I was beginning to think Grace Louise retained very little from swim lessons last year, which was really heartbreaking considering the financial and time investment we endured. Thankfully, things have finally clicked and she's back to swimming like a little fish!
Last year we did infant survival swim lessons with Swim Tots. I was so proud of all that Grace Louise learned through the lessons, although, really, the effort of it all was grueling. Along with being familiar and comfortable in water, she also learned how to get to the wall, holding her breath, and floating on her back. By the end of the summer she was swimming distances of 6+ feet, rolling over on her back to get air, and then flipping back to swim to the wall or steps. It is fascinating to see kids so young navigating water that way!
Our first swim this year was in March at Aggie's pool. I took some pics of her cutting up, playing on the steps... because that was about the extent of it. She wasn't interested in getting off the steps and cried the whole time I forced her to practice her swimming (going a short distance to the wall).
On Mother's Day we spent some time in the pool and, again, I insisted that Grace Louise practice her swimming. She preferred to stay on the steps, but after the first swim to the wall, she surprised me with, "Again, Again, Mommy!" instead of pleading to go back to the steps. That was all she wrote. We spent the next hour and a half swimming and she didn't want to stop!
These pics are from our last visit to Aggie's house on Friday. She swam NONSTOP for almost two hours... I was sure she was going to be sick! I'm having to force her to take rests, to sit on the steps, and to keep her face out of the water long enough to breath!
The floating skill is not coming back easily... this is her attempt at practicing her floating on the steps. I've signed her up for refresher lessons this summer, so hopefully Miss Michelle will fix this!
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