The girls had swim lessons this summer right after the end of the school year. We signed up for lessons with Mrs. Ashleigh, the same swim instructor we’ve used for several years now, and she put us in her first summer session: May 31st-June 11th. We didn’t end up doing swim lessons in 2020 because Mrs. Ashleigh cancelled her beginner sessions due to covid, and we decided to just wait a year on the beginner strokes lessons for Brooklyn and Savannah. This year was Abigail’s first ever time to do swim lessons, and she was excited…until she actually got in the water ;) Here’s the recap of our two weeks of lessons:
Swim Lesson Day #1 (May 31st) – We signed Brooklyn and Savannah for Ashleigh’s Beginner Strokes class this year. It is one step above her beginner classes, which both girls had done several times before. Brooklyn couldn’t wait to get there, but Savannah was pretty nervous. She doesn’t like jumping off the diving board or being in the deep end. They both did good though! The class is definitely going to teach them things they haven’t learned yet…treading water, side breathing, etc.
Savannah seemed to be the youngest in the class, and I asked Ashleigh afterward if she thought Savannah was ready for this class. She said, “Yes, I think she’s scrappy enough” ;)
Brooklyn still loves to fly high when she jumps off the diving board!
They practiced swimming to Mrs. Ashleigh, taking a breath, and swimming to the wall. They also practiced treading water, and Brooklyn was happy because she treaded water for 16 seconds on the first day!
Savannah has a much gentler jump off the diving board…haha
I could tell right away that Savannah still had those strong kicks that she used to have.
Abigail’s lesson was right after the big girls’ lesson. She had Carter, Luke, and Barrett in her class, which I was really glad about. It was just the four of them together! Her class only lasted for 30 minutes, and the big girls’ class lasted an hour.
She was initially excited and never cried until it was time to get in the water. After she went under for the first time, she screamed and cried pretty much the rest of the class. I had to carry her to Ashleigh for her other turns. She kept saying “I want to go home!” and “I don’t want to!!” She has been doing really well at putting her face in the water in the tub at home, so I really thought she’d be okay with swim lessons. I was hopeful that it would get better over the next few days though. She went home and immediately got in her bed with a blanket and said she needed to “rest”…haha. I think she was worn out from all that screaming!
Swim Lesson Day #2 (June 1st) – Brooklyn and Savannah practiced “side breathing bobs” today and swimming with a kickboard/coming up for air on the side with their arm back.
Abigail was happy to sit and watch from the side as long as she wasn’t the one in the water ;)
The big girls also practiced sitting dives and stingrays (gliding along the bottom of the pool after pushing off from the steps…Brooklyn loved that!). They also treaded water in the deep end today for the first time.
Savannah was nervous during some of the things they did, but I think she is slowly learning to trust Ashleigh. Brooklyn has gotten a little frustrated because they are learning some hard stuff, but they are both doing their best. I’m proud of them for trying!
Abigail’s lesson went much better today. Yesterday, Brooklyn got a doughnut and Savannah got a smoothie for being brave at swim lessons. Abigail’s doughnut has been waiting on the counter at home, and she knew that…so she told me she was going to be brave today :) She cried just a little but for the most part, she did much better. They practiced jumping in off the side of the pool and swimming to the steps. She had a few tears but she walked willingly to Ashleigh for her turns, so I was proud of her.
Having her cousins in class with her made the lessons much better!
Abigail did crack me up by laying down with her towel by the pool steps after her turn was finished…haha. (Can you see her lying down behind the boys?) Swim lessons are exhausting! She was happy to get her doughnut after lunch today as a reward for being brave!
Swim Lesson Day #3 (June 2nd) – It was rainy and cool this morning! Brooklyn and Savannah had their class, and it rained for the first part of the class. Savannah said she was cold the whole time, but Brooklyn didn’t seem to be as bothered by it. Savannah and Brooklyn both said they did good at treading water today. Savannah had to use the bathroom during the middle of class and she got upset while we were in the bathroom, saying she forgot how to do something that Ms. Ashleigh asked her to do. I think she is getting upset because the lessons are hard, and she’s not getting it all down pat right away. She’s really doing so well though!
I overheard Ashleigh pointing out to the other kids how well Savannah was using her arms (like windmills) when she swims. I appreciated how Ashleigh tried to encourage her by pointing out things like that.
Brooklyn did a great job doing a sitting dive and getting a toy from the bottom of the deep end today.
We initially decided to postpone Abigail’s class until Saturday because it was so chilly this morning, but then at the last minute, Ashleigh ended up telling us we could come back at 2:45 PM for Abigail’s class. It was sunny and much warmer by that point in the day! We had to bring Gabby with us in her carrier, which was hilarious, because she had a vet appointment at 3:30 near Ashleigh’s house. Gabby meowed off and on the whole 30 minutes but didn’t’ seem to distract the kids…haha. I figure she was probably the first cat ever to attend Ashleigh’s swim lessons ;)
Abigail did great today! No tears at all! Barrett didn’t cry either. Abigail even kicked her legs for the first time in the water today. The first two days, she held her legs up while Ashleigh glided her along, but today she actually kicked a little bit. She is doing a good job of paddling with her arms though.
She’s already made a lot of progress since Day 1!
Swim Lesson Day #4 (June 3rd) – It was a little warmer this morning than yesterday, thankfully! Brooklyn and Savannah had a good class. They started working on diving from the side of the pool today (either with one knee on the ground or standing up and bending over). Brooklyn did so good for her first ever try! They also worked on “frog legs” (the kicking part of the breaststroke). It was tough, but the girls didn’t give up. Savannah cried a little bit during the middle of the lesson because she’s just having a hard time catching on to everything, but I was proud of her for not quitting.
Here is Savannah learning to dive :)
Abigail did great during her lesson! No tears today! She kicked with her legs and even jumped off the diving board (holding Ashleigh’s hand). She even cheered for Barrett when he was scared on the diving board.
She told Ashleigh at the end of Brooklyn and Savannah’s class…”I can’t wait for my swim lesson!”
Swim Lesson Day #5 (June 4th) – Whew! We are halfway done with lessons. Brooklyn is getting better at the breaststroke. Today the girls practiced using their arms with the frog kicks. Savannah has really good flutter kicks for her freestyle swim. Brooklyn is doing well practicing her dives too. Savannah cried a little bit today because the different things they are doing are hard, but I’m proud of her for still trying her best.
Ashleigh was reminding Brooklyn how to use her arms for the breaststroke here…
Savannah’s dives were more like belly flops, but I know she will get better at them as she gets older.
This picture sums up Brooklyn’s personality so well! All about having fun no matter what she does.
Today was a great day for Abigail!! She jumped in from the side all by herself twice without holding Ashleigh’s hand and jumped off the diving board (holding her hand) a couple of times. They practiced fall-in practice for the first time at the steps, and she didn’t cry!! She actually kicked her legs and got herself back to the steps.
She also swam ALL BY HERSELF to the ladder after jumping off the diving board. Ashleigh let go of her and she swam probably the last 4 feet all by herself. So proud of her!! She hasn’t cried at all since the 2nd day!
Swim Lesson Day #6 (June 7th) – Brooklyn says her favorite thing about swim lessons is diving. She loves trying to dive. Savannah is ready for swim lessons to be over ;) She says everything is too hard and she can’t remember what to do. She is the youngest by a good bit, and I think she’s just not quite coordinated enough to put everything together yet for the breaststroke or side breathing when doing freestyle. Ashleigh has modified the activities for her, and she is still learning a lot.
The girls both enjoyed trying to dive over this foam float.
Abigail didn’t do quite as well today as she did in the last class on Friday. She cried a little bit during the fall-in practice, especially when they did it in the deep end and had to get back to the side of the pool. She kept trying to swim to Ashleigh instead of swimming to the wall or steps.
Abigail also doesn’t really enjoy floating. After a minute she will ask, “Can we be done?” ;)
Swim lessons Day #7 (June 8th) – Brooklyn is getting better and better at breaststroke…she just has to learn to swim on top of the water and not so far down. Ashleigh says she has the moves down though! She is also doing well with diving and loves it. That’s her favorite part of swim lessons!
Ashleigh says Savannah has the best arm motion of anyone in the class during freestyle. She is struggling on pretty much everything else, but that’s okay. They started learning backstroke today by holding the kickboard and just kicking their legs.
Abigail did better today at not swimming to Ms. Ashleigh during fall in practice. She also jumped off the diving board all by herself without holding Ashleigh’s hand for the first time! She cried a little bit at the beginning of class but not as much as yesterday. Overall, all the girls are making progress!
Swim Lesson Day #8 (June 9th) – It rained off and on again today throughout both lessons. It rained pretty hard at times during Abigail’s lesson especially. Brooklyn is getting better at backstroke! They worked on adding their arms to backstroke. Savannah has a hard time lying back enough to do backstroke. She keeps wanting to bend in half and then she starts to sink. Ashleigh primarily worked with her on freestyle today and a little breaststroke. Ashleigh complimented Savannah and Cam today on how well they listen and try to follow instructions. I think if Savannah was older and a little more coordinated, she would be doing really well with these strokes!
Brooklyn practicing backstroke in the shallow end
Savannah practicing freestyle
Abigail did great today. She had to use the bathroom toward the end of the lesson today and she actually started crying when she got back out there and realized she had missed her turn to jump off the diving board. She WANTED to jump off the diving board…in the rain haha.
Today was the first day Abigail jumped off the diving board without holding Ashleigh’s hand. She did it twice! She did better today at swimming to the wall and reaching up instead of going to Ashleigh. Proud of all the progress she’s made!
Abigail swam so hard that she fell asleep during the short car ride home!
Swim Lesson Day #9 (June 10th) – It was a good day overall! The big girls learned the takeoff for the backstroke today. (How to push off the wall of the pool and get into backstroke.)
Abigail jumped off the diving board without holding Ashleigh’s hand again! Later, she also floated by herself for 30 seconds straight.
I was amazed at how far she’d come since the first day…
Ready for the last day of lessons!! Savannah and Abigail started calling themselves the “Flamingo Girls” (and even came up with a Flamingo Girls song) because of their matching swimsuits :)
Swim Lesson Day #10 (June 11th) – Travis got to come with us today! The girls were excited to show Daddy what they’d learned.
Brooklyn is getting much better at her backstroke. Ashleigh says she has the right form for her breaststroke too…sometimes she just swims too deep in the pool and isn’t close enough to the top to get her breaths ;) Savannah is doing a great job with her freestyle. She just needs to figure out the side breathing.
Brooklyn’s favorite part of swim lessons this year has been learning to dive and doing the stingray. Savannah said her favorite thing was doing the stingray.
Here is Savannah practicing her dive :)
Abigail did a good job on her last day too! They did more fall-in practice, and she was able to get herself back to the steps.
She is doing good at floating, but doesn’t enjoy it too much. She loves to ask, “Can we be done?” ;)
I’m so proud of all the progress they each have made!
After Abigail’s lesson was over, I attempted to get a picture of her with Carter, Luke and Barrett. This was the best we could do :) Glad we survived another summer of swim lessons!!
