Luke the Starfish - Class 1

Monday afternoon, DH came home from work and announced that Georgia Tech is offering swim classes for kids. "I saw the sign this morning. They start Saturday. I think we should sign Luke up." Um, uh, really? We had talked about it, but I thought we had decided to wait another year or two. I didn't take lessons until age 8, but apparently that is no longer the norm. This class was the Starfish class for kids age 2-6 with no real swim experience. There is also a Goldfish class, also for 2-6 year olds, who have already mastered the Starfish objectives. I was concerned about how well he would pay attention and listen (not currently strengths of his), but everyone assured me that he would be fine. He has always loved the water, and though he has never been to a pool, he has never shown any fear of the ocean on our numerous beach trips. (I'll admit, the ocean scares me pretty good, but I'm fine at the pool.) So we signed him up. If you need us on Saturday mornings between now and mid-July, we're probably at the Georgia Tech athletic center! Here's Luke, waiting for them to open the doors to the pool (Daddy, can we go in yet?).



There are 3 other kids in the class besides Luke: a little girl who is 2.5, and a brother and sister who I would guess are around 3 and 4.5, respectively. DH was the only dad there, which I found interesting. I was under the impression that the class was only for the kids, not a "kids and parents" class, but all of the other parents came in swimsuits. DH had his in the gym bag, but he didn't want to wear his suit and then Luke be upset that DH wasn't getting in the water. We thought Luke might pay attention better if we weren't right there beside him on the ledge. We explained to Miss Sabrina that DH could go change if parents were supposed to participate, but she said no. She then announced to the group that she didn't mind parents being in the water for the first class while the kids got used to her and she assessed each child's current abilities, but for all future classes, she wanted just the kids in the water. The other two moms looked rather unsure about that idea. I can't believe that *I* was the most chill mother of the group.


(The girl from the brother/sister pair was down the lane with Sabrina. I didn't manage a photo of all 4 of them.)

I really didn't know what to expect from Luke. Again, he has never been to a swimming pool, so I didn't know if he would suddenly be afraid when faced with the large expanse of the pool. Nope! In fact, he was anything but. There is the concrete around the perimeter, several inches above water height, then there is a plastic ledge right at water level. Luke sat down first (the other three kids were a little hesitant to get in at first), then he put his hand down and shoved his whole body into the water. Whoa!! The water was probably 4 feet deep, give or take (1.2 meters), and he sank like a stone, which I don't think he expected at all. Sabrina immediately fished him out. He couldn't have been under for more than 1-2 seconds, and he was sputtering pretty good, but he was fine. I don't think he inhaled any water (he wasn't coughing), but he likely swallowed some. I think he was just surprised more than anything! He's at swim class, so of course he can automatically swim, right? LOL It's funny now; it was minorly heart-stopping at the time. Even Sabrina said she had *never* had a kid just jump right in like that.



I was afraid that experience might make him a little more timid (nearly drowning the first 10 seconds he's in the pool), but nope. He did great! He had the briefest of hesitations when she picked him to go first (see above picture), but once he realized she wouldn't let him sink (which took about 3 seconds), he showed no fear. He was not afraid to blow bubbles in the water or to get his ears wet, something Sabrina said is often the hardest thing to overcome, even with adults. (I just pray he doesn't end up with an ear infection, like I do every time I get even a *drop* of water in my ears, even in the shower.) The only thing he is having trouble grasping is sticking his rear end up so that his legs stick out *behind* him, not underneath him like a bicycle. He did better with that when using the kick board. I'm sure it will come. I suspect he is going to ask us every day between now and next Saturday when we're going back to the pool!

Here are some more pictures:



And a video (that I shot in portrait mode, like an idiot, so there was a good bit of quality loss when it was rotated, sorry):


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Currently feeling: amazed at my little starfish