Lil Swimmer

Last year Maggie and I both really enjoyed her swimming lessons, so we signed up again this year. Her first class was this past Monday night. We go 4 nights/week for 2 weeks. Brendon and I have been taking turns going in the pool with her. It's a great way to cool off, have fun, and get a good work-out (it's hard lifting Maggie over and over above your head as we play "Popcorn"!). The goal of the class isn't for the children at this age to learn to swim yet; it's to familiarize them with the water and learn some prerequisite skills for swimming, like blowing bubbles in the water and "scooping" the water with their hands. Maggie can already do a lot of these things, since she took lessons last year and has practiced a lot of those skills in the bathtub year-round (like blowing bubbles). Next week will probably be more challenging, as the children will have the opportunity to go under water briefly!

Monday Maggie excitedly helped me pack our bag for swimming lessons. Then she insisted we get ready way ahead of time. After I put on my bathing suit and cover-up, she looked at me and said, "You're beautiful! I'm impressed!" I asked her to repeat herself, unsure of what I'd heard. Sure enough, she repeated the same thing. Brendon even heard it, too! Maggie's vocabulary is amazing, impressive, and entertaining!

At the beginning of the first class the teacher needed to demonstrate how to hold a young child in the swimming position. She looked at Maggie, since she's one of the older students in the class. Maggie has never been very keen on going to strangers and leaving Mama! On that night, and every night since then, she has willingly let the teacher hold her and demonstrate new skills. Brendon and I were beaming- we were so proud of her! She has been brave, tried new things, and followed directions.

The first few nights during the free play portion of the class Maggie wanted to climb the pool ladder (she LOVES steps now!). Brendon told her that she couldn't get out of the pool until the teacher told her it was time to get out. Maggie looked at him and said, "I the teacher!" She definitely is a leader and wants to make her own rules.


An even funnier moment came tonight. We arrived at swim lessons a little early, so we let Maggie play in the kiddie pool, which she'd never done before. We told her it was the "kiddie" pool. When it was time for her class to start, she said, "I all done with the kitty cat pool!" Funny girl! I guess we should have explained that the pool was for kiddies/kids and not kitties. It was just too cute to correct.

Here's a video sample of our fun at the pool: