About Our Program
The water can be a place to have fun, but it can also be a place where things don't go as planned. Floating Otters Swim School is focused on teaching children to swim for safety first then for fun.
During your child's lessons they will learn to swim face down until they need to breath, roll to their back and float restfully and breath, then flip face down and swim again until they reach you or the steps. In an accidental fall in situation your child will learn to float until someone notices they have fallen in and can come and get them.
We accomplish this by working with your child for 10 minutes a day 4 days a week for about 6 weeks. 10 minutes may not seem like a long time in a normal setting but when a child is learning all the skills necessary to swim, float, swim it is an appropriate amount of time. Even an adult can fatigue in this amount of time while exercising multiple muscle groups. It is important for your child to make it to all their lessons as this reinforces the skills they are learning through repetition.
Just as we can't predict when our children will learn to walk, we can't predict how long it will take a child to learn to swim. 6 weeks is just an average. Some children need less time some more.
During this time your child will learn to swim float swim, even with their clothes on. Parents will also learn to effectively swim with their child, to help keep reinforcing the skills as well as having fun. When your child has passed 2 tests demonstrating they have the skills necessary in a fall- in situation they will graduate to maintenance lessons. Frequency of these lesson are based off of individual need and will range from 2 times per week to 2 times per month.
Floating Otters Swim School does NOT use any floatation devices, nor do they encourage the use of them. The main reason is they are dangerous. They give parents, but especially children a false sense of security. When a child has an accidental fall in they often don't have one on and won't know how to handle the water. Another reason is it teaches the child the wrong position in the water. We want children to learn to float on their backs restfully and a vertical position in the water (which is what a floatation device encourages) will not allow for this.
About The Instructors
Virginia Hannon is a wife, mother of 6 wonderful children, Victoria (26) US Army National Guard, Colton (24) USMC, Grace (22), Trystan (19), David (14), and Beth (12), as well as a grandmother to 4 absolutely perfect grandchildren. Virginia has a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies, with a focus in elementary education and psychology. She holds certifications from PediaSwim, ACE CPT, RRCA, Crossfit as well as American Red Cross in infant/child/adult CPR. Virginia spent many years coaching and developing adults and children alike to strive for and reach goals they did not think were possible.
Virginia feels a strong passion to teach children the skills necessary to survive in the water when gates, locks, alarms and adult supervision aren't enough. Drowning continues to be one of the leading causes of death in children under the age of 5 years old. This is preventable. She provides a safe environment in her pool for your child to learn these skills.
