First swim class

After repeated nagging from a mummy friend who was very keen to start swimming classes for her kid asap, the first swim session was fixed on 5th August 2012.
Swimming is one of the few classes that the hubs was also keen on, since it’s both outdoorsy and also a critical life skill (us islanders, remember?).  And the gramps’ pool was nearby, so what’s not to love?

Was also glad for the chance for B to use K’s Konfidence thermawear as much as possible, since it’s getting a tad too tight already.

Our mummy and bebe crocs. Mickey mouse holes!

Usually K’s not a very “class” person (apart from her beloved preschool and sunday school), and not much of a waterbaby (has always had issues with water getting into eyes at bathtime etc), so we were a tad apprehensive.  But as usual, we parents tried to rah-rah her to a decent level of enthusiasm the night before.

We were SO pleasantly surprised and proud that she took to the class so well!  One of her friends (who usually has no issues with the pool having splashed with abandon here a few times already, and who’s a class veteran since she attends 5 enrichment classes outside preschool a week) decided that it was not a good day to participate and refused with tears to join them for the first half of the session.  But K turned out to be a real trooper and gamely donned her fuschia goggles, and dipped her face obediently into the pool.

Guess I got to see what her teachers (preschool and sunday school) meant.  They always tell us that she’s very quiet, mild and obedient in class.  Which we find hard to reconcile with the very chatty, sometimes rebellious girl we see at home.

B on the other hand, was adventurously venturing round the pool as far as we’d let her.  And then after a while she decided to escape to the nearby playground as usual.  Good thing papa was there so we took turns watching B – it’s amazing how exhausting 5 mins of chasing after a toddler and keeping her out of harm’s way can be.

K did act up towards the end.  Here’s the story for posterity.  She had this little scratch on her calf, and a blue plaster had been stuck there for days.  She suddenly caught sight of it at the last 10 mins of the session, and decided that her ‘leg was painful’. Our dear drama mama (her, not me) then decided to stick one leg awkwardly “on shore” and only kick with one leg whilst insisting that there was some grievious bodily hurt to her other leg. The (very young) instructor was like “oh does she have a [fresh]cut?” I tried to subtly convey that this was quite a charade, whilst trying not to be the totally-insensitive-undermining-mummy.

I managed to engineer the disappearance of the offending distracting plaster (to emphasise her complete wellness – there was only a tiny very dried scab there), and after a while, she finally agreed to plonk both legs into the water and give a few half-hearted kicks.

The session ended all too swiftly after some 45 mins, but it went well, and I was proud of K for participating, and perhaps even for not fussing when the other two girls received floats that were pink on one side whilst she didn’t.  Hope she enjoys all her future swim lessons – all things considered, this was not a bad start!