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Baby and Toddler Classes

Have you ever wondered when the right time is to introduce your baby to swimming, or how to make it fun and engaging? Well look no further….

“Hi, I’m Mali, I am the instructor of Parent and Baby and Tweenies at West Wight Sports and Community Centre. I am a mother of 4 children and I have been instructing the baby and toddler classes here at West Wight since January 2022. I know what you are thinking… What happens in these sessions? What facilities do you offer? What should I expect? Well… I’ve put together this little guide to answer all your burning questions.”

 

Our Baby and Toddler classes are weekly bookable sessions. As you arrive for your session at the sports centre you will pass through reception, here you will need to check in for the class. Our reception team can then guide you to our changing rooms.

We have male, female and family/disabled changing facilities. Each changing room is equipped with benches and individual changing cubicles, with the family/disabled changing room having larger, more spacious cubicles that can easily fit a family of 4. All changing rooms follow through to the pool.

If you have a pushchair, please leave it in the changing room, to one side, making sure it is out of the way and not occupying a cubicle making sure that the wheels are clean.

Infants are required to wear a swim nappy under their swimming costume during the session until fully potty trained. Swim nappies are also sold at reception for £1.50.

 

PARENT & BABY SWIM (8 weeks – 2 years)

Thursday’s – 09.00 – 09.45 & 09.45 – 10.30 (Term time only)

We start our session getting baby used to the water, for example, washing babies faces, having showers and splashing. We encourage you to join in with this as this encourages the babies to copy and be happy in the water.

Next, we move babies through the water, side to side, getting used to feeling the water move around them, then jumping up and down across the pool. We then move on to singing and copying actions along to familiar nursery rhymes. After this, we incorporate balls and noodles to encourage the first steps of front paddle and round up with a (slightly competitive) “horsey race”! Which is fun for all ages!

To finish the session, we incorporate the fun hour floats with more of your favourite nursery rhymes, including jelly on a plate, down at the station and the big ship sailing on the Ally-Ally-o!

Our older babies like to finish the session using the large floats as a “wobbly bridge” to walk across, this is a great confidence booster as well as developing and challenging their coordination, strength and balance when crawling and walking.

 

TWEENIES – 2 years – 4  years

Thursday’s – 10.30 – 11.00 (Term time only)

Tweenies is a 30-minute class where the toddlers enjoy games specifically designed to build on their water confidence using noodles, floats, sinkers and other pool toys.

We introduce water safety and the fundamental skills of each stroke as well as developing core aquatic skills.

We have motorbikes, horses, frogs on Lilypad’s and wild animals walking the wobbly bridge!

We zoom like superman across the pool with our pool floats and look for fish and mermaid friends under the water using goggles and pool safe mirrors!

Tweenies is fun, adaptable and can change week to week.

And that’s everything you need to know… if you have any more questions please don’t hesitate to ask. Either drop us an email at info@westwight.ork.uk or call us on 01983 752168.

 

Cost for all sessions:

£6 per session

£3 for every other sibling attending at the same session