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Baby FINS Parent Portal

We hope this email finds you well and that our weekly emails are answering all of your questions while also teaching you about things you didn’t even know to ask about! Our goal is to have every parent at FINS feeling very informed about what their baby is learning, why it is important and how they can expect to see everything play out during swim lessons. 

Today’s blog post is going to divert from what is happening in the classes to show you how you can use FINS Parent Portal online to check on your child’s skill progression, email your child’s instructor, see class openings, make updates to your account, and more!

Instead of writing a long post about all of the things you can do, here is a 2 minute YouTube video all about the FINS Parent Portal.

If you attempt to log in and do not know which email address we have on file, please give us a call or stop by the front desk and we are happy to help! Additionally, we can always do a quick password reset for you if needed! Tablets are available at our facility if you would like to try the portal while you are here, we’re happy to help!

Thanks for watching, reading, and learning! We hope each week you find the provided information helpful and that you are learning something new. Be on the lookout for an email next week where we will discuss another very important safety focus – Parental Cues!

Baby FINS Breath Control & Swim Progression

Congrats! You’re rolling right along and getting into a new groove of swim lessons with your baby. Before long, your baby will recognize this as a pattern in their weekly schedule and an activity that they look forward to! Babies are creatures of routine and habit, they learn best through repetition. Remember, we talked a few weeks ago about how the baby is not bored and in fact loves repetition and consistency (think of the same show on repeat, the same book over and over again, same favorite toys, etc). 

With repetition and consistency comes muscle memory and the formation of strong synapses (connections) in the brain. What do we do when we have muscle memory and strong synapses? We develop  instinct. From there we build upon the now instinctual skills to learn even more things like breath control and swimming longer distances. Let’s dive in and learn more!

Since you are a few weeks into classes, you have learned that we don’t “dunk” a baby in the water right away. We prefer to ease them into it with more gentle approaches such as using our rain bucket to begin to feel the water over their faces and in their ears, etc. 

When baby (and parent) are ready, we will move forward to a quick trauma-free submersion. Each time we practice submersion, we always use our “ready, 1-2-3” cue. This conditions the baby to know what is coming and to hold their breath in response to the verbal prompt. We practice gentle, cue-driven submersion with passes between the parent and instructor. Many times you will hear the instructor counting out loud, this is to indicate the number of seconds your baby has learned to hold their breath while motoring through the water. Learning to hold your breath while motoring your arms and legs is no small feat. Your baby’s brain is hard at work building multiple connections while practicing this! How cool is that? It will very quickly become instinct.

Over time, as your baby continues to practice cue-driven submersion, the instructor will watch for improvement and find opportunities to extend the swim a little further. When we say a little, we mean it. A typical increase is about 1 second and there might be gaps of time in between increases.Remember, our goal is to build skills through love and repetition. If we push a baby too far too soon, it can greatly set back the progress. Trust us and our process. Your baby is learning at the perfect pace – their own!

By the time your baby graduates from our parent-child Baby FINS program, they will be able to swim 5 feet and hold their breath for at least 5 seconds. Doesn’t seem like a long time? Look at your baby and count to 5 in your head. Pretty impressive considering how small they are, huh?

Thanks for reading and learning! We hope each week you find the provided information helpful and that you are learning something new. Be on the lookout for an email next week where we will tell you all about the FINS Parent Portal and all the cool things you can do, like check on your child’s skill progression, see class openings, make updates to your account, and more!

Baby FINS Swim and Safety Lessons

By now, hopefully, you have had a chance to bring your baby to swim class at least once maybe even twice. We certainly hope you both are loving the time together. If your sweet baby seems less than thrilled to be in the water,or is not yet doing what you see other babies doing in the class, remember that is OK! Check back on the blog post from last week (insert link here) where we chatted about how your baby might be feeling in the beginning. They will enjoy the classes and be learning so much very soon, we promise!

This week, we want to dive deeper into FINS main focus:water safety,and more specifically what that looks like in our Baby FINS program. You now know, as we do, that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children ages 1-4. FINS is on a mission to change those statistics. Thank you for joining in the fight by giving your baby the gift of swim lessons! We will focus on 2 main water safety skills in these classes: how to get back to the wall if they fall in and floating on the back. 

These 2 important water safety skills are actually repeated over and over again throughout class. Remember, we believe in teaching methods that include: Love, Bonding, Repetition, and Safety. When babies attempt and perform these skills, we want them to feel celebrated, safe and loved. We want to create positive experiences with rhymes, songs, encouragement AND plenty of repetition. Our goal is for your baby’s brain to associate these positive experiences with the water and to be able to utilize the skills to save themselves in a potentially life-threatening situation.

• Fall In, Turn Around, Climb Out is a skill that is built in to the classes with activities like: Humpty Dumpty, Ring Around the Rosies, Bump and Jumps and Walk Walks on the big blue mat. We like to practice these skills with babies and toddlers from the step/ledge, the side of the pool, or on a big float because we want them to have continuous practice on a variety of areas in and around water where they can potentially self-rescue. We emphasize this water safety skill in addition to the very important back float, because statistically most babies and toddlers fall in very close to a self-rescue area. It is rare for them to wind up way out in the middle of a body of water all alone, especially since a majority of accidental falls into the water are a result of reaching for something.

• Back float is incorporated throughout our classes with a range of methods including: London Bridge,  rolling to float after swim outs, walk walks and much more. We have 2 goals when teaching the back float; first is for the baby to be comfortable in the position. We want them to sustain the back float so that they can get air and rest if they ever get into trouble in the water. We never rush a baby out of the back float position. We encourage baby to take a rest, take a few breaths and relax. The second goal is to create muscle memory. If this is achieved, the baby will know to flip over on their back when they need air. The back float is useful for self-rescue, but can also help them progress their swim endurance as they learn to swim further and further.

Speaking of swimming longer distances, be on the lookout for an email next week where we dive deeper into breath control progression within our Baby FINS program. You’ll find out just how far your baby will learn to swim, and how long they can safely hold their breath!

Private Infant Swim Lessons

We are thrilled that you have chosen FINS as your swim school! FINS is a locally owned, family-run business with a big passion for teaching water safety and developing a love for swimming. By giving the gift of swim lessons to your child, you have taken an amazing step forward in the fight against the drowning statistics. Did you know that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children ages 1-4? Drowning is preventable. Read on and learn a bit more about what you and your baby have to look forward to while swimming with FINS!

FINS has been around for over 20 years. Throughout that time, we have taught thousands of babies to learn to swim. Our goals remain the same while our methods vary over time since we are constantly finding ways to advance our techniques while providing a safe and fun environment for you and your little one. 

Read on and learn a bit more about what you and your baby have to look forward to while swimming with FINS!

LOVE-BONDING-REPETITION-SAFETY:

These are the foundational elements of our unique Baby FINS program.Let’s dive in and learn a little more about those words and how we use them in our Baby FINS 1 and Baby FINS 2 classes!

• LOVE – You have heard it since the day your sweet baby was born. They thrive on feeling loved! Being in a pool for the first time can make anyone feel anxious, but in your arms, your baby knows they’re safe! That’s one reason it is SO important for them to be in the class with a parent or caregiver they know and trust!Don’t worry if your baby cries for the first few classes, it’s all-new; new environment, new people, new smells, and new sounds. Spend the first few classes just reassuring them that you are there and they are OK. Don’t feel the need to dive right into the skills if your baby isn’t ready. We promise you will both be enjoying every activity in the class before you know it! Rushing an anxious baby could result in taking longer to learn the skills because the fear will build instead of dissipate. Remember, we have been at this for 20 years! Trust us. If you stick with it, your baby won’t be scared forever!
  
• BONDING – This is a subject we could go on and on about. One of the best things about our Baby FINS program is the bonding time. The extra skin to skin contact helps to strengthen your already growing bond, and also teaches your baby from an early age that you need to be with them them in the pool!

• REPETITION – Babies thrive on repetition. Have you noticed they love the same book? Same toys? Same bedtime routine? Same foods? Well, the same thing goes for their swim lessons. Week after week, we will practice the same skills, using the same songs and the same class routine. Trust us, the baby is not bored! They LOVE knowing what comes next! Each child is different but every one of them will advance their skills with time. Our trained instructor is continually watching for cues from your baby to detect when they are ready to gain more skills or go a bit further! In the meantime, just settle into the routine with your baby!

Speaking of Safety, be on the lookout next week for an email where we dive deeper into FINS’ water safety techniques!

Swimming Tools & Training Skills

We hope you are having a FINStastic day! You have been in the Advanced Swim and Safety lessons for weeks now and we hope your child is having a blast. We get questions all the time about equipment and tools needed for swim lessons. Today we are here to answer all of your questions about goggles, flippers and swim caps, oh my!

Goggles:

At this stage of swim lessons, most, if not all students will want to use goggles. Prolonged water exposure, whether in a pool or natural body of water, can irritate the eyes. Students in these levels will be swimming longer distances, so most will prefer goggles. The ability to keep their eyes open underwater and not have to worry about splashes coming their way will also free up a lot of distractions for your child.  If your child does prefer to wear goggles, we do ask that they have their own pair. FINS has a limited number of pairs available to borrow for the occasional use by children who forget to bring their own. Having their own good pair of goggles helps the instructor to focus the entire class time on learning to swim, not adjusting goggle straps every time a different child wears them. Your child will also be familiarized with their own pair and will be able to keep the straps set to fit them the way they prefer. How do we define a “good pair” of goggles? First and foremost is comfort. The child must like the way they feel. Secondly, you must make sure the part around the eye seals tightly on the face. If the goggles are too big (or too small) water will constantly leak in making the goggles essentially useless. FINS sells goggles we LOVE and work well for many swimmers. In addition, there are a few local swim shops who sell other brands if you would like to explore further. Buying goggles at a big box store may not be the best plan. We tend to notice more leaking and quicker breaking of those goggles. A good pair purchased a FINS or a local swim shop will only cost a few more dollars, but will be worth it’s weight in gold!

Swim Caps:

We get a lot of questions about swim caps. While yes, it is true that all professional swimmers use swim caps, FINS does not require them. At this point it is a personal preference. Keep in mind that  if your child does have long hair, it will need to be either tied back or in a swim cap during lessons.This helps avoid hair getting into the eyes,over the face and/or tangled in arms while practicing their swimming skills. FYI, swim caps will not keep the hair completely dry, or all water out of the ears. While the hair will not get quite as wet wearing a swim cap, it does not completely protect the hair from getting wet. Swim caps are not designed for keeping water out of a swimmer’s ears either.

Flippers/fins:

We normally refer to them as fins, but since our name is FINS we also call them flippers to avoid confusion. They are one and the same! Students will begin using flippers/fins in our Bronze FINS level and each student will need to bring their own pair to each lesson. While we do have a few pairs for students to borrow if they forget their own, we do not have enough for every student. Flippers/fins in these levels are used to help students elongate their kicks, encourage proper body positioning, balance, swim endurance and to build foot, ankle and leg strength. The use of fins/flippers activates different muscles which will help build stronger swimmers! Not to mention that the kids find them very fun as they swim faster in them!

Be on the lookout next week for our final email in this series. We will talk about ways you can help further advance your child’s swim skills by practicing at home, and about the available options for swim team if your child has expressed interest!

Advanced Swim Lessons for Kids

Welcome to our final post in our ‘Welcome to FINS Advanced Swim and Safety’ series. We hope that you have found these emails informative and helpful. Don’t forget, we love your feedback! Our goal at FINS is to keep parents informed about what their child is learning in class and to provide various helpful tips. As always, ALL FINS team members are happy to help answer questions and address concerns as you have them.

Consistency is the key to mastery. The more consistently they practice the skills they are learning in class, the quicker they will master them. We always recommend extra swim time, especially if your child has access to a pool. Please remember, while your child is becoming a stronger swimmer, they still must be under adult supervision near a body of water. Safety is our top priority at FINS. We are teaching skills that help your child to become a safer swimmer, but swim lessons never replace the need for adult supervision. Lessons are just another layer in drowning prevention. 

As your child progresses through our Advanced Swim and Safety levels, we hope they love swimming as much as we do! If your child has expressed interest in joining a swim team, we think it is a great idea! We highly recommend starting with your neighborhood summer league team. Summer league teams practice from late April through mid-June. Practices will be held at your neighborhood pool and there will be 6 weekend swim meets (and a few more if your child qualifies). Joining the swim team in the neighborhood is a wonderful social opportunity for you and your child. Many friends from school will be on the team with them! If your neighborhood does not have a swim team, ask a schoolmate or 2 where they swim. There are several teams in the area with open enrollment, so they can swim with their friends on a local area team. If they love summer league, your child can look into swimming year-round on a USA swim team.

Advanced Swim Parent Portal

We hope this email finds you well and that our weekly emails are answering all of your questions while also teaching you about things you didn’t even know to ask about! Our goal is to have every parent at FINS feeling very informed about what their child is learning, why it is important and how they can expect to see everything play out during swim lessons. 

Today’s blog post is going to divert from what is happening in the classes to show you how you can use FINS Parent Portal online to check on your child’s skill progression, make updates to your account, email your child’s instructor, see class openings and more!

Instead of writing a long post about all of the things you can do, here is a 2 minute YouTube video all about the FINS Parent Portal.

If you attempt to log in and do not know which email address we have on file, please give us a call or stop by the front desk and we are happy to help! Additionally, we can always do a quick password reset for you if needed. Tablets are available at our facility if you would like to try the portal while you are here, we’re happy to help!

Thanks for watching, reading, and learning! We hope each week you find the information helpful and that you are learning something new. Be on the lookout for an email next week where we talk about the tools & supplies needed in swim class and what each is used for.

What to Expect in Advanced Swim Lessons

Congratulations! You’re rolling right along in our Advanced Swim and Safety program. We hope swimming is an activity that they (and you) look forward to each week. Each lesson they are not only mastering new skills toward advanced water safety (as we discussed last week), but they are also learning advanced swim skills. The cool thing about swim lessons is that it is an activity they can enjoy for the rest of their life. As your child grows, knowledge of water safety and swim skills can be used at the neighborhood pool, on family vacations, birthday pool parties or even to get involved in the sport of swimming by joining a swim team (which we will talk about in a few weeks)!

This week, we are going to discuss swim progression and learn just how far (distance wise) your child will be able to swim by the time they complete our Advanced Swim and Safety levels.

Below, you will find swim progression/distances listed by level:

White FINS:

By the time students graduate from our White FINS level, they will be able to swim 15 feet while rolling to their back to get air, and will be able to perform the elementary backstroke (tickle-airplane-soldier) for 15 feet.

Blue FINS:

By the time students graduate from our Blue FINS level, they will be able to swim 20 feet with controlled arms and rollover to get a breath. In addition, they will be able to swim on their back using a backstroke kick for 20 feet.

Bronze FINS:

By the time students graduate from our Bronze FINS level they will be able to swim 30 feet with freestyle arms and a proper flutter kick, using a timed rollover to get a quick breath. In addition, they will be able to swim using their backstroke kick for 20 feet with one arm above their head for body position balance and to safely approach the wall.

Silver FINS:

By the time students graduate from our Silver FINS level, they will be able to swim fluid freestyle with side breathing for 40 feet, and fluid backstroke for 40 feet with safe wall approach.

Gold FINS:

By the time students graduate from our Gold FINS level, they will be able to swim freestyle and backstroke a full lap, and will begin perfecting swimming backstroke in a straight line.

Thanks for reading and learning! We hope each week you find the provided information helpful and that you are learning something new. Be on the lookout for an email next week where we will tell you about the FINS Parent Portal and all the cool things you can do, like check on your child’s skill progression, make updates to your account, see available classes and more!

Advanced Water Safety & Self-Rescue Skills

By now, hopefully, you have had the chance to bring your child to The Advanced Swim and Safety level classes at least once and maybe even twice. We certainly hope they are having a great time and love coming back each week! We ALWAYS welcome feedback if there is anything you think would be helpful for us to know about your child, or even ways we can make the experience simpler or more pleasant for you as the parent!

Last week, we touched on the importance of continuing to teach water safety in our advanced swim and safety levels. This week, we want to dive deeper into FINS main focus: : water safety, and more specifically what that looks like in our Advanced Swim and Safety levels. You now know, as we do, that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children ages 1-4, and the second leading cause in children ages 5-14. FINS is on a mission to change those statistics and by committing your child in swim lessons, so are you! Each skill learned in the Advanced Swim and Safety program is designed to coincide with safety skills simultaneously. The safety will progress as the skills do, becoming second nature or instinct for your child in/around the water.

Below you will find safety skills listed by level:

White FINS:

Students enrolled in our White FINS program will focus on many safety skills including but not limited to: safety jumps from the side of the pool, getting from a vertical position to a back float, forward movement swimming with multiple rolls to float, and elementary backstroke!

• Safety Jumps (sometimes called Monkey Toes) – before exiting White FINS, students will be able to safely and independently jump from the side of the pool, return to the wall and climb out, all without goggles. This skill is an advanced form of the ‘fall and get to the wall’ (or ‘Humpty Dumpty’) that students learned in our Intro to Swim and Safety or Baby programs.
• Vertical Position to a Back Float – This is an important skill to master. In addition to being able to roll over from a prone swimming position, it’s important for students to learn how to get their bodies from a vertical position to a comfortable back float. This is another safety skill that can be a life-saving measure if they are unable to safely swim back to a wall, or if they need rest while getting to a wall.
• Multiple Roll to Float – As swim distance increases, we remind students that when they get tired or need air they can simply roll to their back and rest as long as needed while making their way safely to a wall. Along with rest, we teach them that this is an opportunity to call for help if needed.
• Elementary Backstroke – Now that your child has mastered the back float, our instructors will teach them the elementary backstroke, aka ‘tickle-airplane-soldier,’ to be able to move through the water on their back.

Blue FINS:

Students enrolled in our Blue FINS program will focus on safety skills, including but not limited to: safety jumps with a back float, increased distance for multiple rollovers and getting from a vertical position to a back float.

• Safety Jumps – Before exiting Blue FINS, students will be able to safely and independently jump from the side of the pool, roll to a back float, roll back and swim to the wall without goggles. 
• Vertical Position to a Back Float – In addition to being able to roll over from a prone swimming position, students will continue to build strength to get their bodies from a vertical position to a comfortable back float. This is another safety skill that can be a life-saving measure if they are unable to safely swim back to a wall  or if they need rest while getting to a wall.
• Multiple Roll to Float – As swim distance continues to increase, we remind students when they get tired or need air, they can simply roll to their back and rest while making their way safely to a wall. Along with rest, we teach them that this is an opportunity to call for help if needed.
• Kicks on back-now that they know how to move through the water on their back with elementary backstroke, we build on that by teaching them how to kick while on their back. In a self-rescue event, this will hopefully be another tool to help get them safely to the wall even quicker.

Bronze FINS:

Students in our Bronze FINS program will focus on safety skills, including but not limited to: a one-arm lead backstroke and strengthening roll to float with consecutive timed rollovers.

• One Arm Lead Backstroke – As students continue to learn the backstroke, we introduce the one arm lead so that their hand touches the wall first and not their head.
• Consecutive Timed Rollover – In preparation for learning side-breath, students can now use their roll to back float skills to take a quick breath between strokes and then roll back over and continue swimming.

Silver FINS:

Students enrolled in our Silver FINS classes will focus on safety skills involving the backstroke.

• Backstroke count – Like the one arm lead in Bronze FINS, the backstroke count is used to make sure a student safely approaches the wall. Students are taught to count the number of strokes it takes them from the flags to the wall. Once they know this number, they begin their count from the flags. Upon reaching their stroke count, they use a one-arm lead into the wall to prevent hitting their head.

Gold FINS:

Students enrolled in our Gold FINS classes will increase their endurance and learn how to tread water for safety.

• Treading Water – In addition to mastering swimming a full lap of the pool, students in the Gold FINS classes will learn  to tread water for 30 seconds. This will allow them to keep their head above water in areas where they cannot touch the bottom. Treading water can be used to  take a rest and get air or to call for help.

Be on the lookout for our email next week where we discuss swim progression in our Advanced Swim and Safety classes.

Advanced Swim & Safety Lessons: 1-on-1 & Group

We are thrilled that you have chosen FINS as your swim school! FINS is a locally owned, family-run business with a big passion for teaching water safety and developing a love for swimming. By giving the gift of swim lessons to your child, you have taken an amazing step forward joining us  in the fight against the drowning statistics. Did you know that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children ages 1-4 and the 2nd leading cause in children ages 5-14? Drowning is preventable. 

FINS has been around for over 20 years. Throughout that time, we have taught thousands of babies to learn to swim. Our goals remain the same while our methods vary over time since we are constantly finding ways to advance our techniques while providing a safe and fun environment for you and your little one.

Read on and learn a bit more about what you and your child have to look forward to while swimming with FINS!

SAFETY-SWIM ENDURANCE-FUN!

These are the foundational elements of our unique  Advanced Swim and Safety program. So let’s talk a little more about those words and how we use them in our White FINS, Blue FINS, Bronze FINS, Silver FINS, and Gold FINS classes!

SAFETY-

We mentioned at the beginning of this email that drowning is the LEADING cause of accidental death in children ages 1-4, and the 2nd leading cause in children ages 5-14. FINS is on a mission to reduce and even eliminate that statistic! Throughout their lessons we will practice many advanced safety techniques and continue to build on; swim endurance, stroke technique, various self-rescue skills and learning and memorizing safety rules!

SWIM ENDURANCE-

Learning self-rescue techniques are very important for young kids in case they fall in the water near a wall or ledge. As kids get older, however, their swimming skills become more advanced and they become more and more brave which means they may play in the pool for hours with friends. Possibly even going out on boats into open waters at a lake or ocean. Swimming uses muscles throughout your entire body AND requires unique breathing techniques (since we aren’t fish and we can’t breathe underwater). These are the things we mean when we say ‘swim endurance.’ During our Advanced Swim and Safety levels students will continue to build on their swim endurance until they can easily swim the length of a pool, independently and with confidence. In addition, we will teach them how to tread water for those times when they can’t quite touch the bottom!

FUN-

Did you know that FINS in an acronym for Fun IN Swimming? Our passion is for swimming AND for kids.  We want all kiddos to leave each lesson talking about how much fun they have had! We find creative ways to incorporate fun into all of our swim levels and in our facility. We know kids learn best when they are having fun and we hope they want to come back week after week. So expect some fun to happen each time you come to FINS!

Be on the lookout next week for an email where we dive in deeper about FINS water safety techniques that students will be learning in our Advanced Swim and Safety Program!