Swimming Lessons: Week 1

Sam is in the foreground here and Casey is in the middle clump - they yell hello to each other when the pass by

The director of the swimming program said that the main difference between Preschool 1 and Preschool 2 is that the kids in preschool 1 will probably cry more.  Without a moments hesitation I signed Sam up for Preschool 2.  He loves the water, we have been in a lot of pools and he is excited for "simming lessons".
So you can imagine I was floored when Sam screamed for the entire class on the first day - or at least for the 20 minutes they were willing to keep him.  Way to go mom!  They gave him back to me early and encouraged us to try again the next day.  I volunteered to not try again the next day but they seemed to mean it.  Tuesday, Sam started freaking out about it here at home, all the way there and as we were going in.  Again they took him into the water, and did a nice job of distracting him for small periods of time, making it possible to keep him in the water for the full 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes of sympathetic looks from the other parents, I again volunteered to just try next year.  Again they encouraged us to come back.  Wednesday, Sam was already in tears when we arrived and by the time I handed his screaming self over to the teacher I was too.
I really struggle to find the fine line between "Don't quit - make them keep trying" and "Alright, never mind, it's just not going to work".  The first feels sort of mean, but the latter isn't great either.   Sam is 3 - so I'm not looking to start his Olympic training or anything, so if he hates it, who cares?  Forget about it, move on.  On the other had, we want him to be safe in the water, to learn to swim and be confident he can hold his own.  Well, does he have to learn all that RIGHT NOW?  Can't we try again when he is 4?  Sure, but what message do we send by quitting because he just doesn't like it?  Sigh.

Sam and Tony

But, they had developed a new strategy.  One teacher just played with Sam the whole time - one on one with bath toys and squirters.  "It's like a big bath tub mama!"  he exclaimed as he got out of the water that day.   The teacher he spent the day with was Tony - he is probably 22 and a real natural.  Sam talked about Tony and the big bath tub for the rest of the day.  Thursday Sam was happy to go and glad to be there.  He and Tony spent the class together again - but this time, Tony stayed near the class and had Sam do what they were doing, even having Sam hold onto the wall and kick with the group.  Sam had a ball and talked about Tony all day again.  Friday Sam was happy to be there.  Tony came to find me to say that he was not getting in the pool today (stomach sinking), because he is actually from out of town and won't be here next week and needs Sam to get used to Ahmed, the other teacher.  I was nervous, and Sam was sitting on the edge of the pool looking for Tony.  But Ahmed came and got him and he was with the rest of the class the whole lesson.  Tony was around and Sam kept his eye on him, and when Sam was kicking he would yell "Tony, do you see me kicking?"  When it came time to jump in, which Sam had not yet participated in, Tony came over and gave him a little pep talk and he was willing to try after that.  He had a great time!  Yeah!!  Fingers crossed for week 2 and 3 :)

Casey loves swimming all the way across on the noodles

Now, Casey was very excited about swimming lessons but I had prepared myself that he could change his mind at any point.  Casey is in a Pre Beginner Class which they helped me pick based mostly on his age.  One the first day I was a little distracted by Sam's screaming (as was every person in the vicinity) but I did see him crying at one point when the teacher was talking about putting their heads under water.   Then he did it!  And he never called out to me or asked to get out or anything. After Monday he said "I got scared mama but I did what the teacher said and I was ok!"  Each day his confidence grew and he really enjoyed the whole experience.
So, aside from the moment on Monday that I looked around to see that out of 20 some kids in the pool, the two that were crying were both mine, it has been good.  For all of us.