Swimming Lessons

With a new baby plus three other kids under the age of seven, swimming lessons were high on my priority list this summer. My kids generally have a lot of self control around water, but I felt like I needed it for my own peace of mind.

Peter is my child with the least inhibition around water. I remember as a toddler, he'd throw himself into the pool, and I spent all my time retrieving my spluttering, but happy little boy. I never really needed many flotation devices for Benjamin, who always seemed to have a healthy dose of caution, but I learned pretty quickly that Peter needed a full body floating suit. He's outgrown the suit now, but he's still a bit overly confident in his emerging skills.
Peter was initially excited to start "Starfish" lessons this year, but each day afterwards he resisted going until we actually pulled into the parking lot; then he'd change into his swimsuit in the car. And after class each day, he'd reaffirm that he was in fact glad he went. I'm not sure how much more proficient he is with his survival skills, but he is already anxious to move on to the "next level!"

Nora was in the "Seahorse" class, and was the first to get into her swimsuit each day. She was excited to get to lessons, and I felt like she gained a little more confidence and got better at listening to her teachers. I still felt like I was looking at my little baby as I watched her in the pool.

Benjamin was a "Guppy," and got to have his lessons in the big pool, which was seperate from where Nora and Peter were. This made it tricky for me to watch and encourage everyone equally during lessons since they were all at the same time, but from the moments I did get over there, I was impressed with his determination and hard work. He learned how to float, got better at treading water, and learned how to swim a short distance underwater. He also got pretty good at swimming with a kickboard and a noodle.