SCIENCE OF SWIMPLAY

From our holiday weekend getaway visiting Frankenmuth, Michigan to a summer vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina it seems whenever spending some time having fun in a pool during family trips we always get compliments on my children's swimming skills. I have to give some credit for that to Goldfish Swim School and their SCIENCE OF SWIMPLAY approach to teaching kids. My son and daughter have been going to Goldfish Swim School for a few years now and the results have been truly transformational. They went from being timid in the water to being confident swimmers thanks to the Science of Swimplay instructional approach at Goldfish Swim School.

Goldfish Swim School's Science of Swimplay consists of:

• Proven, confidence-building curriculum developed by a 17-time Collegiate All-American swimmer with a degree in Early Childhood Development;
• Small class sizes to ensure children get the attention they deserve during lessons;
• Professional, trained and certified swim instructors who complete a 40-hour training program;
• Students receive weekly feedback, quarterly progress reports and constant monitoring of their development;
• Year-round classes which help children learn to swim and be safer in the water at a much faster pace as well as avoids regression associated with session-based lessons;
• Free make up classes so kids don't lose progress when they can't make a class. We all know stuff comes up! 

The Science of SwimPlay is a research-based philosophy that promotes kids having fun while they learn.  While instructors are focused on serious stuff, lessons are designed so children's attention is on having an entertaining time. Looking forward to their weekly lessons, kids embrace learning safety skills and swimming strokes through ongoing individualized coaching and repetition. My wife and I have been very pleased with the results we've seen in our own son and daughter through our family's Goldfish Swim School experience.

Ready to dive in?! For more information on locations and enrollment, go to goldfishwimschool.com. Experience the difference at Goldfish Swim School!

As a brand ambassador, my kids receive free services and products from Goldfish Swim School for this dad blogger to share our experiences on ageekdaddy.com. Opinions expressed are honest and my own. 

FUN TIMES AT GOLDFISH SWIM SCHOOL

Of course, swimming lessons can be a lot of fun!  But there are also lots of other good times to be had beyond just participating in classes at Goldfish Swim School. Here are four of my family's favorite things that make this swimming school extra fun to go to:

Water Safety Day

Once a year Goldfish Swim School opens its doors to anyone in the community to stop in for a day of activities that make learning about water safety fun.  This FREE event includes lifeguard demonstrations in the pool, a presentation by Bubbles ( the Goldfish Swim School mascot), and swim class instructors providing tips about water safety. Taking place just before summer break from school for most kids begins, this is a great time to think about rules and skills that are important to ensure that everyone in your family is safe during a season that is often full of spending time in and around water.

Going to Water Safety Day is always a good time because in addition to the water safety focus of the event it also has a festive carnival atmosphere to it.  The school provides lots of entertaining activities and games plus food to enjoy. All at no cost to anyone who attends!

Our local Goldfish Swim School parks bounce houses and food trucks in their parking lot for Water Safety Day. Their staff plays games with children who stop by to participate in the event and there is a balloon artist who makes wonderful creations for the kids. Families can even take a dip in the pool while they are at Goldfish Swim School for Water Safety Day.

Water Safety Day activities and dates may vary from franchise to franchise so check with your local Goldfish Swim School to find out what they have planned.  CLICK HERE to find a Goldfish Swim School location near you.  If you aren't a member of Goldfish Swim School this is a great opportunity to check out the facility and meet staff. For those who already attend it is a nice opportunity to have fun with other Goldfish families and interact with your children's swimming instructors.

Family Swim Time

Goldfish Swim School opens up its pool at lunch time on week days throughout the year to its member families. This is a wonderful chance for kids to practice their swimming but also a nice opportunity for a family to have fun playing in the water together.  When the kids have days off during the school year or during summer break, we take advantage of this free perk all the time! We've had some great times and memorable moments during Family Swim Time at Goldfish Swim School.

Family Night Out

Once a month, Goldfish Swim School hosts a Friday evening where families can come out to enjoy activities, crafts and games as well as swim in the pool. This night of family fun also includes pizza and snacks. Family Night Outs often have a theme to them. One of our favorite Family Nights Out at Goldfish Swim School involved my kids participating in an Easter Egg hunt and meeting the Easter Bunny. 

Family Night Out at Goldfish Swim School is always a fun time! There is a nominal fee to participate which at our location is $5 per person or $15 per family. Check with your local Goldfish Swim School for date and details.

Balloons

Kids can always get a FREE balloon after their swimming class at Goldfish Swim School. My daughter LOVES balloons! A balloon will always put a smile on her face.

In addition to balloons, Goldfish Swim School also gives out a unique reward for completing swim classes to kids each week. For example for St. Patrick's Day this year they gave out Leprechaun hats that week. Other weeks prizes may range from a variety of items featuring Bubbles such as coloring pages, sticker sheets and temporary tattoos.  A favorite with kids though are the Bubbles bath toys. From pirate to scuba diver each month there is a new toy that Goldfish swimmers can get.

Goldfish Swim School provides swimming lessons and water safety instruction for toddlers to twelve year olds. My kids have been swimming at Goldfish for a number of years now. Our family has truly had a golden experience! The kids not only have had a lot of fun but their swimming and water safety skills have gotten to be very impressive. I hate to admit it but they may be better swimmers than me now.

Dive in to having your family swim there by heading over to goldfishswimschool.com Tell them ageekdaddy.com sent you!

A Geek Daddy receives free products and services from Goldfish Swim School as a brand ambassador. The opinions expressed are honest and my own. They have absolutely earned ageekdaddy.com nod of approval from my own kids experiences at Goldfish Swim School.

GIVE THE GIFT THAT WILL LAST A LIFETIME

Like riding a bike, swimming is one of those skills that once someone gets a grasp on doing it normally you are able to continuously do it throughout your life. It is an ability that after being learned tends not to be forgone even if it is not used very often. Unfortunately, many people just never learn even the basics of swimming which has contributed to drowning being a leading cause of accidental deaths for both children and adults.

Give a special child in your life a gift that will last a lifetime by providing them swimming lessons. My friends at Goldfish Swim School have special holiday packages available now that provide both lessons and something to physically wrap up to give to a child. Goldfish Swim School caters to kids ranging in age from toddlers to tweens and assists children and lessons vary from teaching basic water safety skills to mastering competitive swimming strokes.

How many of their Christmas presents are most kids even going to remember just a few months after the holiday has passed by? a year has gone by? a decade? Not many!

With swimming lessons at Goldfish Swim School you are providing an experience that will be remembered for a long time. My family has had a wonderful experience at Goldfish Swim School with my daughter evolving from being timid about going into the water to becoming a member of the Swim Force club that teaches kids about swimming as a competitive athletic endeavor. Provide a child with the skills and confidence to be safe and have fun around the water by enrolling him or her in Goldfish Swim School as a holiday gift.

For more information on holiday gift packages and to find a location near you, please visit goldfishswimschool.com. Plus check out the Top 5 reasons to give the gift of swimming lessons over at their blog.

A Geek Daddy is a brand ambassador for Gold Fish Swim Schools receiving complimentary lessons and services for his children in exchange for promotional consideration. Opinions expressed are honest and my own.

MY GOLDFISH ARE LEARNING TO SWIM LIKE BUTTERFLIES

Ugh! The Spring weather in Michigan has been frigid this year. So my kids have especially been enjoying jumping into the comfy 90-degree heated indoor pool for their weekly swimming lessons at Goldfish Swim School.

This month the kids have been working on improving their butterfly and breast strokes.  We received our quarterly progress reports on my son and daughter's proficiency on what they are being taught in their PRO 2 swim class level.  The butterfly and breast strokes both came up on their progress reports but for completely different reasons.  My daughter excels at the butterfly but needs to make some improvements on her breast stroke. While my son is the opposite; he's doing great with his breast stroke but needs to improve upon his butterfly technique.

My swimming skills are adequate but limited pretty much to the general freestyle stroke, doggy paddling, and floating on my back.  So I've been learning quite a bit about all the different types of strokes along with my children while our family has been going to Goldfish Swim School. For those of you who like myself may not know the ins and outs of all the different swimming strokes, here is a description for the breast and butterfly strokes:

The breast stroke is a style of swimming where you push your arms forward and then sweep them back in a circular movement while the legs utilize a motion that has them tucked in toward the body then kicked out away from it.

The butterfly stroke has a swimmer's arm move in a windmill fashion from the back to front of the body while doing dolphin kicks. These kicks mimic the movement of a dolphin's tail with the legs being kept together and moving up and down with knees bent at the motion's upswing. Butterfly strokes can be difficult to perfect but when done right make the swimmer look as if he or she is flying through the water.

These two strokes have been what my kids have been working on mastering during their recent sessions at Goldfish Swim School.  With my son, the teacher is working on his arm motions being more accurate and having him not use different types of kicking styles while doing the butterfly. For my daughter, the instructor is working with her on head placement to make her more efficient with the stroke and improving on the kicks to add more speed to her pace.

It is nice that my children get a lot of personalized attention at Goldfish Swim School.  Their classes never contain more than four kids in a session and they always get a lot of one-on-one instruction. After each class, the teacher at the edge of the pool always provides me with an updated evaluation on how each one of them has done in the class and what she would like to see them improve upon.

Many Goldfish Swim School locations, including the one we attend, have Open Swim hours during weekday lunch hours that are free for families who are enrolled in swimming lessons to get in the pool to practice swim strokes or just play around in the water. During my kids Spring Break week off elementary school this month, we took advantage of the Open Swim time on a couple of days.  Of course my son and daughter spent some time practicing their butterfly and breast strokes while we were there, but they spent a bulk of the time having some fun with their good ole dad in the pool.

I have to say we've had a "golden experience" during our time being involved with Goldfish Swim School. For more information and to find a location near you, please visit goldfishswimschool.com.

A GEEK DADDY is a brand ambassador promotional partner with Goldfish Swim School.  My family receives complimentary products and services in exchange for sharing our experiences with the swim school.  All opinions expressed are honest and my own.