TikeSign
Sign Language for Swimming Lessons
At Swimtikes, we transform aquatic learning into a joyful adventure for the youngest members of your family.
What is TikeSign?
TikeSign is the pet project of our amazing Aquatic Educators and is a combination of Auslan, Puggles, Key Words and SwimTikes hand signs.
We found that many of the signs from sign language providers required complex two handed signs, didn't visually represent the action required in the water or weren't consistent across their platforms, meaning that there is room for confusion, misunderstanding and need for always having two hands available, when as an Aquatic Educator, this isn't always possible.
We also found that our staff were using visual cues and signs while giving instructions, without realising it and we had in fact started our own aquatic based sign language.
TikeSign is created to easily visually represent the action required in the water, or the most logical visual reference, along with consistently common signs such as please, thank you and signing the colors, and be one handed where possible.
We use TikeSign across our levels to assist not only our hearing impaired Tikelets and family members, but for our visual learners, to help form neural connections with our verbal instructions and especially in our Infant and Toddler classes.
We encourage all our families to learn these basic signs to help communicate in and around the water with their Tikelets.
Not sure what to watch next?
Use our Episode Guide!
Episode 1
Hello, Please and Thank you
Episode 1 covers the basics of Hello, Please and Thank you. All 3 signs can be practiced and used in everyday life away from lessons too.
Episode 2
Go, Stop and Wait
Episode 2 teaches three very important safety signs to assist in being safer in and around the water. These cues are an essential part of teaching a child to respect the water and to wait to be asked to come in by an in water actively supervising adult when it's safe to do so.
Episode 3
Go cue and toes on the line
Episode 3 builds on the cues from Episode 2, adding a level of complexity in instruction and signing. It is also beneficial for older children and wall work when learning to jump in from the side or commencing diving.
Episode 4
Down, Chin Down and Eyes Down
Episode 4 works on introducing direction and putting 2 part instructions together.
A great set of signs, especially for older swimmers when they can clearly see you signing, but may not be able to hear you clearly due to surrounding noise.
Episode 5
Reach, Hold and Climb Out
Episode 5 focuses on the essential safety skills of learning to reach for the side, hold on to help comes, and to build up to the goal of climbing out unassisted. While all these skills are filmed using two hands, they are easily adapted to using one hand to sign the same skill.
Episode 6
Blue, Green, Red and Yellow
Episode 6 covers the 4 most common colors used in a swimming lesson environment from aides like kickboards and noodles, to sinking toys and markers, to swimwear. These signs are also highly beneficial to children still learning their colors or who are still learning to form the sounds to the words.
Episode 7
Cup, Ring and Packing Up
Episode 7 introduces frequently used objects and the action of packing up once finished with those favored items. These signs allow swimmers to express the item that they would like to use, gives parents and instructors a clear way of visually expressing the required task, and a two-step visual cue to end the activity when put together.
Episode 8
Turn around, Monkey and Safety Slide
Episode 8 focuses on the essential safety skills of turning around in the water, monkey monkey to get around the pool and safety slide to enter the water safely. The monkey monkey sign can easily adapted to using one hand to sign the same skill, and can be directional depending on the direction the swimmers need to go.
Episode 9
Jump, Feet Down and Sit
Episode 9 covers more fundamental basics such as jump, feet down and sit. All important land based skills that are vital in the aquatic environment too.
Episode 10
Wall, Platform and Steps
Episode 10 builds on directional signs by introducing locations that are deemed safer points of the pool for swimmers to access. By introducing these signs, swimmers can be directed to swim to a specific point, and can be built on for two or three point instructions, for example, kick to the the steps, with eyes in.
Episode 11
Streamline, Big Arms and Stretch
Episode 11 is focused on our more independent swimmers. Big Arms can be easily adapted to alternating arms if you don't teach catch up, or demonstrating with a high elbow.
Episode 12
Hold, Blow, Breathe
Episode 12 is introduces the signs Hold, Blow and Breathe, before putting them together in sequence for beginner freestyle breathing patterns. This sequence can easily be adapted based on the swimmer's needs or the pattern taught at your swimming program.
Episode 13
Help, You're Welcome and Not Safe
Episode 13 builds on the basics from episode 1 for communicating needs. Once again, all 3 signs can be applied in everyday life away from swimming lessons too.
Episode 14
Home, Goodbye and Finished
Continuing our communication theme, Episode 14 covers the most common words used at the end of a lesson, signaling to swimmers that the lesson has finished.
Episode 15
Kick, Bubbles Toes and Floppy Feet
Episode 15 is another one focusing on our independent swimmers and their kicks for Freestyle and Backstroke. Another great set of signs for signalling to a swimmer when they can clearly see you signing, but may not be able to hear you clearly due to surrounding noise.
Episode 16
Rollover, Float and Chin Up
Episode 16 had a back focus with the signs for Rollover, Float and Chin Up. These 3 signs can easily be grouped together to instruct swimmers of the sequence you want to occur.
Episode 17
Swim and Swim Float Swim
Extending on from the previous episode, Episode 17 puts together the signs of Swim and Float into one sequence for those that use the swim float swim method.
Episode 18
COMING SOON