Why Now Is The Perfect Time Of Year For Swim Lessons:
I want my kids to enjoy all the fun you can have in the water, but do it safely. I have put swim lessons high on my list when my kids reach the proper age. I was going to do it in the summer, but then a good friend suggested I think about having the kids take lessons in the fall. After I gave it some thought, it made a lot of sense.
Kids in the summer. Even today, I can remember my joy on the last day of school, and running home with nothing on my mind but playing with my friends. If my Mom had talked about anything with the word “lessons” in it, I would have just groaned, and I’m sure my kids would be the same. They just want to play with their friends, so they might not be as receptive to learning in the summer. Here are some great resources with more information about swim lessons:
● Swimming Pool Safety-Layers of Protection
Summer lessons. I went and visited a lesson last summer, to see what it would be like. The class seemed a little large to me, and some of the kids were a bit rowdy. Maybe they wanted to be playing. When I talked with one of the instructors, he acknowledged that the classes were smaller in the fall, maybe because everyone just naturally associates summer with taking swim lessons. I felt my child would get more out of a smaller class, where he could focus better on what was being taught. As well, I suspected the teachers would be more relaxed and rested after a busy summer of giving lessons.
Get a head start. I suggested to my child that next summer it would be more enjoyable to be swimming at the pool with his friends, instead of stuck in lessons. That sounded great to him, and me as well. If he had the swim skills to play at the community pool, next summer already sounded like more fun. We had to juggle some with after school activities to fit in the lessons, but it was well worth taking the time. One of his best buddies was taking fall lessons, so that made it even better.
In the learning mode. While the kids aren’t receptive to lessons in the summer, when the fall rolls around, they are back in the routine of listening to teachers. My child will pay more attention because he just came from a day of school, so the lesson feels very similar. I went to a couple of the lessons to watch, and the class was small and orderly. The teacher was obviously working from a plan, so there wasn’t a lot of milling around and wasted time. He didn’t move on from one thing until all the kids could demonstrate that they understood, or could perform the maneuver. The kids were very well behaved, and at the end I found out why. He promised them a play session, and they got to splash each other.
A lifetime skill. My children were learning a skill that would benefit them many times over their lives, from playing with buddies at the pool, to family vacations to the beach. It is worth making sure they get it right, so I’ve continued past the basic lessons to intermediate and advanced, and every time in the fall. I’ve watched them get more confident in the water, and one of my kids now wants to be on the swim team.
I smile when I watch my children at the pool, because I know they are well prepared to safely enjoy the water.
Kaitlin Gardner started An Apple Per Day to explore her passion for a green living lifestyle, and healthy family living. She and her husband have just moved to rural Pennsylvania, where they enjoy exploring the countryside to discover interesting and out of the way places. She is also learning how to paint watercolors.
