Saturday, March 5, 2011

Pike Swim Class

Matthew is a frog in the water. He kicks and kicks and kicks. He's all smiles and laughter with water running down his face. I can only see this from the "viewing deck" though. He is in a swim class without me in the pool.

pike swim class

There are four other kids, ages 3 to 5, in the class with two swim instructors. One of the instructors is with Matthew at all times as I had requested. Why? Mainly to help him stay focused and engaged in the class as he tends to zone out or get distracted with everything else around the pool. He has a good attention span when he gets one-to-one time but when he's in a group, his attention seems to wane. I could've enrolled him in private swim lessons but I wanted him to experience being in a group taking turns and having other kids as role models.

photo taken from my viewing deck

He has ear tubes so he wore ear plugs as recommended by his ENT. He popped them out a few times. He had never worn ear plugs before since I had never had his head submerged in the water. So this was a new sensation that he will have to get used to. From what I've heard, all ENT's have different opinions on ear plugs being mandatory in the pool. Some say ear plugs aren't necessary while some would disagree. Lake water is a different story though. I'm hoping Matthew won't need a 3rd set of ear tubes when the ones he has now fall out.

ready to jump in

They did laps in the pool today with floaties on their backs and a foam noodle under their arms. They were also taught basic swim strokes, how to float on their belly, float on their back, blow bubbles in the water, jump in, and wade to the pool side. He was shivering by the end of the class but Matthew enjoyed every minute.

3 comments:

Rochelle said...

Awesome, what a big boy!

Monica Crumley said...

What a nice pool and with a viewing area! So glad he's doing well!

Far Above Rubies said...

I'm so glad he's doing well. Ella might have to get a second pair of ear tubes, but we're waiting.

Matthew is such a cutie pie.

Thanks for passing by. I hope all is well.