This afternoon was a big one for Mr. Jax as it was his first swim lesson! I really wanted to get him into swim lessons before this summer so he was comfortable in the pool. More importantly, I wanted to start on the "survival" swimming early on. In the class we are doing, Jax will learn to float on his back and eventually be able to be thrown in from the side and turn over and float.
He started out doing great in the class. There were three other little girls in his class that were all close to 2. He loved watching the bigger kids play and he was splashing around in my arms. I even noticed him becoming a little more adventurous, kicking around as if he wanted to move through the water himself. Then half way through the instructor had him go under water so that he would get comfortable with water on his face. After that Jax was not a happy man. He SCREAMED and clung so tightly to my arm. The other moms all said their little girls had done the same thing at some point and that it was ok. My little man wasn't buying it though. The rest of the lessons he held on for dear life and "observed." You could tell he was very interested in what the other kids were doing, but was scared to let go for fear I would let the instructor dunk him again!
I really like the class overall. The instructor was great, there was a combination of swim instruction and play time in the pool (with lots of fun songs as well!) and the class is taught at each kids own pace. You graduate to the next level when you child can pass certain skill tests so you don't move on until the child is ready.
So every Monday you will find Jax and me hanging out at the pool, not a bad way to spend the dreary winter months.
Caleb and I took a similar class two years ago. He was not a fan of going under water either.
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