Reach or Throw, Don’t Go

No. The Longfellow’s WHALE Tales Water Safety for Children program curriculum is made available for free for use by the public. The Red Cross does not control anyone who downloads and offers this curriculum in their community. Those who use the curriculum must comply with their local and state regulations.

No. Anyone can teach the Longfellow’s WHALE Tales Water Safety for Children program. To teach Longfellow’s WHALE Tales, you simply need to orient to the new materials. You do not need an instructor certificate to teach.

Longfellow's WHALE Tales Water Safety for Children curriculum is made available for anyone to download in their community. The Red Cross does not exercise any accountability over people who may offer this program in a community.

No. There is no basic-level certification requirement to teach Longfellow’s WHALE Tales. The only requirement is to orient to the materials. Leaders are encouraged to take the free Becoming an Ambassador for Water Safety online course. This course can be found at www.redcross.org/take-a-class.

No swimming ability or water safety knowledge is required to deliver the lessons.

You should access the program materials in these ways:

• Red Cross instructors: Sign in to the Red Cross Learning Center, then navigate to Classes > Course Materials > Longfellow’s WHALE Tales
• All others (leaders) who wish to deliver the program: redcross.org/whaletales
• Parents/caregivers who wish to discuss water safety with their children: redcross.org/watersafetyforkids or Red Cross Swim mobile app

The following materials are available for purchase on the Red Cross Store (redcross.org/store)

• Longfellow’s WHALE Tales Printed Poster Set (Stock No. 751332): Contains nine 17” x 22”, full-color posters, one each lesson.
• Longfellow WHALE Tales Stickers (Stock No. 751333): Contains 9 unique sheets of stickers with one lesson/topic per sheet of 18 stickers.

Thank you for reporting your teaching activity! This important step helps the Red Cross learn more about how this program is being used, who is being reached and how well we are meeting the needs of leaders and participants.

The way you report depends on whether you are a currently certified Red Cross instructor or not.

• Leaders Who Are Not Red Cross Instructors (such as schoolteachers, youth leaders, Red Cross Club members, public safety personnel, etc.): Go to redcrosslearningcenter.org/s/learn-to-swim. Select Record Safety Outreach, then complete the fields.
• Red Cross Instructors: Log in to the Red Cross Learning Center at redcrosslearningcenter.org. Select Resources > Learn to Swim/Safety Outreach > Record Safety Outreach, then complete the fields.

The same information will be collected regardless of the type of leader reporting. The primary difference is that the leader’s name and organization will be auto populated for Red Cross Instructors while all others will need to complete those fields. Additionally, required information includes organization type, lessons taught and students reached. Teaching activity should be reported for each “complete teaching event.” The following provides examples as a complete teaching event:

• One time session with one or more lessons covered.
• A planned series of sessions with the same participants, such as one lesson, one time per week for 9 weeks for a class of elementary school students.

No. There are flexible delivery options. Leaders can choose which lessons and the number of lessons to deliver. Guidance is provided on the sequence of lessons. Leaders are encouraged to follow the lesson plans provided as closely as possible. Leaders are also encouraged to adapt the language and activities as needed based on the age and learning level of the children, teaching setting, available resources, local references and available time.

If you feel this program was delivered in a way that is inconsistent with the values of the American Red Cross, please contact support@redcrosstraining.org.

Life jackets play an important role in helping keep children safer while surfing. Life jackets help them stay warm. Children are often less experienced in the water and may not have the same strength and endurance as adults. Children may also be less aware of ocean hazards, such as rip current or changing tides. Wearing a life jacket can provide children with the needed extra buoyancy, allowing them to stay afloat more easily and conserve their energy. For more information about surfing and safety precautions, be sure to consult with surfing professionals local to the area.

In this lesson, Mateo calls for help because he is starting to get tired. He recognized that he was having trouble and was able to call for help.

Some models of external processors have waterproofing options and can be used in the water. Anyone with cochlear implants should discuss these options with their audiologist.

August 30, 2024