Ymca aquatics workers?

Question

im teaching quite a a few parent child lessons and we already had our first class which i think went well. however i dont exactly know how i should keep progressing and what else to add on and how much. any tips on how you do your pc classes would be GREAT! i want to make sure the parents are satisfied and the children learn. it is rather difficult because i have ages anywhere from 6 months to 3 in one class.

Answer 1

The Y has published progressions for every ability level, and they are almost word for word the same as the American Red Cross progressions.                                                                                           I find it odd you have so many ages in your class. When I taught at the Y, classes were divided into 6mo to 18mo, 18mo to 3yrs, and 3yrs to 5yrs ("tiny tot"). Each level had specific activities, methods, and goals. After the kids turned 5, they were put in the standard Y progression; Polliwog, Minnow, Fish,  Flying Fish, Shark, and Dolphin.                         Any standard progression begins with water safety, a turtle float, back float, glide, flutter kick, rhythmic breathing, and rudimentary arm stroke (crawl). Babies don't learn to actually swim; it's a great chance to teach the parents water safety and provide a positive experience in water adjustment for the babies. All baby classes I taught included the parent (who was in the water) taking the baby off the side of the pool, dunking them, and turning them around to grab the gutter of the pool in the hopes that it would become automatic for a young child/baby to do this if they fell into a pool unsupervised. We also sang the Hokey Pokey and other kids' songs, and practiced floating on the back and the tummy.