We Can Teach Math Skills & Physics in Swimming Lessons! |
Date: Feb 24-2006 |
Children in swimming lessons are repeatedly exposed to real life math problems and situations, as well as simple laws of physics. Here are some examples from simple math into geometry and physics.
Ordinal Numbers: Every time a child is asked to go first, second, third, etc., or they are asked to do one skill first and another second, that child is learning ordinal numbers.
Shapes: When we ask children to make shapes in the patterns they swim, or make big circle arms while swimming, we are helping them to recognize different shapes and develop their ability to understand geometry.
Whole Numbers: When we ask children to dive down and pick up two rings, or swim four laps, or float while we count to ten, they are learning their whole numbers.
Measurement: Children in swim lessons have lots of practice measuring depth and distance; their breath depends on it!
Weight & Resistance: When children experience the buoyancy and resistance that water offers while floating, swimming, and diving, children are learning about weight and weightlessness. An excellent swim instructor will teach how resistance increases with an increase in motion, and that perfect buoyancy occurs with little or no motion. As a child’s swimming skills increase, so does his/her understanding of drag, as that becomes one of the main concerns of both the swimmer and the coach. The less drag, the easier the swimmer’s task of propulsion. The swimmer also learns that for every action, there is a reaction, which may be positive or negative and often has everything to do with drag and resistance.
As you can see, the lessons start out pretty simple, but can and do advance to much higher thinking skills. On the whole, swimmers are often excellent students with higher GPA’s than the average athlete.
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