When you teach kids, you have a chance to see the world through their eyes. They notice and are curious about things that grownups dismiss or simply never think to ask about. Our teachers have heard a lot of questions over the years, and we go out of the way to answer them all as best we can, like we did in our previous FOSS blog. But the kids we talk to in person probably aren’t the only ones who wonder, and their parents might never hear the answers. Here, we answer five more questions we heard at the pool recently, so parents can benefit too!
1. Can we hang on the lane lines?
Please don’t! Our lane lines help us create little classrooms and make it easier for you to swim by breaking up wave movement. They can break easily and are difficult and expensive to fix. A pool full of swimmers and without lane lines is very choppy and hard to swim in (which makes things a lot less fun), so please help us protect our lane lines! They’re our friends.
2. Why are there animals hanging from the ceilings?
For a couple of reasons! One, to give you something to look at when you’re swimming on your back. They also help you look back and lengthen your neck when swimming on your back, which helps to put your body in the correct position. Plus, animals are just fun in general!
3. What is that tile with the diving man on it for?
We’re glad you noticed it! That sign tells us not to dive headfirst into our pools, because they’re too shallow for diving, and we could really hurt our heads. And no one wants that! Swimmers should always enter our pools feet first.
4. Why do we use those barbell things?
The FOSS Swim Path™️ curriculum is designed to replace the fear of water with skill, not floats. However, as students first start to adjust to water, larger floats and barbells provide the ability to both learn to be in the water and to move in water while not sinking.
As a student’s skill increases, their use of floats strategically reduces from large buoyant floats, to less buoyant floats, to ultimately no floats. It’s all about progression!
5. Do I need to wear a swim shirt during class?
Nope! You don’t have to, but you are welcome to if you’d like. Our pools are very warm, but some swimmers find that they stay even warmer when they wear a swim shirt. It’s totally up to you!
