Song and Games for the Pool #4

Five Little Ducks Went Swimming One Day
Five little ducks went swimming one day,
Over the hill and far away.
Mother duck said, 'QUACK, QUACK, QUACK, QUACK!' And only four little ducks came back!
Motorboat, motorboat go so fast [Action: sing faster while faster kicking legs]
Motorboat, motorboat, step on the gas! [Action: sing faster while fast kicking legs, end by spinning round]
Five, four, three, two, one blast off! [Action: push and glide]
You can’t catch me!
Along came Mister Crocodile as quietly as can be,

[Repeat with four, three, two and one; action: swim across pool, and come back on command]

Motorboat, Motorboat
Motorboat, motorboat go so slow [Action: sing slow while slow kicking legs]
Motorboat, motorboat go so fast [Action: sing fast while fast kicking legs]
Motorboat, motorboat run out of gas [Action: stop kicking]

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom
Zoom zoom zoom, we are going to the moon, [Action: holding at wall hair in water] 
Zoom zoom zoom we are going very soon

Five Little Monkeys
Five little monkeys sitting in a tree,
Teasing mister crocodile, [Action: swimming towards crocodile [teacher]]

You can’t catch me!
Along came Mister Crocodile as quietly as can be, 

And SNAP SNAP SNAP! [Action: teacher splashes water, child turn and swim back] 

I’m a Little Teapot

I'm a little teapot,
Short and stout.
Here is my handle,
Here is my spout.
When I get all steamed up, Hear me shout,
Tip me up and pour me out! [Action: pour water on child] 

Why are group swimming lessons beneficial?

I directing this post at parents who are good swimmers and want to teach there children how to swim themselves… although thats great! There are many benefits to group sport. 

Research in the domain of sport and performance psychology has shown that group activity and cohesion are associated with future sport engagement. This means that children who are involved in group activity are more likely to continue physical activity later in life. 

In fact this study was conducted on a school aged learn to swim program. Very applicable to our topic! They tracked children who took swimming lessons in groups and compared them to those who didn’t. What they found was that the children in group swimming lessons where more likely to continue with swimming in the future. 

My take on this is that its important to have your kids involved in group sport in general. This makes group swimming lessons an excellent form of development for your children… however I still think supporting your child and making sure they succeed is extremely beneficial to their swimming skill. Obviously our number one goal should be to make sure children are safe around water and can rescue themselves from water related incidents if needed.  

50s on 1:01

Here is a challenging set that works on speed endurance.

Warm up

100 meters (m) choice swim
100m choice kick
100m choice pull

Main set

'Unlimited' 50s on 1:01min

-The aim of this set is to keep going unit you no longer make the time.
-You will be swimming 50 meters within 1minute and 1 second (the 1 second helps you keep track of how many you have done).
-So if you swim your 50m in 45seconds the first time you get 16 seconds rest before you have to go again. If you swim your 50m in 58seconds than you get 3 seconds rest. Make sense?
-The more 50s you do the slower your time should get... if you are not slowing down you need a faster time (50s on 51 seconds) or if you can't make the time the first time a slower time (50s on 1:11).

Remember this is speed endurance! So work it!

When you miss your time.. you are done your main set for the day.

Warm down

100m choice pull
100m choice kick
100m choice swim

Total: Unknown