Summer Swim

This summer our friend Sheri recommended a swim instructor in nearby Alpine for us. Coach Wes is the swim and water polo coach for a local high school, and both J and B are benefitting greatly from his instruction.

For this two-week session, which meets twice a week, J is receiving one-on-one instruction from Coach Wes. His freestyle has definitely cleaned up, and he's learning the breast stroke and starting diving from the side of the pool today.

And today B swam cross-wise across the pool on his own! This is the boy who a week ago claimed that he couldn't swim! Miss Erin, whom I assume is on Coach's high school team, is doing a great job with the younger kids. B has been practicing jumping into the pool, swimming under water, backfloating, and freestyle. I'm thrilled to see him swimming independently!

Both boys have had water incidents that scared them in recent years, J with some friends in another friends' pool, and B at a church-sponsored pool day where his older brother accidentally knocked him off the step and into deep water. They both seem to have finally overcome their fear of the water; B was refusing to swim at a pool day only a couple of weeks ago. They've both made major strides, and I'm very proud of them both and thankful for great teachers and wonderful grandparents who pay for their lessons.

T will join them for the next session starting next week. He's an adequate swimmer but needs help with his breast stroke and with diving. It won't hurt to neaten his other strokes as well. We won't have such small classes in the next session; I'm sure that there will be four kids per class rather than the two in B's present class and the one-on-one instruction J is now receiving. Sheri and her family had issues with signing up, so it's their empty spaces we're enjoying right now.

Suumer swim is always the core of our PE program in homeschooling. PE is the one subject we don't do so well at, mostly because we're not organized sports people; we hate giving up family time to rush off to practices and games and such. All four kids will be taking PE next year in Class Day (E is taking Self-Defense, T volleyball, and the younger boys general PE), so when Class Days are added to Summer Swim, I think PE will be taken care of. (E is doing her "Dancing with the Stars" video for exercise both this summer and into next year; it provides both excellent exercise and the opportunity to learn a few ballroom dances.)

Summer Swim -- what summer is all about!