In our Parent & Tot learn-to-swim program for kids under the age of three, we follow almost the exact same routine in every class, every single week. This might seem super boring to an adult, but it’s a deliberate effort on our part to help our youngest swimmers quickly adapt and adjust to our program.

Predictability and routine help young children establish trust and feel safe. The more quickly we can establish this with our littlest customers and get them to a place where they are ready to learn, the sooner parents will reap the return-on-investment from lessons.

Parents can help ensure a successful transition into the program by reinforcing aspects of the lesson, such as practicing the group sing-a-long songs at home in the bathtub during the week! 

To help you get started today, below are the three primary songs we sing in our Parent & Tot class!

Tiny Tim the Turtle
I had a little Turtle,
His name was Tiny Tim.
I put him in the bathtub,
To see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water
And ate a bar of soap.
And now he’s in his bed,
With bubbles in his throat!
(Everyone blows bubbles)
***Repeat***

What to do if water… 
What do you do if you get water in the mouth? (parent coughs)
What do you do if you get water in the nose? (parent hums)
What do you do if you get water in the eye (parent says blink blink blink)  
What do you do if you get water in your ear? (parent shakes their head side to side)
***Repeat***

Reach and Splash
(With child sitting on parent’s lap facing outward,
parent moves child’s arms in a freestyle stroke pattern
singing the words below and ending with arms extended overhead.)
Reach and splash, reach and splash, and make a little splash splash
Reach and splash, reach and splash, and make a little splash splash
***Repeat***