Swim Lessons

Today was Salem's third week of four swim lessons at the Y. It's important to me that she learn to swim and be comfortable in the water, so I wanted her to get exposure to a pool while she's still little. My first swim lessons were at 6 months old! We waited a little later with Salem, partly because the Y's schedule worked out that way, and partly because we haven't had the extra money to spend on them. I ended up using my Christmas money to pay for the lessons (fine by me...I'd rather use money on experiences that make memories instead of an actual item anyway).

The first week, Salem's "Mimi" and "Nunny" (Chuck's parents) came with us to her swim lessons. They graciously took the pictures I have posted here and got some video too. The next week "Noni" and "Poppy" came to watch and took more pictures. This week it was just Salem and I since Chuck had a conference to attend and the grandparents were all busy.

The teacher is trying to teach Salem to blow bubbles in the water. Last week Salem figured out how to blow bubbles in the air and did it over and over this week, even spitting out her food a few times. I was sure that she would do it during swim lessons today to make bubbles in the water, but she wasn't interested and didn't "blow bubbles" until we were in the car on the way home, of course.

She's learned to reach with her hands, kick with her feet, hold on to the side, and splash the water with her hands. She is a real natural and seems to be completely comfortable in the water. Well, maybe not completely comfortable, since she is hesitant to be placed on her back to try to float. I think she doesn't like water in her ears. But the main thing is that she's happy in the water and doesn't just cling onto me or Chuck the whole time. She is happy to be out there splashing and kicking around with the other little girl in the class. It's been a fun experience and I'm glad we decided to put her in the lessons. I'm not sure if we'll do lessons again or if we'll just teach her ourselves, but for now, it's been good just to get her started with getting comfortable in the water before the real pool season begins in a few short months.