Activity Report
Location: Korando Educational Center
Activity Date: 13.06.2024
Start Time: 2:30 AM End Time: 4:30 AM
Facilitators: Annabel Connolly, Jula Schlageter, Chloe Morrison, Laura Ridderbusch
Number of Participants: 24
Male: 8 Female: 16
Activity Purpose/ Summary:
We split into three groups, allowing the volunteers to focus on their own group. We started the swimming session by giving the children time to adjust to the water. We did this by splashing around and blowing bubbles into the water. Then we practiced holding onto the wall to get used to kicking our legs and making a big splash. After this, we used the long floats to lie on our backs and continued practicing kicking our legs to help build water confidence. We used swimming noodles to support our backs and made sure to look up at the sky. The children were very good at this and waited patiently when it was not their turn to swim. Lastly, we ended the session with a short playtime. The children had fun making big splashes and swimming around with the volunteers.
Personnel Input:
The volunteers demonstrated to the children how each activity should be conducted. For example, we showed the children how to safely use the swimming noodles to support our backs and how to keep our bodies up in the water. Jula helped divide the children into smaller groups so that the volunteers could pay closer attention to the children before them. We noticed this was a more effective approach to teaching the children of this age group as the volunteers could spend more time with each child individually. Chloe demonstrated how to hold onto the wall and kick our legs. Annabel ensured all the children got a chance to use the swimming noodles to help build confidence swimming on their backs. Laura was poolside capturing these moments by taking photographs. All volunteers stepped in when help was needed elsewhere, keeping a close eye on all the children.
Achievements:
This session, the children improved their water confidence by practicing swimming on their backs. By the end of the session, it was clear that many students were comfortable swimming and playing in the water. The volunteers also learned a lot, as we discovered that our approach to teaching needs to be tailored to the different grades and ages of the children.
Unanticipated Achievements:
We were pleasantly surprised at how excited the children were to participate in the session. With this being one of the first swimming lessons for PP1 and PP2, we assumed many would be scared. However, all the students showed great bravery and determination throughout the entire session, and many laughs were shared. Furthermore, all the children listened very well and felt comfortable enough to let each volunteer know when a break was needed.
Supporting Partners:
Korando Education Centre
