Kyle started swimming lessons today. He'll take classes once a week for the next 5 weeks. While he won't know how to swim at the end of them, they hope that he's comfortable in the water so that when he takes formal lessons as a toddler, he'll have a leg up.
His class consisted of 6 babies-- one was younger than Kyle, one was 3 years old (she apparently got moved down from the pre-school class because she was terrified of going in the water alone-- her parents commented to us that we were smart to start him now to avoid this same issue), and the others were of crawling/walking age.
They started off having us "dance" with our babies in the water. We sang songs (like "Wheels on the Bus") that had coordinated water-actions that helped him get used to the water.
Then we brought toys out and Kyle got to "rake" for them on his belly. It helps them get the idea of pulling water with their arms. Kyle was a determined little baby going after his little boat!
I think he enjoyed that he was able to move towards the toys since he's unable to do that on carpet (yet).
Next, they had us swim with Kyle in the "hug" position where we let him be comfortable seeing us while he learns to straighten his legs and practice kicking. He wasn't as aggressive with his kicks in this position as he is in the bathtub, but he did great!
After the tummy kicking, they introduced water breathing by blowing bubbles on the water. Kyle didn't quite grasp this concept, but he sure enjoyed watching daddy do it!
Next was the backfloat. Being a little chunky monkey, he floated pretty well. I would say that this was his least favorite position though.
We ended the class with the swimming version of the Hokey Pokey. Instead of shaking it all about, we splashed it all about. It was fun!
After class was dismissed, we spent a few minutes just playing. Dad would dunk his head under water come out and yell "peek a boo" and Kyle would giggle! It was a great first lesson. I'm so proud of how well he did!
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