A proposal for swim teaching practice for 4- and 5-year-old children at a childcare facility, and support for their diverse learning -Swimming of children floating, controlling the breath, and moving forward in water

Abstract

This paper proposes a swim teaching practice for children aged 4 and 5 years at a childcare facility, and support for their diverse learning at the facility. First, we discuss the content of the “water activity instruction plan” prepared by two nursery teachers certified as “Japan Sport Association Swimming Coach 1” based on their own teaching experience and actual situations in the childcare facility, and their childcare intention. Then, we examine the educational validity and its spillover effect from the result of instruction by nursery teachers who do not have Swimming Coach qualification based on the “water activity instruction plan”. Lastly, we discuss the diversified learning and growth expected from the “water activity instruction plan”. The learning that can be expected from the systematically planned water activity instruction plan presented in this paper can be assumed as various kinds of learning associated with development of other regions and of non-cognitive abilities, in addition to those related to the childcare content “health”. In particular, the fact that it is positioned as an activity that can fully satisfy the willingness to take on challenges is considered to be useful for the development of swimming instruction.