What a peculiar time we are all facing right now! One thing that I have really enjoyed about this craziness is the “together time” it has allowed our family to have! I hope you are finding the same thing for your family! We have watched movies, played games, worked on puzzles, cooked A LOT, and taken more family walks than we have ever done before!
My children are older now, so one thing I WISH we were doing together, but we aren’t, is reading books. I miss the days when we could snuggle up together on the couch and read story book after story book after story book. I remember before my kids could read themselves, we would read some of those books over and over and I would purposely skip pages so it would go faster…oh how I miss that now! I would LOVE to be able to go back in time and read the pages I skipped just so I could read with them more!
Maybe you are finding yourself with some extra reading time with your precious little ones these days. Maybe you need stories to read during your “library” time during your new “Homeschool” days. Well, I have some recommendations for you that are great books about SWIMMING!
I know we aren’t able to get together and have our VERY-MUCH-SO-MISSED swim lessons right now, but we can still read about swimming and water safety! Here are some books I think you should check out:
1. Clifford Takes a Swim Who doesn’t love the famous big red dog? The topic of swim lessons is brought to life in this book as Emily Elizabeth brings Clifford and her parents to swim class. This is one of the most fun books for toddlers and bigger kids alike, and it even highlights the importance of having a “Water Watcher” at the pool, so of course, I love it!
2. Froggy Learns to Swim Another series that most kids adore is the Froggy book series. In this story, Froggy is a very reluctant swimmer whose mom is trying to help him learn to swim (he’s a frog, after all!). Many little ones will relate to Froggy’s initial reluctance to swimming and will enjoy his journey to ultimately loving to swim.
3. Maisy Learns to Swim In this sweet story, Maisy the mouse is headed to go swimming for the first time with her friends. She’s nervous, and not sure what to expect. The story teaches kids about handling first experiences, and that learning to swim is a process that doesn’t happen overnight.
4. Peppa Goes Swimming Another one of the best swimming books I’ve found is Peppa Goes Swimming. This story about brother and sister pigs, Peppa and George, and covers some of the common fears about swimming that children tend to have. The parents must convince George to take a dip in the pool, but he’s scared! Kids will enjoy seeing how he gets past his fear, with the help and love of his parents and sister.
5. The Deep End The previous books on this list are primarily fun books for toddlers and slightly older kids, but this story is geared toward elementary or even middle school students. In the book, Becky is moving up to a new swim class level and must adapt to an unfamiliar class and new challenges, while facing her fears of the deep end of the pool. Older kids will understand how Becky feels, and get a kick out of following along with her inspiring and fun journey.
These are my favorite books to help you spark conversations with your children about swim safety and learning to swim…and still get that chance to snuggle with them on the couch! Enjoy it as long as you can!
Written by Tammy Schoen, Site Director, Houston Swim Club Sugar Land
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