Swimming Graduation!

My boys just finished their eight-week session of swimming lessons at the local YMCA on Friday. I was really impressed by how much they both improved this time. This is Squiggly-Wiggly's third year taking lessons. The other 2 years he often would get scared and be really stiff in the water, but this year he improved a lot and has begun to really enjoy swimming. (In the pic he is riding a noodle because they ride them to "water-walk" the entire length of the pool at the end of class. I guess it's a way to get more practice in, because without the noodle only one child is swimming at a time.)

This was Fuzzy-Wuzzy's first time taking swimming lessons (with me, of course). They teach the children to "run" to a rubber duck or fish, and thus they learn to tread water, or water-walk, with a floatation belt. It only took about three weeks for him to take off. By then, he could "swim" the whole length of the pool without me touching him! He and Squiggly-Wiggly now prefer the big pool over the children's water park.

The floatation belts have 1, 2, 3 or 4 floaties on them. The kids start out with 4, and then decrease once their skills improve. Fuzzy-Wuzzy can easily do 3, and on good days he can do 2. But 2 is a lot of work and requires arm movements, and he doesn't always remember how to do his arms (they teach them to reach and pull using the "Wheels on the Bus" song!) Squiggly-Wiggly learned to reach and pull fairly well, tilting his body in the water as he starts to assume a doggie-paddle position. He finished his class with 3 floaties, but the teacher said he's really ready for 2, so I switched him to 2 for our free-swim after class Wednesday, and then he used 2 on Friday. As long as I remind him to reach and pull, he can swim about 5-7 feet with 2 on his back. His teacher said he could move up to the next level of preschool swimming classes! Woohoo!

I took the boys to Friendly's on Friday after Fuzzy-Wuzzy's last class, to celebrate their hard work and accomplishments. Squiggly-Wiggly, especially, really worked hard this time and overcame fears several times during the past eight weeks. I've included a video of him swimming in his final class. I don't have any pictures or videos of Fuzzy-Wuzzy because I'm in his class with him. (Although I already tested my camera's ability to swim!)