Summer Swimming Lessons Days 1-4

The girls have been in swimming lessons this week.  Lessons were four days this week and are four days next week. Their lessons begin at the same time each day... Phoebe is in "Tiny Tots" and Sarah is in "Level One".   So far they are both really enjoying it!  Phoebe had a rough first day and part of the second, but smooth swimming since then.... Sarah has done fabulous!  She wants to be in the water and is eager to learn.

Day 1
Phoebe walked with her class to the small pool.  She looked nervous and a little sad.  She got into the water with all of the little children in her class and the teachers... Then she just stood there.  The teachers had to help her make her do each activity or swimming skill.  She started to cry about 5-10 minutes into the lesson and continued to cry until the end.

Sarah joined her class and teachers in the big pool.  They started out by each going under the water five times.  Then they took turns zooming off the wall, kicking, moving their arms,and floating on their backs and tummies.

At the end of the first day's lesson Sarah's class walked up to the top of the big blue slide and they each got to slide down one time.  Sarah did great!

Day 2
On the second day Popee and Nanee came to the pool with us to watch the girls swim.  (I was thankful to have them along to help me with Silas because I was anticipating having some issues Phoebe.)  Phoebe told me many times throughout the morning that she "did not want to go swimming."  I pretended to not hear her... Then I had to wrestle her a little bit to get her swimsuit onto her so that we could go to the lessons.  Once we got there Phoebe got very quiet and sad.

Phoebe started to cry immediately when I walked her over to her class's little pool area... I put her in the water with the other kids and her teachers and I walked away.  (Note: This is not an easy mom thing to do...turning your back and walking away from your crying/screaming kid, who just wants their mommy.  But this was the right choice and best thing to do, at least in this situation.)  I went back over and sat with my parents and Silas, where Phoebe could not even see me.  She cried till about half way through her lesson, then stopped.  I walked a little closer to get a couple pictures of her after she had stopped crying... She slid down the small slide by herself!

Then her class all came out of the little pool area and went up the stairs so that they all could come down the big blue slide... And, Phoebe did it too!  All by herself!  NO CRYING!!! Then she smiled!

Sarah had another great day... floating, holding her breath, kicking...

And, coming down the big blue slide.

Day 3

On the third day Daddy got to meet us at the pool over his lunch hour to see his girls swim.  Phoebe told us she was going to do "no crying".  And, she was right!  NO CRYING!!!! The whole time.  She did everything her teachers asked her to do and participated the entire time.  She played ring around the rosie.

She kicked her legs and pretended to drive a race car.

She floated on her belly and kicked her legs.

And, she came down the big blue slide with one of her teachers.  When I asked her later why she didn't do it by herself again that day, she told me that she was too cold.

Sarah did fabulous again.

She told me later that they each had to hold their breath and try to get a stick that their teacher was holding between her toes.  She did it, but it took a few tries.  Then her class all put on lifejackets and jumped into the deep end of the pool to swim around.

Last she got to jump off the low diving board with the life jacket on two times.

 

Day 4

Phoebe did great! No crying!  Again she participated and did everything her teachers asked her to do.

At the end of her lesson she got to go down the little slide and the big blue slide.  She did both slides by herself with no crying!

Sarah looks forward to her lesson and being in the water each day.  She is having lots of fun learning to swim and float.

Sarah really likes getting to come down the big blue slide at the end of her lesson.  Today she got to go down a yellow tube slide in the deep end, with her life jacket on.  This slide was super fast, and I was unable to get a good picture of her because she shot out of the end of it too fast for me.