Swim Lessons

We signed Eliana and Hylie up for swim lessons.  They both are pretty nervous around water and we want them to know how to be safe when water is involved.  At the first lesson, each child is tested to see which level they need to be placed.  Eliana (who was slightly excited for lessons) crawled right into the pool and did the first task of kicks, but after that her response was "no" to any and every request--no bubbles, no face in water, no floats, no letting go of the edge of the pool.  Hylie (who was pretty anxious about the lessons) got in the pool next and pretty much followed suit...she kicked her legs but didn't put much effort into anything else.  Just as we had planned, they were placed in level one.  There were 7 kids, 3 instructors, and a lot of hesitation from Hylie and Eliana.  Paddle boards were passed out and Eliana was having a hard time just understanding how to hold it, let alone use it.  All the kiddos were lined up along the pool and the instructors stepped back about 8 feet and encouraged the kids to use their kick boards to navigate towards them in the 18" deep water.  They encouraged the kids by calling out: "Swim to us if you like pizza!"  All the kiddos took off except of Hylie and Eliana.  I was close enough to say, "Hylie, you like pizza!"  She calmly turned to me and replied, "Actually, pizza's really not my thing.  I'm more into ice cream."  Ha!  Luckily, they called out ice cream and Hylie gave it a try but Eliana continued to just sit on the edge.  After several tasks were introduced and Eliana continued to cling to the side of the pool, I finally went over to ask the two instructors (who were just sitting there talking to each other) to help Eliana out.  They did, and Eliana finally got more than just her knees wet.  I left that first day feeling a little defeated.  But I kept reminding myself it was just the first lesson, that things can only go up from here.  And that they did.  Each day the girls pushed themselves a little more, became more and more brave, and by the end of the 6 lessons, Hylie and Eliana had attempted every single task and were putting their heads under water!  Woo Hoo!

We have a pool pass for this summer and we absolutely love this facility and it's become even more fun now that the girls are getting more confident in the water.

Kyron's usually snoozing away, strapped to Mom

There's also a sandpit with a water tap--every kids dream, right?