The HENDRICKSON Family: Summer Swimming Lessons

The kids have all been in swimming lessons now for one week. The first day was overcast and not very warm. All the kids and even the teachers were shivering and shaking. This made for a not great first day of lessons due to being cold. The rest of the week was warm though. (So warm that I really wanted to just trip as I walked around the edge of the pool and maybe just accidentally fall in for a brief cool off. I didn't. But I really wanted to...No one would have noticed the crazy dripping wet Mom, right? ) Grandma Sharon was visiting us, so she got to come along and watch the first three days of lessons too. The kids have done alright and are looking forward to one more week of swimming at the big pool....well, except for Silas.

Day One

Silas ~ Silas started out the morning very excited. He had been looking forward to swimming lessons. After many times of just having to sit and watch his sisters participate he would finally get to be in "Tiny Tots" and get to swim too. As we walked into the pool area he was smiling and sat with all the other children waiting for his name to be called. After his name was called he stood right up and walked to his teachers and then walked with the his lesson group to the pool. He sat on the edge and listened to the teachers... and told them at least three times he wanted to go on the "big blue tangly slide". He just could not wait. After being told, "no not now", and "later" many times by various teachers, he got a VERY sad look on his face and began to cry. His crying escalated into a full on ugly cry and then screaming for Mommy. I turned my back. I hid behind a bigger lady. I tried not to make eye contact with him. Nothing worked. He just kept right on ugly crying and screaming for me. Yep, that is my kid... in the Superman swimsuit, not being so super. He never stopped crying and screaming the entire lesson time once he started. Even at the end when he got to go down the small yellow slide, he cried. Kudos to his teachers, especially the Head Teacher, who just kept right on teaching and swimming with all of the children, even Silas, as he cried his little heart out.

Phoebe ~ Phoebe is happy to be in level one this summer, but was just a little nervous. She thought the water would be over her head and she might "drowned". We assured her that her teachers would watch and help her. She did well trying to use her big arms and kicking her feet with her teachers help. At the end of her class time all of the kids in her class got out of the water to walk to the yellow slides. When they did, Phoebe reached her breaking point of being cold and shivering non-stop for 45 minutes... I was across the pool talking to the Head Teacher (who had just dealt with Silas crying for 30 minutes. She reminded me during our conversation that Phoebe cried too when she was first in Tiny Tots, and it is okay) when we both heard a pitiful loud crying for Mommy from the level one group. We both looked over to see WHO could be crying NOW??? Low and behold it was Phoebe. She was COLD and couldn't take standing in line any longer waiting for her turn to go down the slide. Poor shivering girl. Head Teacher to the rescue of one of my children once again.

Sarah ~ Sarah was immediately moved to level three as the classes were being sorted out at the beginning of the day. She did so well in the winter swimming lessons with the Head Teacher earlier this year that she moved her right on up before even a level two review. There are only four kids in Sarah's level and they worked hard the first day swimming back and forth in the deep end practicing their freestyle stroke, breathing, and reviewing. Sarah did great!

Day Two

Silas ~ Silas did not even want to put his swimming suit on at home on day two. I had to wrestle him to get it on. Then I had to wrestle him to get into the van to drive to lessons. He was calm as we parked and walked in, but started crying as we walked toward the pool. Ms. Head Teacher had to take my crying cling-on ~~off~~ from me to begin lessons. He continued to cry for at least 20 minutes. At one point, the Head Teacher slung him around on her back and let him just hang on like a little monkey while she continued to work with other children and lead the class. He probably hung on to her like this for at least 10 minutes!

Finally, when the "big blue tangly slide" was mentioned in the last 5 minutes of class, Silas stopped crying composed himself and got somewhat happy again because he was going to get to go down it. I secretly hoped that the teachers would remember this and use it as a ~~bargaining tool, bribe,~~ reward for him in the upcoming days of lessons.

Phoebe ~ Phoebe did fantastic the second day! She practiced kicking on her back, holding her breath, and using her big arms. It was sunny and warm and she was smiling!

She even got to jump of the low diving board with a life jacket on and then swim to the side by herself. She climbed up on the board, walked to the end, and jumped off with no hesitation!

Sarah ~ Sarah got to use some flippers and a kickboard on the second day. She told me later she didn't like the flippers much because they were heavy and hard to kick. I think once she learns to use them and gets more use to them, she will like them more because they will help propel her through the water faster.

Sarah also got to go down the big blue slide at the end of her lesson. Once she reached the end of the slide she had to swim all the way to the other side of the pool before getting out.

Day Three

Silas ~ Daddy met us all at the pool over his lunch hour to watch everyone swim. I am not sure if this helped Silas or not, but day three was his best day and he did the least crying this day. He started out with a little wimpering and some crying, but it only lasted about 5-10 minutes and then he started to like the games and swimming he was getting to do. Hooray! He practiced kicking his feet and splashing, floating on his belly and his back, and blowing bubbles. He also played Ring Around the Rosey and Mister Alligator in the water. He told me later he does not like to put his ears in the water.

At the end of his lesson he got to go down the yellow slide, yelling, "Wheeeee!" on his way down, and then the "big blue tangly" slide. In the picture on the right, below, he was not crying, just wiping water from his eyes and face after coming down the "big blue tangly" slide with his teacher.

Phoebe ~ Phoebe swam all the way across the pool on day three while holding onto a floaty and kicking her feet.

She also practiced jumping into the water then trying to swim to her teacher and back to the wall.

At the end of her lesson time she got to go down the big blue slide all by herself. A teacher stood at the end of the slide to help catch all of the children in her class and get them safely over to the pool wall.

Sarah ~ Sarah used flippers and kickboards again on day three. They practiced back stroke and freestyle stroke.

At the end of her lesson she went off the low diving board and then asked if she could jump off the high dive so that Grandma Sharon would get to see her do it. She climbed right up to the top, looked nervously down at us watching her, walked to the end and jumped off. Then she swam easily over to the side of the pool on her own. She told me later it hurt her hands a little because she didn't keep them straight at her sides when she jumped and hit the water.

Day Four

Silas ~ More crying from Silas on day four. He started crying as we walked into the pool area and his teachers greeted him. Boo-hoo. Then kept right on a cry'in for about the next 15 minutes.

Finally he stopped, did some swimming practice and played games in the water with his teachers and friends.

At the end of his lesson he got to go down the yellow and "big blue tangly" slide again. One of the yellow slides is small and the Tiny Tots class can each go down it by themselves, but a teacher has been going down the "big blue tangly" slide with each child for safety reasons.

Phoebe ~ Another good swimming day for Phoebe! She really looks forward to her time at the pool and her lessons. She is making friends in her class and even told me she talks to them during lesson time. At the end of her lesson on day four Phoebe got to jump off the diving board without a life jacket on and try to swim to the side with help from a teacher. She was not afraid at all!

Sarah ~ Sarah likes her lessons too. She likes wearing goggles and being able to see under the water. She is trying to convince Phoebe that she should wear them too. So far Phoebe does not even want to give them a try. Day four was more freestyle practice and some diving practice. Sarah needs to work on her dive...a lot. In the picture below, on the right, I think she may have thought that no one was watching her, but Uh-Oh, Mommy was watching with the camera! I caught her holding her hands up like she was going to dive and then just stepping into the water when her teacher was helping another child. Hahaha! Not so sneaky, Sarah!