Learning to swim: Day Five, our week ends

An article by Claire    1 Comment

Our week of swimming lessons with Seriously Fun sadly draws to a close but after a shaky start on day one, our 3 year old ends on a high.

Day four went without a hitch. Like all the other parents and kids, we led them to the designated registration area and wished them a good lesson. We then huddle in the changing room, chatting and swapping stories. So invigorated in chat was I (ahem), that Little L appears before me dripping wet, I’d lost track of time and the class was over. After sweeping her up in a towel & feeling a little bad, I looked at her. Is it me or does she seem more grown up after this week of lessons?

Whatever my impressions on her emotional development, she has certainly learned new swimming skills. Day five is the last day where parents can watch a showcase of their achievements poolside. Daddy attended and gave a full report. The lesson started with the children receiving their certificates for the week. Such a proud moment (it was bad planning that I wasn’t there). Then the little swimmers showed their parents what they had learned during the week.

With armbands on they learn how to get in and out of the pool safely from the side. There’s a fair amount of kicking exercises, teaching them how to use their legs to move. The teacher, Friedel, encourages them to kick and swim to her or with her. Little L needed more support than the older children, naturally, but she gave each exercise a really good go. During the floating, she never quite fully relaxed, which meant her body didn’t stay on the surface, something I remember from taking her swimming as a baby, she doesn’t like water in her ears. There are a set of exercises without armbands, getting in and out of the pool and some swimming with the teacher support them. They also learned to ‘blast off’ in the pool, from the side, shooting off on their backs. The best is always last, jumping in the pool, after all kids just love to make a splash.

Has Little L learned to swim in a week? Well not fully but she has ‘swum’ with her armbands on and now knows what she should be aiming for. It’s been a brilliant experience, especially the intensive week of daily courses. Logistically, for our family, it has been a bit challenging but with better planning, it could be an enjoyable week. The other parents were friendly and very supportive, Little L even made a few transient friends, as kids do. But most of all we have to thank Seriously Fun Swim School, where Friedel and co have been really supportive and helpful in writing this blog. Although the posts are sponsored, we’ll be going back to continue our daughter’s learning, as we’ve now come to trust the method and style of the classes.

Read the full week’s diary here.