Pre School Lessons
A small boy in PS1 is showing extreme signs of fear on the first day. The father attempts to encourage the boy to get in the pool with no success. You try to talk to the boy, but the father loses his patience and picks the child up and tells you he is just going to throw him in. What should you do?
You should explain to the father that throwing him in will exacerbate the fear he is already showing and that you would prefer to work with him on the side.
If you ever have a parent throw their child in before you can speak to them, or choose to ignore you, you should always fill out an incident report and inform the coordinators or director immediately.
At what level should a child be able to swim 15 yards on their front?
3: Water Stamina
Is it acceptable to charge a private lesson for a lesson if they do not show up and do not contact you until 30 minutes before the lesson?
The first time they no-show we want to wait 15 minutes and clock in for that time. Make sure to follow up and confirm the next lesson. Communication is a 2-way street. Go the extra mile and confirm if you know they have alot going on. Make sure that you gently remind them of the cancellation policy and don't forget to comment in Paycom!!!
If it occurs a second time, you can charge for the whole lesson, but you must contact the aquatic director or coordinators so that they can address the situation! Your time is valuable.
**Keep in mind that we want to use our common sense. If there is a family emergency, it may lead to a better relationship if you can give them the benefit of the doubt. There is also the probability that if you are flexible with them (WITHIN REASON) that they will be flexible with you if the situation were reversed**
Do you get paid to fill out progress reports?
YES!
Every 3 progress reports, you get paid for 5 minutes time. When you put this in paycom, you MUST comment how many reports you completed or it cannot be counted.
A patron comes in to the leisure pool while you are setting up for your next lesson. They park their wheel chair right in the stairs and start to get into the pool. How should you deal with this situation?
A)Leave it. That's a lifeguard problem.
B)Explain to the patron that we cannot block the stairway and ask if you can move their chair to a safer location.
C)Move the chair while she is looking the other direction so the patron is not embarassed
D)Push the emergency button. This is outside of my wheelhouse. I deal with kids, not old people.
B) If the lifeguard is in a situation where they CANNOT deal with this situation, you can steop in and help but it is not your responsibility. When dealing with patrons with wheelchairs, walkers or canes, remember that their mobility device is an extension of themselves and without it they can't move. We want to make it so that they are as close to their device as they want to be, but we do have to keep the pool area safe.
If you are speaking to someone in a wheelchair, get down to eye level, don't talk down to them.
When teaching Pre School Level 5 vs Grade School Level 5, how should the skills look different?
THEY SHOULD NOT!
Only the endurance changes! We have to hold the same standards to ensure that kids move up levels appropriately.
You have a YS2 who will not put their face in the water but does have good endurance while swimming with their head up. They have a running motion with their kick but their body position is mostly horizontal.
Should this child be moved up to Stage 3?
No. If a child will not put their eyes in at all, that limits submersion, front glides and jumping. This indicates that the child is uncomfortable still and it needs to be dealt with before they can move up a level.
If you have a private lesson scheduled for 3:30 PM and you show up at 3:15 to put out your equipment and then work on progress notes for another class while you wait, what time should you clock in at?
3:30
Private lessons are a much higher wage. Included in that wage is the few minutes it takes to pick up and put away equipment. This means that you do not get an extra 15 minutes before any private lessons.
How many classes is it acceptable to sub out in a session?
No more than 2.
To provide the best lessons possible, we need to be consistent instructors. Not only does that mean the same instructor every week but having the same standards of passing, same stroke requirements, etc.
If you are going to miss more than 2 weeks in a session, and especially if you aren't sure, you are probably better off as a sub. There are plenty of sub opportunities!
A patron who you know has a developmental disability is swimming laps in the lap pool. Your lesson is starting in 5 minutes in the lane they are swimming in. What should you do?
A) Wait until they get to the wall and tap them on the head to get their attention.
B) Jump in the lane in front of them to get their attention
C) Shout random sounds until they stop swimming and then stare at them like a creeper until they move.
D)Wave a kickboard in the water as they approach the wall and wait for them to stop swimming. Once they stop, explain the situation in short phrases. Then help them find another lane to swim in.
D) People with developmental delays are not necessarily slow to understand. Sometimes the order of phrases or the length can throw off their understanding.
Always use short phrases and try to keep it simple. Do NOT touch them without permission. Physical touch can set off episodes of anxiety or anger. Try to eliminate distractions when possible.
What does Flip, Float, Follow refer to?
A) Making pancakes
B) Trapeze artistry
C) Duckling swim lessons
D) Openwater safety
Our proximity to the lake makes us a huge line of defense for open water safety. We are going to start including this in our safety week.
Flip-Flip over and lay on your back
Float-float on top of the water, keep your head up, stay calm and conserve energy
Follow-Follow the current, DO NOT try to swim against it or out of it; swim parallel to shore until the current breaks; keep trying to signal for help
Act out the following scenario: You go to give a certificate to a parent on the last day of your YS 3 Class. The parent, on reading that you want the child to repeat level 3, blows up angrily, saying, "You instructors can't teach anything. My kid has been in this level 3 times and hasn't learned anything!"
There are several things you can do to back yourself up to avoid this situation. You should have:
1) Your progress tracker with detailed notes about what the child has progressed on and what still needs work
2) A completed and professional certificate showing what the child has accomplished and what they need to work on.
You can say, I'm sorry you feel that way, and I can understand your frustration. (Student Name) has actually showed alot of progress this session in (list accomplished tasks and refer to progress tracker; SHOW THEM WHAT YOU WROTE). My concern for (Student Name) is that he/she cannot execute this skill and in my experience this leads to a lack of confidence which will hold him/her back if we move him/her up prematurely.
If they are still upset, you can refer them to a supervisor, coordinator or director.
**If you refer them to one of those people, you had better have something to back yourself up; blank progress trackers give us nothing to work with**
Can you hold private lessons during Silver Splash or Aqua Arthritis classes?
No. The enrollment is so high in both classes that there will not be space to hold a private lesson.
When we do hold private lessons in a time slot shared with a class or with patrons, we want to be as respectful as possible while maintaining the space we need to teach an effective lesson.
What should you do if you cannot make it to either instructor inservice because you are going on vacation for a week to Australia to participate in the Running of the 'Roos?
A)Put a message on the group me but go anyway if you can't get subs
B)You have had tickets for 6 months because it's Australia. You started looking for coverage 5 months, 3 weeks and 6 days ago. You got most everything covered very quickly using group me because you covered for a lot of people and when you had trouble you went down the entire phone list and got to Rachel, who covered your last shift. You went to Australia and had a great time and only got kicked by 1 kangaroo.
C) Text 3 people and ask 3 people in person. If no one will take any, tell Phyllis that you texted everyone and no one would cover
D)Email, call and text the same person 45 times until they give up and take your shifts
B)
It should be noted that c occurs very commonly and is not the least bit amusing. Finding sub coverage is YOUR responsibility. Just because you are going on vacation or even that you are sick gives you a free pass to not look for a sub
Not fully attempting to find coverage for your shifts will result in a write up. If you text EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THE PHONE LIST and cannot get a response, ONLY THEN are you allowed to go up the chain for help. That is your due diligence for finding a sub.
You have a child in group lessons who is always accompanied by her grandmother into lessons. Your grandmother shares that she has a seizure disorder. Three weeks later, in the middle of the lesson, you notice the child's eyes go blank and she loses her grip on the wall. Her face slips under the water. What should you do?
Get the attention of the lifeguard so that they can activate the EAP. Hold the child on top of the water until the seizure abates.
Should you ever take pre school levels 1-3 into the lap pool and have them jump off of the blocks?
No. There is no educational benefit at those levels for jumping from a height and their lack of body control makes it much riskier for them to jump.
Start blocks are used for competitive starts and should be used as such. The only benefit of having them jump from a height is to prepare them to dive from a height. If they are not close to that level, they should only be allowed to jump from the deck level.
If a child is capable of doing the strokes correctly but does not have the endurance to pass the level, should we allow them to move up to the next level?
NO! They need both the endurance and the skill to be able to successfully complete the level.
Remember, moving a child up prematurely is very likely to do more harm than good. If they are not confident in their skills and notice they are behind other children, they are not likely to succeed moving forward.
What is the difference between a private and a semi-private lesson?
A private lesson is a lesson where the instruction is 1-on-1. A semi-private is a lesson where is shared with no more than 3 participants.
Private lessons currently cost $62 for 4 for members whereas 4 semi-private lessons are $48 for each participant. Keep this in mind for billing purposes. Lesson prices are at the bottom of private lesson log.
What are our highest risk swim lessons that we offer? Why?
Childcare, Splash, H20
Swim lessons where the parent is not present are the most high risk lessons because we do not have a 1 on 1 surveillance back up.
We have to be EXTREMELY careful as to how far we push kids when their parents are not present. They will be more stressed, especially the first few lessons.
We will always encourage our students to try but we will NEVER force them to do a skill.
You are waiting for your next swim lesson when a girl walks up to you complaining that she hit her head? How should you respond?
A) Run around screaming and flailing your arms so that people know something is wrong?
B)Tell her she is probably fine and ask where her parent is
C) Have her follow your finger with her eyes to see if she has a concussion
D) Activate the EAP, secure the child and call for help to find her parent or guardian
D) When a child says that they hit their head, we have to respond by assuming that they have a head injury. Ask the child to hold still but find out where the parent is located. Send another guard or bystander to find the parent after activating the EAP and make sure you secure them until EMS arrives.
We are not trained to treat differently whether they have a concussion or not, so a concussion test is irrelevant. We are more concerned with the general question of whether they have a head injury.
When dealing with head injuries with children, always clear the area to avoid distractions for them and make sure you get the parent's consent.
Should you teach diving in the leisure pool?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! The only type of diving that is remotely allowed is teaching a sit dive in the deep end of the leisure pool.
6 ft is not deep enough to teach any other type of diving. If you have a taller child or a child who tends to go straight towards the bottom, take them to the lap pool.
Kneeling dives are not taught until level 5. Pre school level 5 classes are encouraged to split time between the lap and leisure pool to ease the transition into grade school lessons and level 6 lessons.
Act out the following scenario: You are teaching YS4 in the lap pool and you have a child who refuses to listen. You have warned him multiple times to keep his hands on the wall in the deep end and he refuses to listen. Every time you try to speak to him he goes underwater. How should you respond?
You can put tap his hand lightly when he comes up to get his attention then explain that he is going to have to sit out. Use your Q 1/2.
Q:Ask if they know what they are doing and then state and EXPLAIN the rule
1: First warning-explain again and inform them of the consequences
2: State what they did and then either sit them out for however minutes equate to their age.
If they are consistently causing problems every lesson, you need to engage the swim lesson coordinator and the parent to solve the situation.
Conversely, if they successfully wait their turn without incident, make sure to praise them! Good job waiting!
Act out the following scenario: You have a private lesson and the parent wants you to babysit for her 8 children on the side because you get along with the children so well. You did not know them before working at the y. You tell them that you cannot, but they insist it will be fine, and that they won't tell anyone.
You must insist. If you work for the Y and you then find clients for your side business of babysitting, that is employee contact outside of the Valpo Y and is against our child abuse prevention policy (see pg. 31 of the staff handbook). It is also a conflict of interest (pg 31 staff handbook).
Why do we teach children to blow bubbles instead of hold their breath when they are swimming?
A) Because blowing bubbles keeps pool water out of their mouths
B) Because if they hold their breath too long they will pass out
C) Because blowing bubbles is cool
D)Because Phyllis told me I have to, and Phyllis is my boss so I do what she tells me
Technically all of these answers are correct, and you should always listen to your boss, but the correct answer is B.
When children learn to hold their breath while swimming, they are not able to build up a good lung capacity because CO2 builds up more rapidly when you are not exhaling. As they practice more and do more strenuous activity, you increase the likelihood of shallow water blackout.
**If you pass a child out of Stage 1 and they cannot put their entire face in the water and blow bubbles, you are doing them a disservice!!! And you are doing a disservice to your fellow instructors**
You have a child who refuses to try anything. You have tried bribing them, letting them go first, begging them, having them sit out, and nothing works. What should you do?
A)Have them sit out for the rest of the day. Trying to teach them is useless
B) Call the swim lesson coordinator and tell them the child needs to switch classes
C) Cry. You suck at teaching. Cookie Monster could do a better job
D) Try to meet with the parent before and after lessons to get them involved.
D) Parents might be able to give you insight into why the child doesn't want to do a skill, and what might be able to motivate them. They can also bribe them with better bribes than you can.