Swim lessons: a perfect 10

I can't figure out how to get my swim
lesson pics of Kalina off my phone,
so here's an equally impressive pic
of her playing sight word Bingo with
a few of her friends. Good thing our
game comes with enough cards for a
classroom! 

It has not escaped me that Kalina's introduction to swim lessons has corresponded nicely with the summer Olympics. And in fact, most competitors began their sporting pursuits when they were roughly Kalina's age. Certainly, none of us have Olympic dreams (or, realistic ones, anyway) but when Kalina took to the water nearly like a little fish (albeit a fish that's afraid of getting its nose wet), we couldn't help but notice.

As we all anticipated, Kalina would rather have stayed home and played with tiny plastic animals than venture to the unknown of swim lessons on the first day. After all, what if there was a boy teacher? There had been in the class that we watched.

Consoled by the fact that I would be sitting poolside, never to stray away, she suited up easily enough and even thanked me for her sunscreen ("Thank you, Mommy. I don't want to get a sunburn.").

Upon arrival, we scoped out a shady lawn chair so Kalina would know just where Elise and I would be sitting (my goal, of course, being to keep the little one out of the water while keeping the big one in it). Then, we found her group of teachers and breathed a sigh of relief to see that, 1.) All three were women and 2.) There were many more girls than splashy boys in the class.

As class began, I left a relatively contented Kalina scooting into the the pool with her classmates (which was conveniently the perfect depth), and not freaking out at all, unlike a certain summer camp that's all too fresh in our collective memory. Back at the lawn chair, Elise spent the first 10 minutes of this 95-degree, sunny day cuddling with me (because who doesn't want to be attached to an oven when it's 95 degrees?), the second 10 minutes eating crackers, and the third 10 minutes relaxing on the lawn chair beside me. Easy peasy.

Still waiting for the tears to begin, I watched Kalina refuse to blow bubbles in the pool, but happily work on kicking, floating and the rest. She appeared quite enthusiastic about her kickboard ride and cupped her hands mostly correctly when asked.

It had helped to be prepared. Not only had we watched a previous group of Seahorse class swimmers in their lesson a week or two before, but we'd talked to other moms and kids who'd taken swim lessons. Kalina was practically an old pro.

Afterward, Kalina decided she'd like swim lessons every day. Good thing, kiddo, because you're going back tomorrow! And the next day, and the next. And next summer, and the next, most likely.

On Tuesday morning, I kept waiting for the, "I don't think I'll be going to swim lessons today," but it never came. What's more, after practicing a bit in the bathtub, Kalina actually bubbled with the rest of the class. We were all so proud!

A small hiccup occurred when Elise needed to be taken potty in the middle of the lesson. I managed to catch Kalina's eye on the way out and quickly explain my mission, plus make it back before the end of class. No problem.

The next day, I took the girls swimming in the adjacent kiddie pool before and after the lesson. According to Kalina, I was allowed to go to the kiddie pool, and anywhere in the swimming pool area, even out to the parking lot, but I was not to drive home. I assured her we'd be nearby.

Kalina practiced her skills before and after, even "swimming" through the kiddie pool by walking along the ground with her arms. She loved it, as did her little sister who copied her movements in the shallower water and insisted she was big enough for swim lessons, too.

And so it went, through eight days of swim lessons. While the routine got a bit tiresome, Elise never attempted to put much more than the occasional finger or toe in the big pool, and Kalina showed clear improvement with her skills--which were already good to begin with. She only once mentioned that she wasn't planning to attend swim lessons that day, and was easily distracted out of it.

Kalina's favorite activity was noodle riding--when a teacher would take each kid out to practice swimming while using a noodle for support. Looked like fun to me, too. She even loved practicing without the noodle, and seemed to welcome the opportunity to float, supported. Eventually, she submitted to putting her nose in. And then we discovered that free suckers were given away on our way out to the parking lot, so those became a favorite tradition as well.


She also liked watching the bigger kids swim as we walked to our car--two levels above Seahorse had a particularly dynamic teacher. While Kalina has mentioned that she never wants to be in that class, she can't help but be fascinated. Little does she know that she will, indeed, be in that class in a couple years. And she'll do fine.

Day 7 was testing day. Despite the fact that Mommy and Kalina had both already tested each others' patience many times over that morning, Kalina's teacher mentioned that she did "really awesome." Really? My sensitive little kitten fanatic? Awesome at swimming lessons?

Day 8 proved it: Kalina received an "Excellent" rating (as opposed to a "Good, needs work" rating) on every skill on her report card. She'll be allowed to enroll in the Starfish class next summer. Where they learn to dunk their heads under water (Shh! Don't tell!).

Day 8 also had the unfortunate honor of being pirate/shark day for the littler classes. After practicing their skills, the kids were placed onto a rubber raft and floated around while a boy teacher swam around and pretended to be a shark or a pirate or both.

What happens when you take sweet Kalina and put her on an unsteady boat, then send a strange 18-year-old male roaring right up to her pretending to be a fearsome beast? The tears I'd been expecting all along finally made their appearance. Poor girl. A hysterical Kalina was consoled by a teacher, and lessons ended shortly after that. Just in time for us to be worrying about next year. ("Will there be a boy teacher?")

Not that we need rankings, but might my girl have been at least in the top two of eight or nine kids? I couldn't help but compare, just a little. I smiled sympathetically, I hope, at the mom whose girl seemed to dislike swim lessons about as much as I had expected Kalina to. Another couple of girls could already stick their heads clear under water (but their floating could use some work). Kalina had the propensity to wander off during the lesson, but overall followed the teachers well  and seemed to understand the concepts and enjoy herself.

And, of course, we aren't planning to send Kalina to the Olympics anytime soon. Pirates and sharks aside, we'd rather she'd follow her dreams of kitten farming, at least for the time being.