Swimming

We moved into a very swimming orientated area. It wasn't planned that way, but it happened. Indoor swimming lessons in the colder months (most of the year) and outdoor swimming lessons in summer time. They even have dive team that starts as young as 6 years old and there are plenty of competitions and individuals who go on to olympic levels. It's crazy. And while, we don't push swimming intensely with the kids, we do feel it is an important skill to have and be confident in. So we opted for swimming as the kids' fall class of choice and it was soooooooo perfect. 

Our new area uses the Olympic Way swimming program (we were in the Red Cross program before) and we can't really pinpoint what it is about the program (and instructors) but it was such a splendid experience. So splendid, the kids will continue swimming throughout winter. 

Phineas is a real water lover and seems to think he can already swim. We put him in the parent & tot class and I was really excited to be the one who took him most of the time so that I could get a little one-on-one time with him. He laughed, giggled, and jumped through most of the class. Jason stepped in for a couple classes so that I could watch the big kids swimming as their class was at the same time. 

Milayla and Atticus were in the same swimming level but different classes. They seemed to group the classes within each level by age (which more or less put them grouped by skill level as well). And both big kids really thrived in their class and grew in their skills and confidence. 

Milayla is jumping into the water and going fully under the water - that is a huge step for her! She followed the teacher's instructions and really allowed herself to grow and learn in the water. Her confidence in the water has made all the difference. Her favourite parts of class are jumping into the water, swimming under obstacles and going down the slide at the end of class. She has  huge smile across her face throughout class. And she is so close to holding the back star float longer! 

Atticus has made the giant leap into solo swimming. No swimming aids. At our new pool they use these floatation belts that they call Bubbles that strap onto the child's back, and they are rather simple and positively brilliant. It gives the child the ability to move freely while being partially supported by the bubble while they master the swimming movements. It seems to have made a big difference as Atticus is doing his front crawl several metres unassisted now. It is a great accomplishment for him! He will be moving up to the next level for winter swimming as he also mastered a front and back star float. 

So proud of these kids, all their hard work and all that they enjoyed this session. It was so fun to watch and encourage them and then to hear them gushing about their class on the way home. There are a lot of pictures to look at, it's a little difficult to get pictures of the big kids in their classes as they are always on the move, but you can see them! Enjoy the photos.