Swimming Lessons

Swimming turned out to be a growing experience for both Tyler and Boyd. At first we weren't sure. Tyler was very nervous. He cried getting into the pool. He pretended his teacher wasn't there and very politely ignored her directions. Then one day she suggested we use a reward: no crying=ice cream. It worked! The next time: follow directions=new shoes (which he really needed). It worked again! No more rewards required after that. He actually looked forward to his lessons and connected with his very patient, but firm teacher. Boyd started out a bit timid as well. He turned out to be quite a natural, though, much to his teacher's delight.

Getting ready to swim to the steps, then pull himself up into a sitting position.


Jumping from the step and swimming back to the instructor.

Tipping on their backs. Part of the lesson is getting them comfortable on their backs. We started out by supporting them on our arm and then gradually tried to get them to float on their own. You can actually teach babies this as a survival skill. If they should ever fall into the water, they can flip on their back and float they're while calling for help.

Tyler with his bag of treats and graduation paper. He's no longer a Guppie; he's now a Pollywog!

Here he is with his class and his ever patient instructor.