Ocaquatics Swim School

3 Fall Fun Activities with Ocaquatics Swim School: Hiking, Costume Swimming, and Beach Clean Up!

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 19:33:00 GMT

Fall is here! At Ocaquatics Swim School, we're excited to share three fall activities you can enjoy with us or recreate on your own:

1. Hiking: Fall is the perfect season to go for a hike. This November a few of our Ocaquatics team members will hike the tallest mountain in the Caribbean, Pico Duarte. This trek will raise awareness that some communities don’t have access to water. We will be raising funds for our 1% for the Planet partner, Blue Missions who will use 100% of the donations to construct systems that bring water to communities that currently do not have access. Help us support this wonderful organization , https://givethankstrekforwater.funraise.org/fundraiser/ocaquatics . Ocaquatics will match any donation received up to $7,500! If you would like to go yourself, more information is available on the Blue Missions website , https://www.bluemissions.org/service-trips !

2. Costume Swimming: Every year Ocaquatics hosts Spirit Week when children wear their costumes during their lessons! This makes the lessons more interactive while also allowing students to experience the sensation of swimming clothed. This is a key water safety lesson because swimming in clothes feels very different than swimming in bathing suits. In an emergency, if a child falls into any body of water with clothes on, the clothing will feel familiar, not alarming. Our goal is for students to remain calm and seamlessly apply their water safety skills in critical situations. If you have a pool at home, you can recreate this fun experience for a day of costume swimming!

3. Beach Clean Up: Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude. At Ocaquatics we show thanks by making the day after Thanksgiving our Giving Day! We love paying our good fortune forward and serving as a team to help our Miami community and our planet. This year on Giving Day, we will participate in a beach clean up! It’s a great way to help preserve our shores and very easy to organize. You can create your own beach clean up and your child can learn about the importance of conserving our beaches while having fun outdoors!

Whether it's hiking for a cause, enjoying costume swimming, or participating in a beach clean up, you can make the most of this season while making a difference. Let's create fun moments together this fall!

Links:

https://givethankstrekforwater.funraise.org/fundraiser/ocaquatics

https://www.bluemissions.org/service-trips

https://www.4ocean.com/blogs/live-the-mission/how-to-organize-a-community-beach-cleanup

4 Ways Swimming Lessons Enhance Your Child's Development!

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 18:03:00 GMT

At Ocaquatics Swim School we aim for our students to love the water through our swimming lessons, because it is both a life saving skill and offers many early childhood development benefits. Four major benefits include:

1. Improves Physical Fitness: Swimming exercises the full body and it helps children develop their muscles, endurance, and cardiovascular health.

2. Boosts Cognitive Development: Swimming lessons have been shown to provide a positive impact on the cognitive development of children. According to a study conducted by Griffith Institute for Educational Research, it was found that “early-years swimming may help develop skills beyond those of swimming, and which are of considerable value in formal education.”

3. Enhances Social Skills: Swimming lessons provide a unique way for children to bond with their instructors and classmates while developing a healthy appreciation of the water. At Ocaquatics Swim School we encourage group lessons as they are a fun and great way for children to socially interact and learn from each other. In our lessons we have noticed that children are usually more motivated to learn if they see others in their class doing the skill they are learning.

4. Promotes Water Safety: Water safety is essential in the lives of all children, especially in our Miami community. Learning water safety helps protect the swimmer and those around them by helping everyone to be safer in, on and around the water. Formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88% according to America's National Institute of Health study.

Overall, swimming lessons provide a variety of different benefits in a child’s life. Consistency is key to maximize the benefits of swimming lessons. Consistency helps your child continue to develop all of their skills and abilities. We hope to see your child having a splash of fun in one of our Ocaquatics locations very soon!

Links:

Copy of 2013 Griffiths U Final Report August 2013.pdf

https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/

Rollover swimming lessons based on progressions may be best for your child and their water safety!

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 16:57:00 GMT

At Ocaquatics we teach swimming lessons and water safety skills based on a series of progressions that are developmentally appropriate and child centered. We are a ROLLOVER school, but we are NOT what is typically referred to as a survival program. You may have heard of survival based swimming lessons that teach a child to survive in an aquatics accident by rolling over and floating on their back. However, some of these types of programs have been linked to increased distress, crying, and trauma.

Our program’s goal is the same as the survival program's ultimate goal of rolling over for a breath. However, we do this in a way that allows our children to enjoy the entire process. At Ocaquatics we do not use the controversial approach of repeated submersions with crying and screaming babies.

We also teach our students to use proper behaviors around the water. First, we teach the child/infant to wait for behavioral cues from a trusted adult that it is safe to enter the water. Then we work on breath control, balance and buoyancy as a child gets used to their aquatic environment. Next, they learn to jump in and return to the wall, and at this point we teach the rollover skill. We use a child development approach to tailor instruction that is appropriate for each child and their level. Because of that, even though our end goal is the same, our progressive process might take a little longer but ultimately, our children are happier. The extra time and effort are necessary to create an enjoyable, non-traumatic experience that helps children develop a love of swimming as a lifelong sport for pleasure and good health as well as learn life saving water safety skills.

It is terrifying to think that your child might fall into the water at the exact moment that you are distracted and looking away. With the staggering statistics that drowning is the leading cause of death in children under 5 in Florida, it is natural for parents to look for ways to protect their infants from drowning. Rolling over is a great skill to have. We take a more child centered approach in a warmer, more nurturing environment to achieve the same goal of learning life saving skills while building confidence and competence. The families who swim with us are able to become safer in, on, and around the water while having their child enjoy their lessons. We work with our infants in a positive environment to produce happy swimmers who can also roll over.

We offer these fun swimming lessons at all five of our indoor, warm water pools. We love helping the families in our Miami community to become safer with a splash of fun!