Splash!

It's swimming lesson time again. It always surprises me how well my 4-year-old does. He loves swimming. He passed level one his first time through. This is his second time on level two, and since he won't be doing a double session, he may need to take level 2 again before he moves on to level three.

Here are the level two passing requirements, to give you an idea of what he's working on:

LEVEL 2 - Fundamental Aquatic Skills
1. Exit water using ladder or side
2. Float on front & back, unsupported
3. Enter water by stepping or jumping from the side
4. Move in water while wearing a life jacket
5. Tread water
6. Explore swimming on side
7. Open eyes underwater, submerge head to retreive object
8. Perform rhythmic breathing (bobs)
9. Glide on front and back
10. Roll over from front to back, back to front
11. Swim on front and back using combined strokes, 15 ft

Here he is working on #3.


The two-year-old and I are also taking swimming lessons. It's a parent-tot class and is only twice a week, so on the other days we get to watch the 4-year-old swim.

Two-year-old loves the water, and has no fear, which causes me some amount of fear. He'll jump in with no warning and no one to catch him. It's difficult to be near a pool with him, so I wasn't sure how this class would be. It's held in a section of the pool that is about 4 feet deep, so I'm holding him the whole time. It's much easier than if we were in a shallow area. We've been practicing "swimming" across the pool. He'll kick, sometimes do big arms, and try anything in his power to avoid floating on his back. He will blow bubbles some of the time. He's doing really well, and is having a lot of fun, although in classic 2-year-old fashion, the water is usually "too cold".