Making Swimming Child's Play!
SwimaSaurus is a new comprehensive swimming resource designed to make swimming an enjoyable and accessible experience for children, parents and caregivers. Our mission is to become a trusted provider of immersive and educational materials to enhance the swimming experiences of babies and toddlers.
After qualifying as a swimming teacher, I quickly identified the common challenges faced by both swim teachers and parents. For parents, it's the lack of a compelling reason to justify getting themselves and their baby wet for 30 minutes, to then manage wet items, dry items, and a hungry baby.
And for swim teachers, a challenge commonly faced is finding methods and tools to best engage and communicate effectively to the youngest of audiences. Where development can be so varied and unique from child to child. It's no surprise that swim teachers have no other option than to bring swimming to life with unrelated characters; for example, the use of Rubble, from Paw Patrol, digging motion to teach a young child the front crawl paddle. Arguably this is an effective method of teaching as many studies have concluded the benefits of using imitation when learning a new skill[1] but the issue is that it lacks scope and structure beyond that one character and one movement within swimming.
But what if the industry found its identity, direction to introduce and eventually deliver swimming lessons. What if teachers and parents had the opportunity to pull in the same direction. Reading bedtime stories at home which then could extend to instructor led swim classes in the swimming pool? What if there were a set of universal, swim-specific characters, living in a captivating world, that make everything fun, meaningful, and ready to go? No time wasted, and why not? Swimming is a life-saving skill after all.
Welcome to Swimasaurus! The SwimaSaurus programme takes pride in its mission to "make swimming child's play!" Initially, through imaginative storytelling captured in books, with the ability to progress these concepts to the poolside within structured adventures supporting a qualified swimming teacher to deliver early years learn to swim classes.
Flo the SwimaSaurus is the face of this world, embodying a nurturing and helpful spirit. She exudes water confidence and serves as a positive role model. Children who develop greater confidence in the water can learn to "go with Flo."
Dot the Whizzywig, on the other hand, is our second main character. She is charming and relatable, designed to engage and inspire. Initially, Dot displays a cautious and hesitant nature, particularly around new experiences. Children who connect with Dot can learn to "do it with Dot."
When creating the Adventures From Bluestone Island book series, we believed that children should be able to establish a connection with our characters because if a child can relate, they are more likely to engage and learn[2].
Following the successful pilot of SwimaSaurus at a recent swim-related conference, we are seeking to welcome children, parents and caregivers to the shores of Bluestone Island in 2026. We are confident that Swimasaurus will serve as a timeless, valuable platform for generations to embark on their learn-to-swim journey.
Drawing inspiration from the nature of water, we believe that learning to swim can be likened to its own dynamic behaviour. Without adequate stimulus it can be stagnant, still, and eventually turn murky and hazardous. But give water a direction, time, and Flo, the journey to finding the sea can potentially unlock an ocean of possibilities in the future!
Our mission is to create an engaging and enriching learning experience for children, parents and caregivers. We encourage you to follow us on social media at @swimasaurus for updates on our progress and opportunities to see the products in action. For more information regarding official book releases or anything else we warmly welcome you to contact us via hello@swimasaurus.com.
Until next time Toodle Pip!
Cally Jupe
Creator of Swimasaurus
References
[1] https://birthto5matters.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Symbolic-play.pdf
[2] https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/five-essential-tips-teaching-very-young-children-english
Images provided by SwimaSaurus
About the Author: Cally Jupe
