THIS week I'm staying on the topic of frontcrawl, the easiest stroke for any child to pick up, and breathing.

A couple of fun things we look to do is Ring-a-Roses'.

If you all hold hands and start singing. When it comes to the "All fall down" encourage the child to go under the water. As you can see from the picture on the right the children seem to enjoy the game.

Going to McDonald's' is another game we play.

You hold on to the side of the pool and try to put your full face in. While under, you pretend with the children that they can get make believe milkshakes and food from the bottom of the pool. The children love this game and the amount milkshakes and food they have brought me back up from the bottom of the pool over the years would be the amount to fill a swimming pool.

The best way to practice putting the face in the water is with a float, holding on to both sides of the float.

The face goes in the water and then turns to the side, the "chin to shoulder" technique. Practising this helps the child to start their breathing technique, ready for putting it all back together with the full stroke.