What it is
A beginner swimming activity in which the learner progressively puts their face in the water and blows bubbles through mouth and nose, done as part of supported glides, jumps, challenges, and games in a beginner's swim lesson.
Essentials
- "Build trust. Go slow."
- Progressive face-in-water: lips → chin → nose → eyes → forehead → eyebrows → whole head
- Blow bubbles with mouth, then with nose
- Always support the learner; never let go to let them fend alone
- Telegraph every action by demonstrating it first
- Build smiling joy into every early activity
Progression
- Put lips in the water
- Put chin in the water
- Blow bubbles with mouth
- Blow bubbles with nose
- Put nose in the water
- Put eyes in the water
- Put forehead in the water
- Put eyebrows in the water
- Put whole head in the water
What goes wrong
- Letting go of the swimmer to let them fend alone → Always support the learner with no surprises.
- Surprising the learner → Telegraph all actions: demonstrate clearly what will happen by doing it yourself or with another participant.
How you know it worked
The learner can put their whole head in the water and blow bubbles through both mouth and nose while you support them.
How you teach it
The instructor must be careful and loving throughout. The running dialogue is key: "Put your lips in the water. Put your chin in the water. Can you blow bubbles? Blow bubbles with your mouth. Can you blow bubbles with your nose?" Keep faces close together at arm's length, with the instructor's shoulders in the water and elbows straight, supporting the swimmer's hips or sides.
Underneath the bubble-blowing you are building body line, body posture, and arm position. The learner gets into the habit of putting their hands out in front for full extension, which is the basis for every front glide and float. Everything in the beginner group—parent-tot, level one—uses position 11 as the foundation, even if it is never named as a "position 11 drill."
The effort you put into the learner's positive experiences doing supported front glides will blossom into excited independent streamlines later. All activities lead to bravery. The time you take now to be careful and loving will create bravery later.
Blowing bubbles is a supplement to the essential skill of going underwater. Test going underwater; teach blowing bubbles as the supporting activity. For a quick explanation to a learner: close your mouth and hum underwater—air comes out of your nose. Done.