Copyright 1995 – Paperback – 224 pages.
Aquatic Readiness: Developing Water Competence in Young Children is an essential resource for those who teach young children to swim as well as those who administer aquatic programs. The book challenges traditional aquatic instruction practices by integrating the newest and best information from motor development and motor learning research, elementary physical education methods, and risk management.
Stephen Langendorfer and Lawrence Bruya, leading authorities in aquatics and motor development, show aquatic instructors how to develop, assess, and operate developmentally appropriate, safe, and highly motivating aquatic programs for young children.
Using a water competence model, the authors illustrate how fundamental aquatic readiness skills provide the foundation for all advanced aquatic skills, such as swimming strokes and diving. They debunk misconceptions and fallacies about learning to swim and explain the best way to test and teach such aquatic readiness skills as:
water entry
breath control
buoyancy and body position
arm and leg actions
combined movement
In Aquatic Readiness, aquatic instructors will learn how to become skilled in movement education, play, and developmental games—indirect methods of presenting and reinforcing skill learning that are crucial to effective communication with young children. They'll also learn how to use a new test called the Aquatic Readiness Assessment (ARA) to select developmentally appropriate teaching methods, equipment, games, and activities for their students.
In addition, Aquatic Readiness details how large equipment and games in aquatic environments increase children's motivation and learning through active play. Plus, the book's appendix contains more than 100 developmentally appropriate water games that are cross-referenced by skill and developmental level.
Charlotte Owen Norton is a physical therapist, athletic trainer, and accomplished aquatic physical therapist who has been active in the field since 1991. A researcher, public speaker, educator, and writer, Dr. Norton recently coauthored The Team Approach to the Aquatic Continuum of Care, the first book to define this multidisciplinary field. She received the Aquatic Therapy and Rehab Institute’s Tsunami Spirit Award in 1997 and the Doctorate of Physical Therapy Spirit Award in 1996. This internationally known aquatic expert was an athletic trainer for the United States Olympic Swimming Team in 1992 and the Paralympics in 1996. Dr. Norton earned her doctorate of physical therapy from Creighton University.
Helen Mautz Tilden has taught and developed aquatic programs since 1981 and continues to greatly influence the field of aquatic therapy today. Helen was appointed to the task force to revise the aquatic training manuals for the Arthritis Foundation and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, providing especially valuable input based on her perspective as a registered nurse. She also has developed a variety of aquatic programs and videos. Helen is a creative instructor trainer and trainer of trainers who received the Aquatic Exercise Association’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994.
Stephen J. Langendorfer, an associate professor and chair of kinesiology at Bowling Green State University, has been involved in aquatics both as an instructor and a participant for most of his life. He has more than 25 years' experience as an infant/preschool swimming instructor and water safety instructor and has been a competitive swimmer for more than 30 years. Langendorfer's introduction to infant/preschool aquatics came in 1971 when he studied at the Deutsche Sporthochschule in Germany under Liselot Diem, who was then conducting an innovative baby swim program and longitudinal study. In 1972 Langendorfer followed suit and established his own toddler swim program in Ithaca, NY.
Langendorfer received a PhD in motor
