Swimming Lessons

I "learned" to swim at 29 years of age, and by swim I mean frantically splash across a pool. Carrie was a life guard and looks like Michael Phelps to me. I always wanted Rece to take after his mom in this regard, but when Carrie brought up swimming lessons for Rece - at 20 months of age - I was skeptical. What I had read online was that the current recommendation is to wait for lessons until age 4; when kids can learn to hold their breath. But, our neighbors, the Jones, had taken their little girl who is a month younger than Rece to the previous session and was thoroughly impressed with the program at Country Swim School.

Carrie signed Rece up but was willing to cancel after we went to our orientation meeting.  I was expecting a snake-oil sales pitch and I'm sure my skepticism was obvious. Not to mention feeling put out that they require new parents to attend an orientation meeting before your kids can take a class.

It's nice to be pleasantly surprised.

Sue, who has run Country Swim School for more than 30 years, was a direct as she was clear about her wisdom, experience and methods to help kids learn to swim. The kicker was the demonstration. There was a parade of kids - from 10 months to 10 years old showing their skills. When I saw that 10 month old dive from the side of the pool and swim about 10 feet to her mom, I was sold. Not sold because Rece will be able to swim on his own, but sold because he'll have the foundational skills in place to be a good swimmer. I don't care if he ever competes in swimming, but I'll rest easy when I know that someday he can enjoy being on the lake with friends. Not to mention, Miss Sue runs a tight ship and the discipline and routine will be good for our little guy.

So, expect to see lots more swim lesson pics and posts in the future. We'll be in the "Water Babies" class until Rece turns three. This means Carrie and I will be in the pool with Rece for his lessons until then, too. a bit of a burden on the schedule? Yeah, but it's been a ton of fun seeing Rece learn to love the water and spending the time together has been a true gift.