Mommy, Daddy and Me

To register for classes please call Daniel Servelli, Director of Aquatics at the Jewish Community Center of Stamford at 203.487.0990 or Mikhail Iogman at 203.550.6349

1.Mommy Daddy and Me

Parents learn to experience joy in the water together with their children
If the parents come to this lesson carrying their own apprehension about water. If they come tense and afraid of the water and they do not smile. Children feel this and begin crying.
My task as an instructor is teach parents and children to experience joy together.
Each parents becomes a personalized instructor for their child
As a head instructor I will ensure that parents are proficient and knowledgeable in the program and understand the step by step process by which their children will learn how to be comfortable in the water.
If a child is afraid of a particular exercise, there is no need to force them into it. The main goal of the program is to make sure your child is smiling, happy and comfortable with the entire process. ( this is the main goal)
The exercises and drills are secondary to your child’s comfort and emotional well being.

2.Activities you and your child will experience during a class

Sing songs
Learn to move our arms and kick with our legs in the water
Learn to lie comfortably on our stomach and back in the water
Learn to blow bubbles in the water
Learn to navigate around the pool by grasping the pool’s edge with our hands and shimming the length of the pool. This maneuver is the precursor to the doggy paddle and later the front crawl stroke. This maneuver is called “The Choo Choo Train”
Children joyfully push a bright ball along the length of the pool. Teaching a child to reliably hold on to the side of the pool and be able to move around using the walls edge is the first step to developing water safety skills.
First the children move around using their arms while their feet drag in the water
The second step is to have student do bicycle with their feet while moving their hands along the pools edge.
When students have mastered this skill synchronizing both the arm and leg movements they will move on to moving alongside the pool using only one hand and the power of their legs.
The next step is to have students move along the edge of the pool only using the edge as support periodically.
All of these exercises are done with the aid of floatation device called the “Turtle Shell.”

3. Swimming with a barbell

Children hold the barbell with two hands, parents support their children’s hands on the barbell by placing their own hands over their children’s hands.
Many children attempt to come closer to their parents by bringing their feet closer to their parent so as to have four point of contact two hands and two feet. Parents must then stretch out their hands so that the child’s feet do no reach them. As a result children become accustomed to this position of holding the barbell as an indirect link to their parents relying on only two points of contact.
Parents encourage students to move their legs as they would on a bicycle.

4.Balancing in the water so that water is not inhaled

· For this goal I use a system of flotation devices on the back, chest and arms of the child.

· Student begin to naturally balance themselves in due time. In the very beginning parents may be required to help them maintain their balance.

5. Professional Freestyle Kick

The arms of the child are placed around the neck of the parent so the child and parent are facing each other.
Parents reach their hands underneath to support the knees of the child not allowing them to bend their knees. (rewrite to make positive support rather than restrictive)
While holding their children’s legs parents move the legs up and down to make a scissor like kicking motion no grater than approx six inches.
The foot and toes of the child should remain pointed during this exercise.
With consistent practice children form a mental schema that solidifies this motion in the child’s mind. From here on out the children repeat this action with great ease and accuracy.

6.Training the child to hold their breath underwater

I ask the child to push mommy or daddy under the water.
The child does this with great pleasure and enthusiasm
Mommy and Daddy join in on this joyful experience. After submerging parents come out of the water smiling and happy showing the child that this experience is fun, and enjoyable. This is repeated several times.
Parents hold the child at arms length with the child’s chin touching the water and blow in their face. The child reflexively closes their eyes and sometimes the mouth.
Parents calmly and slowly submerge the child so that the top of the head remains above water, the mouth, nose, ears and forehead should be submerged but the hair or crown of the head should remain above water.
This exercise is done on the count of 1,2. On the count of 1 the child is submerged and on the count of two the child is once again raised above water.
This exercise should only be attempted of both the child are in a good mood and not scared or anxious about the exercise

7.The results

Children are happy in the water and perform all the exercises
At 6-8 months children are able to balance themselves in the water with the help of floatation devices
From 14-18 months children move in the water under their own power with the support of chest, back and arm floatation devices.
Parent’s master the methodology of the swimming program and are able to execute the exercises independently

8.What is required of parents.

The willingness to celebrate every new achievement reached by their child!!!
- “Wow, you put your face underwater!!!”
- “Wow, you floated on your back!!!”
- “Wow, you blew bubbles!!!”
- “Wow, you are already an Olympic Champion!!!”

Benefits of multiple swimming lessons per week

As illustrated by JCC’s Mommy’s Successful Swimmer program( 18 months to 3 ½ years old) , children who are taking 2-3 swimming lessons per week will learn to swim four to six times faster then those only taking one.
At this age especially, the progress a child makes in nine weeks at one lesson per week, can be achieved in just one week after three consecutive sessions. This claim will not seem extraordinary if you recall your child learning to walk. Imagine, that after taking their first step your child was only allowed to practice that skill for half an hour a day just once a week… the notion seems absurd, doesn’t it? At that pace, it would be impossible to see them walking un-assisted from mommy to daddy just three days later an act most toddlers achieve as a result of practicing frequently during that time. For a complex skill such as swimming the learning curve is the same. That is why I would urge you to take as many as three lessons a week. This focused instruction will ensure that that you will save time and money in the process. If by the end of the session, provided regular class attendance, your child isn’t able to swim with a turtle-shell un-assisted, you will receive a full refund or be permitted to attend the next session for free.

Mommy, Daddy and Me

To register for classes please call Daniel Servelli, Director of Aquatics at the Jewish Community Center of Stamford at 203.487.0990 or Mikhail Iogman at 203.550.6349

Sing songs

Learn to move our arms and kick with our legs in the water

Learn to lie comfortably on our stomach and back in the water

Learn to blow bubbles in the water

Learn to navigate around the pool by grasping the pool’s edge with our hands and shimming the length of the pool. This maneuver is the precursor to the doggy paddle and later the front crawl stroke. This maneuver is called “The Choo Choo Train”

Children joyfully push a bright ball along the length of the pool. Teaching a child to reliably hold on to the side of the pool and be able to move around using the walls edge is the first step to developing water safety skills.

First the children move around using their arms while their feet drag in the water

The second step is to have student do bicycle with their feet while moving their hands along the pools edge.

When students have mastered this skill synchronizing both the arm and leg movements they will move on to moving alongside the pool using only one hand and the power of their legs.

The next step is to have students move along the edge of the pool only using the edge as support periodically.

All of these exercises are done with the aid of floatation device called the “Turtle Shell.”

Children hold the barbell with two hands, parents support their children’s hands on the barbell by placing their own hands over their children’s hands.

Parents encourage students to move their legs as they would on a bicycle.

The arms of the child are placed around the neck of the parent so the child and parent are facing each other.

Parents reach their hands underneath to support the knees of the child not allowing them to bend their knees. (rewrite to make positive support rather than restrictive)

While holding their children’s legs parents move the legs up and down to make a scissor like kicking motion no grater than approx six inches.

The foot and toes of the child should remain pointed during this exercise.

With consistent practice children form a mental schema that solidifies this motion in the child’s mind. From here on out the children repeat this action with great ease and accuracy.

6.Training the child to hold their breath underwater

I ask the child to push mommy or daddy under the water.

The child does this with great pleasure and enthusiasm

Mommy and Daddy join in on this joyful experience. After submerging parents come out of the water smiling and happy showing the child that this experience is fun, and enjoyable. This is repeated several times.

Parents hold the child at arms length with the child’s chin touching the water and blow in their face. The child reflexively closes their eyes and sometimes the mouth.

Parents calmly and slowly submerge the child so that the top of the head remains above water, the mouth, nose, ears and forehead should be submerged but the hair or crown of the head should remain above water.

This exercise is done on the count of 1,2. On the count of 1 the child is submerged and on the count of two the child is once again raised above water.

The willingness to celebrate every new achievement reached by their child!!!

“Wow, you put your face underwater!!!”

“Wow, you floated on your back!!!”

“Wow, you blew bubbles!!!”

Benefits of multiple swimming lessons per week

As illustrated by JCC’s Mommy’s Successful Swimmer program( 18 months to 3 ½ years old) , children who are taking 2-3 swimming lessons per week will learn to swim four to six times faster then those only taking one.