Swim Lessons

Judson and Sawyer are taking swim lessons this summer. Sawyer is a little young but because he has no fear of water and is quite unsafe around water, we decided it would be best to get him started for safety reasons. Judson is at a good age for swim lessons. They both enjoy the lessons, although Judson is a bit timid. The goal is to have Judson swimming on his own this summer. Sawyer's goal is to be able to get to the side of the pool and pull himself out if he were to fall in. (Maybe a more realistic goal would be to keep his mouth closed and not drink in so much water.)

You may wonder how I manage to get Sawyer to stay out of the water when it isn't his turn and then to get out of the water when his lesson is over. It's called a bribe (or reward for those who want to be politically correct). The words I used OVER AND OVER AND OVER again prior to his lesson (Judson went first), "Only big boys get to take lessons. If you scream and cry, you won't get to take lessons". He'd start up and I'd say "No cry. Swim lessons are only for big boys" He'd take a deep breath, snuffle a bit, put his hands out as if to steady himself and say "No cry". Then to get him out without a scene, "Sawyer, time to get out. You can have a 'coke' today because you did so well" Only had to say that one once! (He loves coke and it's a treat)




Yes, I brought the other two. This is where they stayed while the swimming was going on. Ansley was a bit put out (who am I kidding, she was tripping over her bottom lip she was pouting so much) that she was not taking lessons. The truth is, the guy teaching prefers to teach kids around ages 6 or 7. He's doing me a favor by working with Sawyer. The 2nd truth is, she is very scared of water right now. I think she needs another year before she tries lessons.