Lessons

Isn’t it great when your kids try something new and love it? That was my experience when one of our Sponsors, Lil Swimmers, Inc., a company specializing in South OC swim lessons for kids, invited my little ones to try a lesson in Laguna Niguel. They are also offering Tiny Oranges readers a free trial swim lesson as well, details below!

My daughter Georgia is 4 years old and has never taken a swim lesson before (I know, I’m a little late to the party, but please don’t judge!). So, when I pulled up to Michelle’s home to take our first swim lesson I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect.

Luckily, Michelle, the owner and instructor of Lil Swimmers, Inc. was patient and caring with my newbie and helped get her acclimated with the water.

Within 15 minutes she was floating unassisted. Disclaimer: she was probably floating on her own for only a couple of seconds, but I was still wildly impressed!

After my lesson I asked Michelle a few questions that I thought would be helpful for anyone looking for a great place to take their kids in South OC for swim lessons.

Interview with Owner/Swim Instructor,
Michelle of Lil Swimmers  

I see from your website FAQ’s that the Red Cross suggests starting lessons no earlier than 6 months. What age do you recommend parents start swim lessons? Do you have a favorite age to teach?

The Red Cross suggests 6 months, but at that age the class is a parent and me class, it’s all about getting comfortable in the water and educating parents on ways to hold their children in the water to help facilitate future learning.  It’s a fantastic building block but by no means required. 

The real learning to swim without assistance takes place around 15-18 months.

For any family with a pool or water on their property, I strongly suggest starting swim lessons by this age.  Having a pool at my home, my own kids were in the water as early as 4 months and safe enough for me to sit on the edge and watch them play by 18 to 20 months.

My favorite age is probably 18-24 months; they’re so cute and their personalities are really forming. Even though they are still so young, they are also very capable. And I just love their little voices!

Older children are great for different reasons; with the big kids I’m able to explain things to them and know that they’re getting it. I love seeing the quick progress of their strokes and observing the bonds formed with fellow swimmers.

You offer both private and group lessons, what would you say are the benefits and challenges (if any) to both options?

Private lessons are great because the child learns quicker, but they are expensive.  And the child doesn’t get to watch and learn from a peer.  They also don’t get to play as much when they are by themselves.  What’s great, is that our semi private lessons only have 2 children sharing 30 minutes.  I feel parents get the best of both worlds!

What can parents do to help their kids learn to love and respect the water?

Start at bath time, don’t be shy about getting your child’s face wet in the bath.  One of the biggest challenges instructors face with new students is that the child doesn’t like to get their faces wet.

The more comfortable they are with this simple step, the better.  Another easy thing parents can do is to discuss the lessons and the instructor in a positive way. Hearing how proud their parents are, really encourages the kids.

What made you want to become a swim instructor?

I became a swim instructor because of my love of the outdoors, the water, and kids.

When my husband and I moved into our home, I was not working.  He encouraged me to find something that I could be passionate about instead of just looking for available jobs.  He kept telling me to do what I love instead of looking for a position to fill. 

As a child, I lived in the water.  We had a pool and water skied as a family.  Teaching lessons started out as more of a hobby.  Luckily, I was good at it and really enjoyed the kids and their families.  Once I had my own kids, I had a better understanding of the importance of water safety and the service that I was providing.  I have made great friends with many of the parents that I’ve met.  I feel so fortunate to have my work.

I love that answer! There’s nothing better than making a living at something you love. Kudos to your husband for being so encouraging. Okay, last question. I love the calm, balanced approach you have to teaching kids to swim. Do you have any go to tricks you use if the child is struggling with nerves in the water?

For any kids struggling with nerves, be calm and consistent.  They need to feel secure, and I do that by using gentle words and by holding them in a way that makes them feel that you are in control and that you will take care of them.

Often, I see instructors try to make the kids happy by trying to make them laugh or distract them.  I don’t think that is the right approach.  They are terrified for their lives and it should be acknowledged.  They need to know that the person in charge is confident and trustworthy.

Our instructors tell the children exactly what’s going to happen and when, so that the child quickly learns what the expectations are.  There are no surprises. Once they are comfortable, then everyone has more fun!

Michelle, thanks so much for your sharing your answers with us. I’ve learned a lot about your teaching style and I think our readers have too.

Free Trial for Tiny Oranges Readers

Now for the best part. Michelle has generously offered all Tiny Oranges readers a free trial swim lesson at Lil Swimmers if you call now through June 30th, 2013 and mention this post!

www.oclilswimmers.com

South Orange County Swim Lessons
Laguna Niguel

949.337.8458

Michelle Coulston
oclilswimmers {at} gmail.com

[Disclosure: Lil Swimmers, Inc. is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor and I received a complimentary lesson to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own!]

Can you believe it’s almost September!?!  First day of school outfits, packed lunches, backpacks full of crisp new folders and freshly sharpened pencils, and a clean slate of academic opportunity!  Varsity Tutors is here to help ease your student back into the school year and to help them put their smartest foot forward.

Is your child in a large class size at school?  Would s/he benefit from some added personal one-on-one attention to help them through some of their more challenging subjects?

Serving all of the Los Angeles Metro area (which includes Orange County), Varsity Tutors works closely with students and their families to provide elite, one-on-one tutoring instruction that helps students reach their academic goals.  To start, they assess the specific student’s needs, select the best fitting tutor, and then monitor the student’s progress over time.

Varsity Tutors emphasize a positive learning atmosphere through engaging, personalized lessons, presented in the most easy to understand way to keep the students motivated on their road to success.

They are serious about the screening and qualification process when selecting their tutors, looking for:

Exceptional teaching skills demonstrated during thorough, in-person interview

Demonstration of expert-level knowledge of subjects during interview

Excellent communication skills

Ability to develop and teach individualized learning plans

High test scores (they verify them)

High grades (they verify them, too!)

Prior teaching and mentoring skills or credential

Background check

Friendly and personable demeanor

They have turned down potential tutors with perfect test scores because they weren’t effective enough at communicating difficult concepts in an easy to understand manner!

What I love is you can scroll through the available tutors on their site and see their picture, read a personal message from them and learn about their educational background to get a feel for your tutor before you meet them.

Then your Tutor will come to you in the comfort of your own home, or your can choose to meet at a library or anywhere else you find convenient.

Varsity Tutors is offering our Tiny Oranges Readers a discount!  Book before August 31st 2012 with promo code “Tiny Oranges” to receive $75 off a 24hr+ package.

If your child needs help with chemistry click here for a list of the Varsity Tutors specializing in the tricky subject.

Is your  child trying to get into a prestigious private K-8 school?  Varsity Tutors offers test prep for ISEE & SSAT test taking.

Or is your teen getting ready to take the ACT, SAT, PSAT or PLAN?  Varsity Tutors can help them achieve their highest score!

Or are you looking to go back to graduate school?  They also offer MCAT, GRE, LSAT, GMAT tutoring to get you ready…

Pricing ranges from $55-$65/hr for academic subjects and $65-$75 for test prep, with the hourly rate going down as you invest in more hours.

Click here for the Varsity Tutors’ Facebook Page.

And here to follow them on Twitter.

www.varsitytutors.com

[Varsity Tutors is a Tiny Oranges Partner we are excited to share with you in time for Back to School!]

Last week I checked off one of my Life List things. Life List = Bucket List but I prefer it as I think it sounds a little more uplifting, don’t you?!  And one of my Life List things was to take a horseback riding lesson.

(Side note: I had a bad experience on a horse one time on the beach in Ensenada when I was about 19 so I hadn’t been back in the saddle since and had always wanted to tackle this fear by taking a lesson the RIGHT WAY!)

And there is no better place in Orange County to do so than Ivy Gate Farm in San Juan Capistrano. Ivy Gate Farm is a hunter / jumper training facility in OC and trains people of all levels from children up to adults, beginner (like me) up to people that go to the top horse shows. I wrote about Ivy Gate HERE if you want more info on the amazing facility.

And it was completely exhilarating. I am also afraid it might be a tad addicting.  My experience is outlined in the short video above. Hope you enjoy!

[Disclosure: Ivy Gate Farm is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor.]

One of the things I love about my job is the fact that I get to learn about new things all the time.  Before this article, I didn’t know one thing about the equestrian world in OC, so when Ivy Gate Farm inquired about becoming a sponsor on Tiny Oranges, I thought what a unique place to be able to share with my readers!

I don’t know about you, but if my child exhibited an interest in horses and I wanted to sign her up for horse riding lessons, I wouldn’t know where to go.

That’s why I am very excited to introduce you to the fabulous Ivy Gate Farm nestled in the foothills of San Juan Capistrano, a family-oriented boutique farm offering riding lessons and training for those with a passion for horses.

I had the opportunity to visit in person last week and I was really looking forward to it because I had never been to a horse stable before.

Read More >>

My 4-year-old daughter Emma is in a Whiz Kids summer Zoo-phonics class in Corona del Mar and when she showed me what she was learning, I was so amazed, I thought I have GOT to do another post on this awesome program!  One day at home she started doing the letter sounds and actions and when I saw her galloping around the kitchen island (like a horse!) making a perfect “haa” sound like the letter “H” and being SO excited about it, I thought, WOW, not only was she learning the phonics of the letters, but she was having the BEST time doing it!

I always knew Whiz Kids was a very successful & popular program, but I didn’t really get what it was all about until Emma went to class.  One of the Whiz Kids Directors is my cousin, so I have known about Whiz Kids for years now. BUT my cousin is humble and I guess forgot to BRAG at Thanksgiving dinner about how seriously AMAZING their program is!    So I feel it is my obligation to share it with YOU!

Whiz Kids just started open enrollment now for the 2010-2011 school year, so if you are looking for a fun, and also extremely educational class to send your kiddos next year, you definitely have to check out this program.  They have classes for preschoolers through first grade… all small classes with personalized instruction in a very fun, enthusiastic, loving environment.

SO, what IS Zoo-phonics??

I didn’t know much about it other than it SOUNDED fun!  But now that I see how kids learn through Zoo-phonics, it is simply brilliant.  Simply, it is a way to teach kids to learn the SOUNDS the letters make by connecting them to letters via a symbol (an animal with a cute name), sound and action.  For example, B is for Bubba Bear, and the action is a bear reaching up grabbing honey, and tasting it.  So the kids see a “b” for Bubba and say “Buh, Buh, Buh” doing the action for Bubba reaching up for honey and tasting it.  So, anytime Emma sees a B, she will think of the sound.  Such a phenomenal foundation for remembering the letter sounds and starting the beginning stages of learning to read. Plus, I think by doing the action with the sound it activates different areas of the brain to reinforce the learning. It is really amazing.

Here are the kiddos practicing their alligator arms saying “ah!” for Allie Alligator…

Stress-free fine motor practice!

They also have fun activities for beginning writing and fine motor skills.  What I loved most is that it is TOTALLY stress-free, the teachers make it very relaxed and offer a lot of positive reinforcement.  So, after practicing the letters and sounds in a “circle time” sort of setting, they moved to the table to practice writing letters.

They had great little white boards with dry erase pens and erasers.  Miss Misty the teacher (LOVE HER!!) was so helpful and encouraging. She would go to each student and help direct them on how to write the letters.  They practice lower case, which is great, because I have been working with Emma at home on the upper case, but not lower case yet.  In fact, I didn’t even know the correct way to explain lower case, so as a parent I have also learned a lot of stuff we are practicing at home.  Here is one of the class cuties practicing her lower case “n”.

In addition to writing, they also use scissors to strengthen their fine motor skills. They cut little pieces of paper with letters, then match the letters on the paper with glue and practice writing the letter.  I didn’t realize until watching her 4-year-old tiny hands just how tricky learning to hold and work scissors can be!  This is great practice, and I have seen a bunch of improvement in just 4 classes.

Here are the kids practicing…

Each week, they get sent home with cute “homework” assignments of fun things to practice at home, in their own personalized little Whiz Kids bag.  It is just the cutest.  We have had fun doing the activities together.

This is the beginning!

What has impressed me the most is that this program really introduces kids to reading & writing in a fun, positive, interactive way.   I think if you can teach kids to LOVE learning now, and to associate learning to read and write with a FUN experience, it helps set the stage for their outlook on learning as they embark on their years of education.  I feel so blessed Emma has had the opportunity to experience this program.  Just seeing the twinkle in her eye as she practices the letter sounds to me is PRICELESS!

Whiz Kids Early Literacy Program Orange County
www.whizkidscdm.com

{Disclosure:  Emma received a family discount to attend the summer program.}