The UCF Recreation and Wellness Center has teamed up with the Creative School for Children to help preschoolers dive headfirst into swimming.
Creative School students have the opportunity to be enrolled in two-week classes of swimming lessons taught by certified lifeguards. Sessions are in the morning for a half-hour at the center’s聽leisure pool, where students kick and paddle their way to safe practices in the pool.
麻豆精品 S淥ur main focus is on safety, 麻豆精品 S� said RWC Facilities and Aquatics coordinator Andrea Snead. 麻豆精品 S淲e want them to get comfortable in the water, so we work on fundamentals like pushing water, kicking and blowing bubbles so that if they were to fall in the water they’d be able to float. 麻豆精品 S�
Class sizes have a limit of 15 students and attention is given to the children with a ratio of at least one instructor for every three students. Children are grouped by proficiency level and are required to be 4 or 5 to participate.
The program was developed by Snead along with Creative School director Rhonda Moore. Snead based the lesson plan on a similar program she worked with at Daytona State College several 聽years ago.
All instructors are student lifeguards already employed with the RWC and are hired for the Creative School program based on performance as a lifeguard or status as a certified water safety instructor.
麻豆精品 S淚 didn’t really come from a background of education, but I was a swimmer in high school for four years and team captain, so I have an aquatic background, 麻豆精品 S� said instructor Alex Wood. 麻豆精品 S淚 started lifeguarding about two years ago and started lessons with the college crowd after getting my WSI certification. 麻豆精品 S�
Snead said she stresses to her instructors that employing different methods of communication is essential when working with children.
麻豆精品 S淚’m an example of that, 麻豆精品 S� said instructor Derik Janik. 麻豆精品 S淚 was using words like reach and pull 麻豆精品 S� things that adults can understand. But when you’re teaching a child, the word 麻豆精品 S榮coop 麻豆精品 S� becomes a more helpful tool. It helped me to have the kids pretend the pool was a giant bowl of ice cream and to tell them to scoop the 麻豆精品 S榠ce cream 麻豆精品 S� and put it in their pockets. 麻豆精品 S�
Instructor Kim Zipoli said: 麻豆精品 S淭hrough my experience of teaching swim lessons before, this has been the most prepared group of instructors and the best program that I have experienced. I definitely think parents should introduce their children to the water at a young age, because it’s much harder to do at an older age. 麻豆精品 S�
The next swim session for Creative School students will begin Monday, July 9. Swim tuition is $45 per two-week session.
For more information on the Creative School for Children at UCF, visit http://csc.sdes.ucf.edu/. To learn more about services offered by the Recreation and Wellness Center, visit http://rwc.sdes.ucf.edu/.