April 18, 2008

Last night Cassie had her first private swimming lesson. We signed her up for a total of seven private lessons and my hopes are that after these she will have a little more confidence and won't be so nervous about the water. At that point I want to put her into group lessons to continue her learning. :)

I was able to pick which teacher would be hers and I picked the head life guard, Ellen. Ellen also was the teacher of the class I took to fine tune my swimming strokes. Before signing Cassie up for lessons, I talked with Ellen on several occasions about what I wanted from lessons for Cassie and she knows Cassie's limitations.

As I was getting Cassie ready for lessons yesterday I reminded her of how nice Miss Ellen was and told her that she can trust Miss Ellen. That Miss Ellen will keep her safe and all that reassuring stuff that I do as Cassie's mom. Then I handed her off to Ellen and went to watch from the "family room" where Kalli could play.

Cassie worked on getting comfortable getting in and out of the water. She practiced getting more comfortable being on her back in the water and swimming on her front as well. I have to say that I was pretty impressed with Cassie. She started out a little unsure of being on her back (though as a swim teacher I know that kids don't like this position. It takes trust and patience to be comfortable on your back in the water) but by the end of her 30 minutes she was putting her head back with her ears in the water. She wasn't floating completely on her own, but it is progress.

She truely enjoyed her lesson and asked when the next one was. And the part that I can't wait to tell Ellen?? As I was getting Cassie dressed she said to me, "I want to be a swim teacher when I get bigger." I told her that I thought that was an excellent idea and asked when she decided this. Her response was that she decided it while with Ellen. Ellen is going to melt!!

I know that as a swim teacher, I should be teaching Cassie...right?? I feel that neither her or I have the patience with each other that are needed for it. It is better that a third party is there and I can be the cheerleader.