You probably remember that one great teacher from your past. Perhaps it was a soccer coach, a third-grade teacher or the high school counselor who believed in you when you weren’t sure of yourself. No matter who your childhood mentors were, you will always remember your favorite teacher and what they did for you. It is the hope of Little Otter that our teachers will impact each and every student with life-saving skills and rank as one of those memorable teachers in your child’s life.
Practicing patience, safety and most of all fun, Little Otter teachers are trained in early childhood development. Each instructor completes Otter University, where they learn the best practices for swimming lesson philosophies and techniques. Not until they have completed 40 hours of classroom, in-water instruction, and shadowing experienced teachers, will an instructor be given their own class.
Separated by age and later skill sets and technique, Little Otter swimming classes cater to the development of children of all ages. Our instructors recognize that infants behave and learn completely differently from a five year old. That one is obvious but they also understand the difference a 4 year old and a 5 year old and how those 2 children learn best. They teach age-appropriate skills, allowing children to develop and learn at levels that provide the greatest opportunity for successful swimming.
While the training and experience are crucial components for effective teaching, truly impacting a swimmer cannot be done without a genuine affection for children. Little Otter instructors delight in seeing children smile, laugh, swim and most important, improve and complete each skill they are taught. The earliest classes involve parents and their infants, who the instructors enjoy having at their side. Older students are without parents and must form a tight bond with their swim teacher.
Learning to trust their instructors doesn’t always come easy for children, however. The staff at Little Otter understands this is a delicate relationship and therefore focuses their efforts on bonding with swimmers through patience and positive reinforcement. It is the love and affection for children and childhood development that inspires students as well as creates an award-winning staff.
Little Otter instructors Laurel Routledge, Yancy Guzman, Christl Ray, Rachel Ingram, Richard Micham, Robin Varner and Victoria Gordon-Damaso recently received the Outstanding Teacher award from the United States Swim School Association. The awards are chosen from national entries among the Association’s members. Our award-winning Little Otter instructors, who absolutely love the children in their classes, teach with the mindset that loving a child equates to learning. Therefore, their classes produce skilled swimmers at every level.
If you are looking for a unique way to bond with your child or introduce them to the teacher that will stay in their memory for a lifetime, check out Little Otter Swim School and our year-round swimming lessons.
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