1st Official Swimming Lesson

Ariella had her 1st "official" swimming lesson on Saturday. We had a lot of fun. She was the only baby that had done any kind of underwater swimming before. There were 8 babies in the class, all right around her age, give or take a few months.

We started in the very shallow part (maybe 1 1/2 feet deep) of the pool and played with toys for a while. And, we got to know the other moms and babies. Then, we sat in a single line and had the babies practice kicking and then "scoops" (scooping water with their hands). Ariella was quite good at both.

Then, we went into the deeper water (maybe 4 feet deep?) and went around this pathway that looped around. The first time, we just went through however we wanted. The second time, we went through with the babies on their backs. Ariella was amazingly comfortable on her back. A lot of times at home, she didn't necessarily like being on her back in the water. And, then the 3rd time they were supposed to be on their tummy going around. These 3 loops were the perfect time for Ariella to get to do her underwater swims. So, that worked out well.

After that, we stood the babies up at the side of the pool and had them "jump" in. So, this was another good place for Ariella to practice going underwater. I think most of the babies didn't go underwater at all. Then, we made our way to the "vortex", which was a circle area of the pool. We all made a big circle and sang "Wheels on the bus" while we did motions with the babies. And, then we sang "Ring around the rosie" while moving with the babies. Next, we took the babies up to this twisty water slide. I was wondering how that would work because if I sat Ariella up and sent her down, she would surely hit her head. So, I just laid her on her back, and that seemed to work. The instructor caught her at the bottom, while I came around to get her. She was slobbering all over the instructor's shoulder when I got there - hehe. And, then she grabbed the instructor's necklace when I went to pick her up. Lol!

After that, we had the babies blow bubbles in the water. I wasn't sure how that was going to go, since we had never practiced anything like that. So, I put Ariella's face in, and she blew major bubbles! (This impressed the instructor a lot. Actually, the instructor was pretty much amazed with everything she could do - her kicks, scoops, blowing bubbles, and underwater swims. I guess most babies come in with no swimming experience.) Then, we played with toys in the shallow part again and socialized until the time was up.

All in all I think this will be a wonderful way to keep up her swimming progress. I'm not sure that she'll really "learn" much swimming in this class. But, she'll get to practice everything we learned over the summer. And, she'll get to socialize with the other babies (which is very important). And, we'll both get to have fun. Oh, and the pictures here are from the pathway where we did the 3 loops.