Learn to Swim with the Y
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Forest City YMCA
916 West I St
Forest City, IA 40536
Phone: 641-585-5220
Email: info@ForestCityYMCA.org
School Age and Young Teen Swim Lessons
Our Learn-to-Swim program is based on a logical, six-level progression that helps school age and young teens develop their water safety, survival and swimming skills. It is designed to give participants a positive learning experience.
For every level of Learn-to-Swim, our instructors follow a plan to introduce new swimming and water safety skills and build on previously learned skills. Each class is loaded with fun, engaging, and challenging activities that motivate children to want to perform and learn to swim.
In Level 1, your child is introduced to basic skills as the foundation for future skills and the development of water competency (the basic minimum skills need for water safety).
Purpose
Orient participants to the aquatic environment and help them gain basic aquatic skills.
Help participants begin to develop positive attitudes and safe practices around water
Prerequisites
No skill prerequisites
Participants usually start at about 6 years of age but may start at a younger age
In Level 2, your child will begin to perform skills at a slightly more advanced level and will begin to gaining rudimentary propulsive skills on both the front and the back. This level marks the beginning of independent aquatic locomotion skills.
Purpose
Orient participants to the aquatic environment and help them gain basic aquatic skills.
Prerequisites
Successful demonstration of the Learn-to-Swim Level 1 exit skills assessment
In Level 3, your child will learn to swim the front crawl and elementary backstroke at rudimentary levels, will be introduced to the scissors and dolphin kicks, will learn the survival float and increases the time duration for treading water. Your child will also learn the rules for headfirst entries and will begin to learn to enter the water headfirst from a seated position at poolside.
Purpose
Build on the skills learned in Levels 1 and 2 to help participants achieve basic water competency in a pool environment
Prerequisites
Successful demonstration of the Learn-to-Swim Level 2 exit skills assessment
In Level 4, our instructors follow a plan to introduce new swimming and water safety skills and to build on previously learned skills, improving the swimming stroke proficiency and swimming for longer distances. Each class is loaded with fun, engaging and challenging activities that motivate children to want to perform and learn to swim.
Purpose
Improve participants’ proficiency in performing the swimming strokes that were introduced in Level 3
Prerequisites
Successful demonstration of the Learn-to-Swim Level 3 exit skills assessment
In Level 5, our instructors follow a plan to refine all six swimming strokes including swimming for longer distances, introduce new water safety skills while building on ones previously learned and perform flip turns on the front and back. The expectations are higher now in regards to distance and quality.
Purpose
Help participants refine their performance of all six swimming strokes (i.e., front crawl, back crawl, butterfly, breaststroke, elementary backstroke and sidestroke)
Prerequisites
Successful demonstration of the Learn-to-Swim Level 4 exit skills assessment
As in all the other levels, in Level 6, our instructors follow a plan to refine swimming and water safety skills that were taught throughout the levels. The expectations are quite high in regards to distance and quality. Additionally, in Personal Water Safety, you learn more complex safety skills that may help you survive in an emergency.
Purpose
Refine strokes so participants swim them with greater efficiency and effectiveness over longer distances
Teach participants how to prevent aquatic emergencies in various aquatic environments and to introduce and practice self-rescue techniques
Prerequisites
Successful demonstration of the Learn-to-Swim Level 5 exit skills assessment
As in all the other levels, in Level 6, our instructors follow a plan to refine swimming, physical fitness in the water and water safety skills that were taught throughout the levels. The expectations are quite high in regards to distance and quality. Additionally, in Fitness Swimmer, you learn principles of training and how to evaluate your own level of fitness.
Purpose
Refine strokes so participants swim them with greater efficiency and effectiveness over longer distances
Prerequisites
Successful demonstration of the Learn-to-Swim Level 5 exit skills assessment
