Description
This award celebrates a swimmer, who can lie on their front with their face in, or on their back with their ears in the water, with ease.
The ability to raise their legs off the floor, submerging their ears and bring their feet/body to the water surface, can be disorientating and a significant challenge for some.
This achievement is awarded when a child can regularly hold a stable floating prone position, on their back and front, with aids.
Not only are these important positions to learn for future stroke development, but it is also a vital position to learn basic life saving techniques early as you can.
This achievement is awarded when a child can regularly hold a stable floating prone position on their back or front, with aids.
It also celebrates the success of getting their ears close to the water as well as their body in a flat and relaxed manner.
Additional needs
Self confidence is often the key. Children may struggle to communicate verbally or be aware of their surroundings, so it is important that they feel relaxed and above all safe, This award is extra challenging as the child’s ears will be in the water.
Being able to float and trusting both themselves and the adult they are with enables them to move away from their support. This award celebrates both the trust they have gained in themselves and others.
Children with physical disability, floating is key in balancing their bodies in water which allows them to progress with ease. Children may find floating on their back easier at first and be more confident with it as they do not have to place their face in the water.
Children with a visual impairment may need an additional support and a feeling of trust to hold this position. Some children state seeing waves of colour which sometimes makes them feel a little nauseous .
Children with learning difficulties will find this stage of floating challenging with them being alone and unsupported. This is a stage not to be under estimated, once able to support themselves and be comfortable in the position this will aid progress.
Lesson Ideas
Swimmers may not have ever put their ears in the water or experienced the feeling of water around their ears, this can be terrifying to a little one. Distraction games can be fantastic in encouraging little ones to look for things on the ceiling or at a parents face standing over them.
A great noisy game is to use a woggle and encourage children to look for spiders on the ceiling as you can point all over the place to move their gaze. When they see a spider they have to shout as loud as they can ‘SPIDERRRRRR’
Another idea for a swimmer on their back, is for the parent to stand at their head and the teacher shouts face expressions to make to each other. Eye contact is maintained and as the parent is at their head it tilts the swimmers head back into the water more so they can see the faces being pulled.
For the more nervous swimmers, parents can stand at the swimmers head and hold out stretched fingers to help guide the swimmer into a prone position. It is also great to practice the swimmers position at home in the bath. Parental supervision is essential.
