What it is
Bread-and-butter skill for moving through shallow water (3–6 inches deep) on hands and feet with the body flat, encouraging face-in-water comfort and play.
Essentials
- "Lay flat, use feet to kick."
- "Walk on hands or elbows. Stay low to the surface of the water."
- "Kiss the water."
- "You can only 'walk' with one hand. The other must push against the water only."
- "Lay flat on your back in zero-depth water with ears underwater."
- Body flat, legs extended behind, arms in water, chin near surface; feet kick when moving.
Progression
- Start in super shallow portions.
- Move to deeper water.
- Add support when needed (e.g., swimmer rests head in instructor's hands).
What goes wrong
- Shoulders out of the water / body elevated: cue to stay flat and low to the surface.
- Using stairs instead of zero-depth or super-shallow areas: stairs are cramped, restrict movement, and create fear of falling into deep water.
How you know it worked
Swimmer stays engaged throughout a multi-step game, anticipates the next step, puts face in, kisses the water when picking up a toy, and makes big and little splashes on cue. At the Guppies level (ages 2–4) the swimmer can lay flat on back in zero-depth water with ears underwater, follow a three-step game like "Treasure Hunt," participate in a group activity like "Bake a Cake," and explore independently in chest-deep water with supervision.
How you teach it
Pool location matters: use spray-grounds, splash-pads, or zero-depth pools. The class belongs in the shallowest of shallow ends at your facility and generally should not be offered in traditional 3-foot-deep pools. The 3–6 inch depth keeps the swimmer safe while still requiring them to move through water rather than stand.
Putting ears in the water is troubling for beginners. Laying flat on the ground provides a safe feeling for an otherwise scary activity (back floats). Water should flow over the ears without discomfort or distraction; the body stays relaxed with the head resting peacefully on the ground. This is how you build tolerance before asking for unsupported back floats.
For 2–4-year-olds, alligator walks are the entry point to flat horizontal body posture, face-in-water, blowing bubbles, and front glides. They are also the first time a toddler moves through water walking on their hands, which builds the arm-deep-water comfort needed later.
Multi-step games do double duty. "Treasure Hunt" (sailors finding treasure and bringing it back to port) tests whether a toddler can follow instructions more complex than "go here, pick this up, put it there." If they can follow along, play, and do cued skills like going underwater to pick up each toy in a controlled way, they are ready for streamlines and front crawl. "Bake a Cake" tests group participation without anxiety, fear, or dominating the group—readiness for a deeper-water group lesson.
Introduce challenges while moving: the one-hand walk ("you can only walk with one hand; the other must push against the water only") keeps the swimmer thinking and engaged. Ask swimmers to "kiss the water" frequently to normalize face-in-water contact. The alligator walk race pairs one swimmer alligator-walking in shallow water against one running in chest-deep water; it teaches that pushing the water is not faster than gliding, and a face-in-water during the walk is a super bonus.
This is the most crucial class for the instructor to lay down in the water, get their head wet, and play. Laugh, smile, PLAY. A dry instructor produces a boring class; getting on the swimmer's level and joining in the fun is what makes the skill stick.