Swim lessons

Connor has started swim lessons again this summer. All of our kids love to be in the water, and Connor is no exception. He does pick up things faster than his sisters did, but he also has a great example to follow. He has sat through a “few” swim meets and has been awaiting his chance.

So once again I find myself traveling that well known route each day to the city pool for Connor's lessons. He went through one session during the winter and passed level 1, so this time he has moved up to level 2, and it is really funny to watch. There is one other little boy Connor’s age and the rest of the kids are much bigger and older. I was at the edge of my seat at the beginning of his lesson on Thursday. The instructor had each boy (there are no girls in his class) jump in. She was about 20 feet away from the edge, which is what made me nervous. The rest of the kids are big enough that they can touch the bottom when they jump it. Connor being 4 years old is not at that point yet. So I was ready to run for the pool as I watched him make his leap. He jumped in with full confidence, went under, and came right back up doggie paddling like crazy until the instructor “rescued” him and set him safely back on the edge.

The lesson continued with floating on tummy and back and kicking around with kick boards. The final part was to put on life jackets and jump from the diving board. Connor is a pro with the life jacket, as that has been his swim aid for over 2 years. Now he is ready and walks out with great confidence to the edge of the board. With a couple of instructors down below, he jumps in!

The second time he seems a little more timid about leaping from this height, but after a second he takes the leap.

The third attempt, the instructor follows him out to the edge of the board and lowers him into the water.

I asked Connor why he didn’t just jump in like he had the first time.

He replied “it looked fun.”

The other little boy had not been able to jump in on his own, and Connor thought his way looked more fun.