Snorkeling, Dives, and Flip Turns
We've been plannning our vacation for later this summer and we think we may go snorkeling. D and I have been snorkeling before but the kids never have. So I thought a little practice beforehand might be a very good idea. Especially since we actually have snorkeling gear for them (long story - I wanted flippers for them and snorkeling kits were the easiest way to get flippers).
We got to the pool and the fun started. M tried to put the gear on before getting to the water. We finally got everything adjusted, then he had to walk/waddle to the edge of the pool in flippers. Not easy to do! Then he gets in and tries to adjust to the equipment. One fin fell off and he struggled a bit to get it back on. Next - try to swim with the snorkel. Hmmm - it seems that M often dips his head just deep enough to get water into the snorkel. Not so good. He did get better with practice, though.
Then it was A's turn to don his snorkel gear. We'd learned from M's experience and put it on right at the pool's edge. A had a hard time keeping water out of his mask. I think A's snorkel sat above his head a bit more - or else A keeps his head above water more - as he didn't have nearly the trouble keeping water out of his snorkel.
Both kids had to get used to the flippers - they wanted to bend their knees too much or something. Flippers really need a slow easy kick to be most effective.
Once they'd practiced with the flippers some, they took them off. A and I worked some on dives. I had him trying to dive off the steps, so that he would be less likely to belly flop. Or at least, when he did belly flop it wouldn't hurt as much, since his belly started fairly near the water. A girl who was playing on the steps there near us got a pretty good hang of diving too, listening to my instructions and trying it out. So I know the method works. A is starting to get the hang of diving. He had a few dives that looked really nice! We'll continue to work on diving - next time A says he's going to start on the top step and then dive off the side of the pool.
Meanwhile D and M were playing in the shallow end. D did several front flips in a row and challenged M to flip. M protested, saying that he got water up his nose. But then he realized that maybe it wouldn't with the mask, instead of his regular goggles. So M tried it and quickly mastered the front flip. He managed to do 5 in a row with the mask! Then D showed him the flip turn. Now, M's group had been working on flip turns in practice this past week, but M wouldn't try them. But with the mask he tried it. In just a few tries, he managed to get the hang of getting flipped around and turned over. The acid test was to try with the goggles. We reminded him to blow out his nose and he tried. And yes, he did it! Overall, he practiced it quite a few times trying to get the distance and flip and push off to all come together, but it worked. He has quite a decent flip turn now. He's going to show it off during practice tomorrow.
We got to the pool and the fun started. M tried to put the gear on before getting to the water. We finally got everything adjusted, then he had to walk/waddle to the edge of the pool in flippers. Not easy to do! Then he gets in and tries to adjust to the equipment. One fin fell off and he struggled a bit to get it back on. Next - try to swim with the snorkel. Hmmm - it seems that M often dips his head just deep enough to get water into the snorkel. Not so good. He did get better with practice, though.
Then it was A's turn to don his snorkel gear. We'd learned from M's experience and put it on right at the pool's edge. A had a hard time keeping water out of his mask. I think A's snorkel sat above his head a bit more - or else A keeps his head above water more - as he didn't have nearly the trouble keeping water out of his snorkel.
Both kids had to get used to the flippers - they wanted to bend their knees too much or something. Flippers really need a slow easy kick to be most effective.
Once they'd practiced with the flippers some, they took them off. A and I worked some on dives. I had him trying to dive off the steps, so that he would be less likely to belly flop. Or at least, when he did belly flop it wouldn't hurt as much, since his belly started fairly near the water. A girl who was playing on the steps there near us got a pretty good hang of diving too, listening to my instructions and trying it out. So I know the method works. A is starting to get the hang of diving. He had a few dives that looked really nice! We'll continue to work on diving - next time A says he's going to start on the top step and then dive off the side of the pool.
Meanwhile D and M were playing in the shallow end. D did several front flips in a row and challenged M to flip. M protested, saying that he got water up his nose. But then he realized that maybe it wouldn't with the mask, instead of his regular goggles. So M tried it and quickly mastered the front flip. He managed to do 5 in a row with the mask! Then D showed him the flip turn. Now, M's group had been working on flip turns in practice this past week, but M wouldn't try them. But with the mask he tried it. In just a few tries, he managed to get the hang of getting flipped around and turned over. The acid test was to try with the goggles. We reminded him to blow out his nose and he tried. And yes, he did it! Overall, he practiced it quite a few times trying to get the distance and flip and push off to all come together, but it worked. He has quite a decent flip turn now. He's going to show it off during practice tomorrow.
posted by owlfan at 5:04 PM
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