Learn to Swim

At the request of several parents, Mokihana Aquatics began offering Learn-to-Swim classes as a way of giving back to the community. It is our belief that every person who lives on Kauai should be able to swim. Mokihana Aquatics has provided these much-needed classes. The large number of students that have gone through our program is evidence of our success.

Five levels of swimming are taught:

• Beginners
• Advanced Beginners
• Intermediate
• Swimmer
• Advanced Swimmer

In order to pass Advanced Beginners, a child must learn the four basic strokes and successfully complete a 5-minute float. To pass the Intermediate class, a child must master all four basic strokes and successfully complete a 30-minute float.

Along with teaching children to swim, an integral component of the classes is ocean awareness and water safety skills. The reason for this is because, as children advance in their swimming skills and get more comfortable in the water, they take more risks, increasing their potential for getting into trouble.

Junior Leader Development

Although Mokihana Aquatics' Learn-to-Swim Class enrollment runs large (30+ to a class), it is able to provide a 6:1 or less learner to insructor ratio because we utilize "Junior Leaders". Junior Leaders range in age from 12 to 16 years old. Not only do the students benefit from this ratio, the Junior Leaders are learning leadership and teaching skills. Because many of them are too young to seek summer employment, this provides the perfect opportunity for them to be doing something constructive with their summer hours. The self-confidence level of these Junior Leaders is greatly enhanced because of the responsibility given to them through this teaching experience.