Apart from teaching herself to ride her bike this summer, DD also learnt to swim. Well almost. Enough to doggy paddle to the side if she falls in deep water anyway.
We started from a good place in that she had no fear of the water. Head under, jumping in, trying to float on her back and not succeeding - nothing bothered her. So we signed up for 11 lessons at the local pool in a group of similar level children.
That took us to August when she was almost almost there - she could manage a couple of strokes before her legs went down. In August we bought a one month membership to the pool.
There was lots of playing of course but the main attraction was the water slide which culminated in water too deep for DD to stand in. To get from the end of the slide to the shallower water required at least 6 - 8 swimming strokes. And this sealed the swimming.
I stood at the bottom waiting for her as her swimming wasn't quite strong or reliable enough for her to be left to her own devices. However, I hardly ever touched her and she managed to swim to the shallows every time.
This is how it feels I spent my summer as DD could go down that slide 10 times in succession but it was totally worth it.
*Thank you Yael Katz for the photos.
Brilliant! An important skill attained and plenty of fun while doing it. Perfect.She really looks happy coming out of that slide :-) xx
ReplyDeleteShe loved that slide. If there were a prize for who rode the slide the most times this summer, DD would win it hands down. And part of it was that I encouraged her as the more she went the more swimming she did.
DeleteWell done DD...... what a star! She looks like she's having great fun! X
ReplyDeleteThanks, it totally was. And that month's membership to the pool took the pressure off having to find (and pay for) other sources of entertainment every day.
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