Hi, Mark here – I hope you've had a great week!

Many children – and adults – learn to swim faster when they stop feeling like they're being taught and start feeling like they're simply playing.

That's why games and play can be such powerful teaching tools.

For parents, playful activities help children relax, use their imagination, and forget the fears and anxieties that often come with learning to swim.

For swimming teachers, games transform lessons into engaging, confidence-building experiences that are both more enjoyable and more effective.

That's exactly why I've included my book, Teach Your Child to Swim Using Games and Play, in the Silver Swimming Teacher Toolkit.

Inside, you'll discover:

✓ 60 tried-and-tested swimming games

✓ Activities that require little or no equipment

✓ Games covering all the core skills – breathing, floating, submerging, gliding, kicking, and pulling

✓ Ideas suitable for parents, beginner swimmers, and swimming teachers alike

Whether you’re teaching your own child or a group of beginners, you’ll find games and ideas that make every splash count.
👉 Click here to explore the Silver Swimming Teachers Toolkit and see what’s inside.​

Or if you simply want to get straight to the book:

This Week's Free Swimming Tip

Learning to Go Underwater – One Step at a Time

Learning to submerge underwater is one of the most important foundation skills in swimming. It's also one of the biggest confidence hurdles many beginners face.

The good news is that learning to go underwater doesn't have to be rushed.

By breaking the process down into small, achievable steps, parents and teachers can help beginners build genuine confidence in the water.

Stage 1: Getting Comfortable with Water on the Face

Begin by gently splashing water onto the face and encouraging relaxed breathing.

Stage 2: Partial Face Submersion

Progress to dipping the mouth, nose, and eyes under the water for short periods.

Stage 3: Full Submersion and Swimming Underwater

Once confidence grows, complete submersion and short underwater swims become much easier and far less intimidating.

This gentle, staged approach helps swimmers overcome fear and develop confidence that lasts.

​👉 Read the full step-by-step guide to learning to go underwater here.​

That’s it for this week. Stay curious, stay inspired, and keep making a splash - whether you’re teaching, learning, or playing!

Happy swimming!

Cheers

Mark

​Swim Teach​

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