Swimming Lessons

We are heading into week four of "swim lessons" in the "wa-wa" as Max calls it. 

So I figured it was time to give my dedicated blog readers (looking at you Grandpa Tim and Grandpa Jim) an update! The first week was a total fiasco.  Oh man, between the screaming children in the pool, running around like a crazy person trying to get us both dressed in the family dressing room,

and barely making it home carrying the five hundred toddler essentials for swimming...it was a doozey.  But - we got smart and now we go as a team!  And it's lots of fun!

 

 

First things first - I'm in a bathing suit and now it's on the internet.  I must be feeling brave :)

Secondly, though the title of this post is "swimming lessons" - no actual lesson is taking place.

haha! Silly mama...a more appropriate name might be "wear your child out before bedtime class" or "how to make ten toddlers happy by dancing and signing for half and hour" .  Either way...we are having fun.  And Max does seem to enjoy being in the water.  

 

 

We are doing the "lessons" at the Powell YMCA.  And title for the series was "Parent Child Swim Lessons" for children 6 -24 months.  After the first week going by myself fiasco, Papa Rob and myself have been switching on and off who gets in the water with Max.  The funny part is - anytime he sees either of us on the side, he yells "Mama, Mama!" or "Dada!" and wants to be brought over to the edge immediately for a quick little high five or acknowledgment of his awesome-ness. 

 

 

There are about ten children total (plus their adults). 

It's a private pool (that said it was heated but I strongly disagree. It might be a tad warmer than the "big pool" but Mama wouldn't mind if they kicked it up a few degrees".) The other nice part is that they send in a life guard to watch us the whole time. 

 

 

We sing lots of songs with movement built into them. 

For example..."motor boat, motor boat, go so slow" (spin child in a circle....slowly)

"motor boat, motor boat, go so fast" (spin the opposite direction a little faster).

"motor boat, motor boat, step on the gas" (change direction again and pick up the pace).

Max likes this one.

 

 

 

After we are all warmed up....the teacher dumps out a whole basket full of water toys!

Max really perks up when he sees the toys floating by. 

He shouts and points "duck! duck! duck!"...and we float over and he grabs it.

Then, the teacher asks us to sit them on the ledge of the pool and lure them to jump in

by waving around the water toys. Max LOVES doing his.  I think mostly because he gets

the toy back quickly (it's weird...this child of mine seems to have very little patience...no idea where he got that from...)

 

We also do "kicks off the wall" - which is probably the closest thing to a lesson that we actually do.

We place the bottom of Max's feet on the wall....scrunch them up, and push off! 

(like you would when pushing off the wall into a back stroke...or something).

Max seems to like this part too.

 

 

Just a few more laps, kick pushes, and back strokes...and he's practically Michael Phelps :)

 

 

 

Is Max Olympics bound in Summer 2028?

Luckily we have five more weeks of lessons to find out!

Xoxo