[Fitness/Safety] uSwim Free online swim lessons

This summer we have been in a pool almost every day.  I have two kids who are water safe but two who are not.  Prior to summer starting I decided to offer a few swim lessons to some friends in an effort to get my own kids water safe as well.  I've never really put my older kids in swim lessons because I just taught them along the way and they eventually learned to swim.  My lifeguard job as a teenager required that I teach swim lessons during the summer so besides being a swimmer myself, I had a few extra resources to draw from to teach my own kids.

As I was refreshing some of my knowledge and planning out my swim lessons this time around, I came across this great resource called uSwim.com for parents to use to teach their kids how to swim. It covers all the basics and gives clear explanation and  supportive video.  It doesn't give you ideas for games and songs to incorporate with the little oneself make it more fun, but it teaches you step by step the stages for beginning swimmers, both infants/toddlers and school age children.  You can even print out the lesson plan of your choice.  

I think this is an amazing resource.  Of course, if you're not comfortable in the water yourself or if your child refuses to take lessons from you (like my 4 year old) then I would highly recommend swim lessons with a professional or a trusted friend.  My daughter was only capable of taking direction from "a swim teacher" (not her own mother), so went that route while I gave most of her preschool friends  individual lessons.  But we were all better off that way!

Check out uSwim.com for a great summer water safety resource.