Our excursion would not have been nearly as much fun if the kids weren't such good swimmers. And all the fun I mentioned having as a 20--something, finding swimming holes here there and everywhere would not have happened if I hadn't been part fish myself. Which is why "strong swimmer" is on the list of must-have attributes for our girls to develop.
Fortunately, I acquired the knowledge to teach them myself. Sue Dressel, our wonderful neighbor in Beaumont, taught me the method she used during the 28 years she ran her swim school. We enrolled Mia in her class the year we moved in across the street and I left crying the first day, Mia's screams in my ears all the way home. I considered taking her out but one week later, she was jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side. My two year old. I was proud and completely sold. I asked Sue to teach me her secrets. Then, when Sue and Charlie moved to Katy, we bought their house and rented it to our friends, who helped us carry on Sue's swim school for a few more years. It turns out that teaching swimming is a lot more lucrative than teaching Spanish. Sue made in excess of $30,000 each summer charging $130 per swimmer per two week/ eight day session. My friend Beth and I cut back the number of lessons quite a bit but still made enough to contribute to the extras and nice to haves that every family "needs". Being a swim instructor is also more immediately gratifying than anything else I've taught. Within eight lessons, swimmers went from zero to jumping off the board. Amazing. It still amazes me as, seven years later, I continue to teach here and there--gratis.
This summer, I have taught five children in addition to Ella. A friend in Kingwood asked me to teach her daughters and I added two children plus Ella to round out our class. It was such a great experience. Mary Grace, the token two year old, reminded me again of how much of this is so natural to very young kids. Every time she went to fetch rings off the bottom, she kicked and wiggled to the surface in a way all her own. It is such a privilege to work with the kids. All of them--Brenna, Evelyn, Nate, Mary Grace and Ella--started off scared (Ella cried the loudest of all of them)--and I calmly helped them work through their fears and learn to swim. And swimming is fun. So much fun. Which is probably why, at the end, the kids in my classes are my biggest fans. Talk about gratifying.
These days, I'm working with my sweet niece and god daughter Anya. She has made great strides in the last six days. When we started, she was a little farther along than most beginners because she could hold her breath like a champ. Now, she can swim three to four feet and grab the wall. She can almost pull herself out of the pool. She can swim to the ladder from under the diving board. And she still likes me. Life is good.
Anatomy of Under, Bubbles, Kick:
Every lesson is the same. Students learn exactly what to expect.
#1 Three turns in the shallow end:
*Stand three feet or so from the wall, say "under bubbles kick" (Lift swimmer on the word bubbles), immerse swimmer and guide toward the wall. Do this three times.
*Put swimmer on his/her back and work on back floating.
*Get rings. Direct swimmer toward rings on the bottom of the pool. Say "under, bubbles, kick" and guide swimmer down toward rings. Let him/her kick up to the surface.
*Swimmer swims to the steps. Start about three to four feet away, say "under, bubbles, kick" again and guide swimmer to the steps.
#2 Two turns off the side in the deep end.
*Instructor kneels beside the pool and places swimmer in the water a couple feet from the side. Distance from the side increase as swimmer's ability increases. Instructor says, "under, bubbles, kick" before placing swimmer in the water. Instructor places a hand on the back of swimmer's head to gently guide him/her to the wall if necessary.
#3 Two times off the diving board.
Assistant drops swimmer in to the pool in front of the instructor. Swimmer kicks to the surface. The instructor then guides swimmer to the ladder saying, "under, bubbles, kick". Swimmer should be encouraged to jump off the board independently as early as possible.
Once students can swim the length of the pool, work can be done on other strokes. At this point though, there is no substitute for swim team. The repetition and endurance training are invaluable. Which is why every child born into La Familia Doyle will be required to put time in on the Wahoos or whatever other team comes along.
Brenna and Evelyn, proud of their awards
Ella and Mary Grace after their last lesson
Reunion minus Mary Grace
Even more than all of the other things I've loved about teaching swimming, the take-aways have literally changed my life as a mom. They've empowered me. I have learned when to let my kids' cries stop me and when to ignore them and calmly push through. I know my kids can tell that I am confidently in control which makes them more secure. I've always known that kids in general want the adults in their lives to be strong, too strong to be pushed around by their fits and crying. The question was just how to know when to act and when to sit and wait. I am truly amazed at what a difference a simple little question like, "Can you teach me how to do that?" has made in my life.
For photos of my recent lessons with Anya and Ella, click here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm4gk8UTtj0
And a few photos from today's activities in the Valley:
Reading each other The Bear Hunt book. So cute.
See you here next time.
My younger children are not 'water safe' and only one of the younger five have had formal lessons. sigh. We're not close to a pool, but we need to get them trained.
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