What’s New in 2025?!
I don’t just work in the summer. I work all winter coming up with new ideas to implement for the upcoming season. Or I’m implementing the ideas I didn’t have time to put together during the busy swimming season months. Every winter I’m super busy for months preparing for the upcoming season.
Here are just a few things to expect this season…and some reminders about super important information that hasn’t changed from year to year.
THANK YOU to all my 2024 parents for respecting my request and applying sunscreen at home. Because you followed this rule I was able to keep my pool cleaner using less chemicals to do so. That saves money that I have to spend on the rising gas prices to heat the pools so our kiddos are mostly not cold during class. (Can't heat the pool to 100 degrees like most students want me too. LOL) Please continue to remember to apply sunscreen NO LESS THAN 15 MINUTES before your child gets into the pool. It helps keep my pool water clean and protects your child from the sun instead of washing off them exposing them to harmful rays. Also, please try not to overdo the sunscreen. Too much is overkill. We don't want them so greased up that they slip out of my hands when I grab them to keep them from slipping under the water. :) The sunscreen should absorb into the skin, not just sit on top of it.
Boogie Wipes or some other brand of wipes are required for swimming lessons. This is not a new requirement, but I'm still finding too many parents are not including anything for their child to use to blow their nose in their swim bags. I don't have any allergies but we are swimming outside and the wind makes your nose run no matter who you are. I go through a lot of tissues myself. Every single student I've ever had has needed to blow their nose during one or more swimming lessons. Please remember to keep your child's swim bag stocked with wipes or tissues in a wind-proof box. Thank you!
"Splash About Happy Nappy Swim Diapers" are the REQUIRED cover up OVER swim diapers. Students who are not potty trained for at least 6 months MUST wear these over swimming diapers in order to be let into the pool for swimming lessons from now on. There are a ton of colors and cute patterns to chose from. This is not new, but it is critical so I'm repeating it.
Intermediate and Advanced students will be assigned stretches to do before class. These stretches have a proven track record of improving students ability to learn proper stroke technique FASTER and execute swimming skills more accurately. Stretches can be performed at home right before leaving for class or arrive early and do them before class starts. Stretching before any exercise is a good habit for children to get in to now while they are young. Click on the photo for a link to the stretches.
Fins are required for ALL STUDENTS. Yes, even 2-year-olds! Even swim team swimmers. Every year I get parents asking me if their child really need fins. Yes, they do. Maybe not for the first class and not every class, but they will need to bring them to every class just in case we need to use them that day. Fins are a tool used to teach students how to swim correctly. They are used to help strengthen muscles and build confidence. They will not be using fins all the time. Just when the lesson dictates the need for them. Please see my post all about purchasing fins in the Swimming News section (or click the image above to go to that link directly). It will help you figure out what to purchase for your child/ren. Fins are an excellent investment in your child's lessons and physical health. Fins will become their favorite swimming accessory.
ALL students get a bracelet with our mantra "I Can Do Hard Things". This is part of their swimming lesson uniform. They should wear it for every class. It helps change their "I Can't Do It" negative thoughts into positive motivation thoughts. The power of a positive mindset is one of the strongest factors in how fast students learn how to swim. They also love that the bracelets GLOW IN THE DARK!!! Super Cool!
The "Treasure Box" is not new. I stock it with Pirate Booty: Gems, Pirate Coins, and other various trinkets that change from time to time. I like students leaving class happy and this is the "icing on the cake" of swimming lessons. They really work hard in class to earn the access to the treasure box at the end of class. This year parents AND STUDENTS have been donating toys that they no longer want or have outgrown in an effort to "pay it forward" for another student to enjoy. The students LOVE digging through the box after class to see what new treasure they will walk away with. ONLY students who have made an effort in class get to dig through the treasure box for a special trinket after class. (I have sent plenty of students home without a visit to the treasure box because they refused to learn. Either they just wanted to play in my pool, or wanted to do whatever they wanted and would not make any effort to learn any lessons.) I appreciate and encourage any parent wanting to clear out their house and any student wanting to learn the gift of giving to donate. Anything small is welcome! Things you might get in a birthday party gift bag, a vending machine or Christmas stocking stuffer are excellent for the Treasure Box. Ideas: Fun pencils, stickers, tattoos, balls, matchbox cars, figurines, squishy toys, mardi gras beads, fun rings, any random little toy.
SEASONAL GOAL: I have created a NEW REWARDS program! This is taking the Treasure Box and Diving Gems Awards to an even higher level. Students, Parents and I will set a tough, but achievable, customized goal for each student to work towards this season. If the student achieves their goal they will walk away with a GOLD MEDAL on their LAST day of class! I teach students from age 2 to 18 so there is no "one size fits all goal". Plus some students only have a few weeks to achieve their goal while other students have all season (7 months!) to earn their medal. If a student achieves their Gold Medal Goal before the end of their classes, we will set a NEW GOAL! The student will still get their Gold Medal on the last day for achieving their original goal, but we want them to keep being motivated with new goals. Let's see what the HIGHEST goal is they can achieve during lessons to earn that medal! Yes, we are moving the "goal posts", but they still get the goal when they score. I've heard so many stories about my students showing off their diving gems they earned for learning difficult skills in class. This will be an extra special award for them to show off to their friends, family members and strangers at dinner in the restaurant during their celebratory meal that night! LOL.
Here are the TWO types of progress boards now hung in the sunroom. I labeled the right board as the PROGRESS board. All students get a magnet with their name on it to put on this board to show where they currently are in the "Ocean". Beginner students start at the top and as they learn and master skills their magnet moves down deeper into the ocean. For school aged children please explain that this is not a "Behavioral Clip Board" like in school. Here, moving your magnet down is a POSITIVE thing. Some students get confused and upset by this misunderstanding. On the left is the NEW "8' CLUB" board. Students only get a magnet on this board if they touch the bottom of my 8' deep end. There are 4 ways to accomplish this goal. They can first get their magnet on the board with my help. Then they can move it down the more difficult levels as they become stronger, more confident swimmers. It's another fun goal to work towards and I've seen it bring out the inner self competitive nature hidden in some of my students.
At the end of the 2024 season I replaced my pool filter and pump with newer, better equipment. The "old" equipment was only 3 years old, but I just wasn't happy with their performance. In the one month this equipment ran, while teaching in October, I was over the moon with the noticeably improved performance. I am super excited looking forwarded to a pool system that runs like a Lamborghini this year! :)
2024 was an AWESOME season with 143 students brightening my days with their enthusiasm and smiles. 143 students who were better swimmers at the end of the season then when they started. I'm proud of each and every one of them. They all worked very hard to improve, learn new skills and accomplish their goals.
Thank you to all my students who have shown me so much LOVE in 2024 that it kept me warm all winter. I can't wait to see you all this summer and make new friends this year. I look forward to each and every big and little accomplishment my students achieve every class.
If you are not familiar with the "Anger Iceberg" please familiarize yourself with it. I just learned about it a year ago. Anger is a VERY complex emotion. It is actually caused by other emotions and usually several different emotions. There are a lot of different types of anger. I never thought of that until I discovered the Anger Iceberg. I deal with angry students sometimes and I have to determine what is causing the anger. It's usually fear, but not always. Sometimes it is frustration, confusion, exhaustion, worry, overwhelmed, distrust, embarrassment, grumpiness, sadness, annoyed, trauma, nervousness, or a COMBINATION of ANY of these emotions. Even grief can turn into anger during lessons. I learned a few of my students were angry because one or both of their parents had been gone away for several days and my student missed them so very, very much. For little kids this is very overwhelming and confusing and that can quickly turn to anger. So I do not get angry back. My first thought is to figure out why my student is angry and sometimes I may need your help to figure it out. So take some time to learn about the Anger Iceberg. I think you will find it will help you in all of your relationships in life. No one outgrows anger. Figuring out why someone is expressing anger can help prevent you from becoming angry back and you can help them calm down and solve their problem/s. For more information click on the image.
Along the lines of the Anger Iceberg, I have found these Emotion Stress Balls to be a HUGE help for my students to process their overwhelming emotions in class at times. These are not pool toys, but I will use them in lessons to help students communicate feelings when they find it difficult to speak or don't want to speak and it's clear that their emotions are overwhelming them. These fun, colorful balls have helped break through and allowed us to start making fun progress again. I've included the Amazon link if you want to use these at home. Several of my students parents bought these for their kids last summer and said they have become lifesavers in tough situations. If your child has any sort of melt down in class please assure them that I am not mad or upset with them. Sometimes they get embarrassed. We all have bad days. Tomorrow is a new day and hopefully it will be a much better day. So no matter how bad a day a student of mine has I greet them with love, excitement and happiness next time I see them. Click on the photo to link to the item in Amazon. (I do not get paid for you purchasing anything from Amazon.)
STUDENT STORIES is a new page on my website where I feature students in the following categories: No goggles, using fins/flippers, and those who have joined my new 8' Club! I have many students scared of not wearing goggles. So I created a web page that posts just pictures of my students not wearing goggles. I sorted them by ages so no one thinks they are too young to be able to swim without goggles. In fact the students who tend to swim the most without goggles are my youngest ones. Please use this resource at home to help your child get use to the idea of being able to eventually open their eyes underwater without goggles. They are not required to swim without goggles, but I would like all my students to learn this skill. Remember...I have a SALT WATER POOL. So the water is more like the water already in your eyes. Yes, there is chlorine in the pool, but it's not as harsh as you will find in chlorine pools.
The 8' Club. This is a new club students can join this year. The 8' Club is for students who touch the bottom of the 8' deep end. There are 4 ways to accomplish this goal. 1. With help from Ms. Kristin. 2. Using the ladder. 3. Using fins/flippers. 4. No assistance and picking up a toy off the bottom. Students can level up over the weeks/months/years of lessons. I have dozens of 2-year-olds who can join the 8' Club with my help. It's exciting for them and motivates them to start trying to do it on their own.
DANCE PARTY! Did you know that dancing reduces stress and anxiety? Who loves to dance more than kids when a funky beat drops? Since learning to swim can be stressful and scary I will be having "Dance Party" days where I will play dance songs for my students to show me their best dance moves before hopping into the pool for lessons. The goal is to shake off their fears and anxiety to have a more productive and fun class. I will have some songs queued up, but I take requests! If there are any songs your child can't help but dance to let me know and I'll play it! LET'S DANCE!
HOMEWORK!!! This is absolutely NOT NEW, but I want to take the opportunity to let all parents know that if they want their child/ren to advance the fastest through the dozens of skills a child needs to learn AND MASTER to become a STRONG swimmer, then they are going to want to schedule pool time in between lessons. If you only come to lessons for your child to learn then it will take longer for your child/ren to progress. For parents who let me know they are going to be swimming in between lessons I will assign HOMEWORK. Pool time should primarily be PLAY TIME in the pool. Kids will naturally practice most of what they are learning, but kids forget, so I will give you no more than 3 things to remind them to do or for you to work with them on. It's ideal to only spend 5-15 minutes of their pool play time on homework. You decide on how much is appropriate. We don't want to make it another lesson. We want them to enjoy going to the pool for fun.
OBSTACLE COURSES! One of my earliest memories is of my entire elementary school class coming to my house for field day. My mother had set up an obstacle course in the field next to the house. It was the most fun ever. So when one of my student suggested I make an obstacle course last year I thought it was a BRILLIANT idea. SEE...I listen to my students! Just because they are little doesn't mean they don't have the BEST ideas EVER! So at the end of last season I ran my first day of obstacle courses. The students loved it. I also involved their parents into the course which made it even more fun for my students. Many times parents ask me to make the last day of class super fun for their child/ren. I think this is a great way to have fun, at their individual levels, while showing off the skills they learned in class that month. I adjust the course to accommodate each student's ability and interests. It truly is a SUPER FUN day. I'm looking forward to a lot of obstacle course days at the end of each session this year. I hope each time I will get new ideas and my students will give me new ideas to change it up. I will have different obstacle courses depending on the weather. Sadly it won't have all these amazing inflatables like shown in this picture.
What’s New in 2024?!
Some sort of tissues are required for all students. You have a choice between some sort of baby wipes or tissues. I HIGHLY PREFER moist wipes. There are so many wipe options out there to choose from: Boogie Wipes, Dude Wipes, Flushable Wipes (Charmin, Cottenelle, etc.) Water Wipes, etc. Parents are STILL NOT BRINGING TISSUES AND HAND SANITIZER to lessons. Even if your child does not have a runny or stuffy nose, their nose will start running once we start swimming. This is a sanitary/HEALTH issue and your child DOES need tissues! I really appreciate the parents who do bring tissues. If you don't put the dry tissues in a plastic box the wind will blow them into the pool, which means class stops while I fish them out of the pool. So a handy little carrying case is a huge help. (Click on the image above for a link to Amazon for a dry tissue travel box.) Plus they work great in the car in between lessons! Baby wipes are better than tissues because they don't disintegrate in wet hands or the pool!
I am an OFFICIAL member of the "Ministry Of Silly Walks". What this means is that kids AND adults are encouraged to do SILLY WALKS down the alley to class. Why? Many of my students are nervous, stressed, anxious, etc. This helps them shake off some of those mental and emotional stressors and get them into a happy, fun, silly mood for class. The kids that do it love it and have so much fun. I know it's silly...but that's the whole point! When parents do it its even MORE FUN! Kids love seeing their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles being silly. It gets everyone into an excellent mood for swimming lessons. Don't believe me? Try it and see! I love when kids show me their new silly walks. So much fun! (If you are not familiar with Money Python's infamous sketch about the Ministry of Silly Walks click on the image above to go directly to a YouTube video of the sketch. Share with your kids so they understand the origins of "Silly Walking." There are lots of Ministry of Silly Walks videos on YouTube. Enjoy!)
I have created a Student Information form on SurveyMonkey. This form provides me with important information to help me be as ready as possible for your child's lessons. The form takes 5+ minutes depending on how much information you provide. I set it up to be easy to mostly check boxes, but also comment boxes for you to have the opportunity to give me as much information as needed for each questions. I teach so many students each year that it's impossible to remember every detail. This form allows me to remember better and reference during lessons via my phone or iPad. I started this mid-season last year and it has helped tremendously. It's especially helpful for students who are hitting brick walls. The answers parents provide via this form has many times held the answers for how I need to proceed to help each student learn to their fullest potential with minimal stress and frustration. Since children change so much every year, returning parents, please fill out the link for Returning Students, only if you already filled it out for 2023. If you have never filled this form out please fill out the New Student form (click on the image above to go directly to that form). Links available in your Welcome Email. Note that you have to fill out the form for each child individually as each student is different. Thank you.
Oh No! Where is the water?!?! Anyone who has been a student of mine knows that I am fastidious when it comes to keeping my pool water as clean as possible. To that end, every other winter I completely drain the pool and fill it with fresh water. This makes it easier to keep the pool water balanced and clean for the next two seasons. The pool is filled again with fresh, clean water and looks amazing. I can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can swim in it!
Sometimes I use my cell phone to take pictures and videos of classes for a variety of reasons. My students are always asking me to send those videos and pictures to their parents. The best way to send them is via AirDrop. If you are not familiar with AirDrop it is a much better way for sharing files using cell phones. It also doesn't use up my phone memory like attaching video files via texting. In order to use AirDrop you need an iPhone, or the AirDrop app if you don't have an iPhone. You also need to have wifi and bluetooth turned on. There is free guest wifi access for all families to use during lessons. By signing into the guest wifi we will have an easier time sharing files via AirDrop.
I usually have music playing during classes. I have found that sometimes when a little student is having a hard day, or are really nervous or scared, playing their favorite songs can completely turn things around and make them happy. I always prefer happy students and will do almost anything to make them happy. When they are happy they are open to learning and pushing their fear boundaries, which were completely closed previously.. To that end, if you have a Spotify playlist for your child, please share the link to that playlist with me. That is the fastest way for me to get exactly the music your child loves the most. I'm also open to your child requesting specific songs or artists during class. I enjoy any genre as long as its good music. "I don't sing because I'm happy. I sing to become happy." Music is like medicine for the soul. It can turn your child's frown upside down and help make class productive and successful.
Sometimes parents bring siblings who have to wait during lessons. In the cabinet shown in the picture above you will find a variety of books, toys, and games for all ages. Feel free to use anything in this cabinet during lessons. I also leaving crayons with coloring pages and blank white paper for your children to use to be creative and express themselves while they wait. I love seeing their artwork when they are finished. Feel free to use any of these items to help entertain your children while you wait. I just ask that your kiddos neatly put away what they play with when they are finish so it's ready for the next family to use. Enjoy!
TOYS, TOYS, TOYS! i have spent WAY too much money this winter on even MORE pool toys for my students. Using toys that your child loves is another way I try to make my students happy and excited for class and learning. I try to get all the popular, coolest toys. I have some toys that are now rare, and can't be purchased any longer. Unfortunately my spending has become a real problem. I'm spending all my money on toys for lessons. LOL. New students will be amazed at how many toys I have. Returning students will be excited to see the new choices with which to play.