to do this, too.
One little, two little, three little Indians,
Four little, five little, six little Indians,
Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians,
Ten little Indian boys.
Ten little, nine little, eight little Indians,
Seven little, six little, five little Indians
Four little, three little, two little Indians,
One little Indian boy!
Age: Parent + Preschool, Preschool, Beginner
Objective: To adjust to the water
Description:
With my hands I clap, clap, clap (splash, splash, splash)
With my feet I stomp, stomp, stomp (kick, kick, kick)
With myself I turn around.
Then one, two, three, we all fall down (blow bubbles).
Age: Parent + Preschool, Preschool, Beginner
Objective: To enter the pool and turn back to the wall.
Description: The children sit on the edge of the pool, and the parent or swim instructor rock the children from side to side as they say the rhyme. On "fall" the parents help the children into the water and to the parents' chests. Then the parents turn the child around and move them back to the wall.
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
Humpty Dumpty swam back to the wall.