Lessons Complete

Today was the last day of swimming lessons. The kids both got promoted up two levels! Josiah was in Preschool Level 2. Instead of going to Preschool Level 3 next time, they suggest moving him to Level 1. Mackenzie was in Level 1 and they suggest Level 3 for her next time. I am so proud of all they have accomplished! I am thankful for their teachers who were all wonderful. Josiah's class had the opportunity to jump off the diving board, into the 15 ft deep water, for the first time today. He was so excited!! The above picture is of him in mid-air.
Here he is "swimming" to the side (with the help of his teacher, of course!) after jumping off the diving board.

He loved it! Here he is jumping again. He was so brave! I am so proud.


This picture (above) was taken yesterday as he jumped from the side of the pool. At the end of the lesson each day, the kids lined up and jumped in from the edge.

This was also yesterday...Mackenzie learned to dive! Anna, her teacher, was great! Mackenzie was an eager learner. I'm so proud of her!

A cuddly little boy waiting for his sister's class to end. :)

I am so thankful that my children have had the opportunity to learn how to swim.
I have attempted to upload videos for the first time. Sadly, an error has occurred during the upload. I was able to capture one of Mackenzie's dives from yesterday, and each of the kids jumping off the diving board today. Perhaps it will upload tomorrow!

Ha, ha. I just hit publish post and the video is now working! Go figure. I'm a happy camper, though. I think you can click on the play arrow button and watch all four videos. Enjoy!

Swimming Lessons & Diving Boards

We are enjoying swimming lessons this summer! We are in the middle of the two week session, and I decided it was time for a blog post. The picture below is of my little man, standing in front of the pool, ready to begin. You'll notice the diving boards are in the background, over to the right. Josiah learning to float! His nice teacher was trying to help keep the bright sun out of his face. :)
A proud little man...learning so much. He told people on the first of day lessons that his sister can swim but he can't swim without floaties so he is here to learn how to really swim! He is doing a great job of learning, too.

They use kick boards and noodles to help the children learn.

I zoomed in on the hospital, which is just beyond the pool, on the other side of the Tennessee River! Cool pic, huh?! (Go back up to the first picture to see the true distance from the pool...look just behind Josiah.)

The girl floating in the light yellow swim suit is my Mackenzie! Look at her go!!!

A close up of Josiah.

On the third day of lessons, the teacher offered for any children who wanted to jump off the diving board to come with her. Only four children went to the board. Of those four, only two actually jumped. My determined little girl was one of those two who did jump! The first time, the teacher had her jump holding on to a noodle.

The teacher was waiting in the 15 ft water as Mackenzie jumped! She looked directly at me with such a proud smile on her face after that first jump.

Then she swam, using the noodle, to the wall.

The second time she jumped was without the noodle!

You see the splash in the water in the picture below? Yep, that's my Mackenzie! You can't see her as she is under the water having just jumped off the diving board. WooHoo!

Her teacher watched as she resurfaced and swam to the edge. I'm so proud of her for getting up there and jumping without giving it a second thought!

Her teacher let her jump off the diving board one more time that day. I love picture below, where I zoomed in on her fearless jump from the diving board. She loves to swim, and she loves to excel in all that she does. I do believe she is competitive. ;) She was quite pleased to have gone off the board, even though most of her class opted out!

I am so proud of my two kiddos. They are doing a great job of listening to their teachers and learning more about swimming.

Swimming Lessons Complete...for now.

Swimming lessons are finished, as of last night. Upon leaving the pool, the kids were each given a cookie and a piece of paper from their teachers. Realize that BOTH kids were in the 3-5 year old class together, which was a neat experience. Josiah held his own with the big kids! He was by far the youngest out there being still one month shy of 3 years old himself. Mackenzie has completed the 3-5 year old level and is officially promoted to level 1, while Josiah completed the 3-5 year old class but would still be in it for the next go-around, whenever that may be...

Here's the comments from the teacher to Josiah, on his form, "Josiah, you are such a hard worker! You always have a smile on your face and love to be dunked! I will never forget that. Continue to practice and you will be a fish in no time!"

Here's the comments from the teacher to Mackenzie, on her form, "Mackenzie, you have no fear! You are always willing to try new things and are determined to succeed! Continue to practice and have fun in level 1."

I think it is very nice that the teacher took the time to write specific comments for each child. I loved reading them and just wanted to share them! :)

My Little Fish

My two little fish are taking group swimming lessons! They are totally excited about it as they love the water. They'll be in class for 8 sessions over 4 weeks. I had fun snapping some pictures tonight! Enjoy. The above picture is an overview of the 3 classes in the pool. Josiah's class is on the far right edge; Mackenzie's class is the one farthest away from us. It's a busy place!
Here's an up close of Josiah and David in the parent tot class. Josiah's teacher promoted him from the parent tot class, which is for kids up to age 36 months, to Mackenzie's class starting next week! He is excited to join the big kids, and his skill level is ready for the next class anyways. My baby is growing up too fast. ;(

Here's Mackenzie swimming with the noodle. Notice her new friend smiling in the background...those two girls just hit it off! I've had fun watching Mackenzie make friends these days. She LOVES making new friends. That will be helpful for starting kindergarten in the fall.

I like the way you can see the water splashing in this pic! My two boys are having fun together. I'm so glad David is such an involved Daddy. That's a huge blessing for the kids and me! :)

So...where is Mackenzie? She is completely under the water! Her friends are watching the place in the water where she went under, directly behind her teacher's head.

Here's Mackenzie swimming with her face in the water while holding on to the noodle. She can go for several seconds like this while holding her breath!

We're all having fun with the group lessons. We did private lessons last summer, but figured the group ones would be cheaper and the kids would enjoy the other children this way, too. As for me, I'm enjoying watching!

Swimming Lesson Update

Today was the next-to-last swimming lesson for Mackenzie with Ian at CourtSouth. What did Mackenzie do today? Well, she (per Ian's instruction) jumped into the swimming pool (with small square foam block "floaty" attached to her back in order to maintain a horizontal rather than vertical position in the pool) and swam the entire length of the pool all by herself! As in, no one else was in the pool at all. Just Mackenzie. Josiah and I cheered from the sidelines when she finished. Ian beamed at her as he praised her accomplishments.

He was quick to say that she is the youngest (3 1/2 yrs) one he has taught that was actually able to swim the full length of the pool at the end of 5 thirty minute lessons. He says she is a very strong swimmer, even though she is the skinniest little girl he's ever taught! He has trouble keeping the floaty on her as it tends to fall off her little body. He worked with her more today on swimming without the floaty, which she is perfectly willing to do, but it is hard for her to breathe as she swims. She'll hold her breath and swim under water for about 4-6 feet, but then someone needs to help her come up for air before she can continue. He says she is not quite ready for the synchronized breathing while swimming lesson. She has certainly got the gist of it, and I am so very proud of her!!!

Also, Josiah went and watched today. Actually, he did not want to just watch. He wanted to know, "Is it my turn now, Momma?" After the third time of him asking that, Ian let Mackenzie rest while he took Josiah for his "first" swimming lesson. Josiah loved it and may be more ready than I originally thought...perhaps by the end of the summer Ian will have taught Josiah more about swimming, too!

For now, I'm very pleased that I have two eager learners. Mackenzie knows correct swim strokes and kicks and is able to use them to get some good speed as she directs herself through the water. I am thankful for the opportunity to see that my kids learn to swim. The bonus for me is that I can safely take both kids swimming by myself without cumbersome life jackets! Ian says that as Mackenzie develops her lower back muscles while swimming, she'll be able to keep her body in a horizontal position in the water rather than vertical. So, of course, we must go "practice" swimming, right? :) I fore see some fun days at the poolside this summer. Now, it's just too bad that I don't have that same body description as Mackenzie-HA. ;)

Swimming Lessons!

Mackenzie is taking swimming lessons at Court South. Ian, her instructor, has been a great fit for Mackenzie's personality! I am quite pleased, and this is only the second of six lessons! She started yesterday, and I snapped these pictures today during her second session. Look at her go! She is swimming to the ladder in this picture.
Ian is teaching Mackenzie different swimming strokes. She has learned the breast stroke and back stroke, though she is still using the square floaty, or Ian's assistance, to stay afloat as she swims...I'm guessing that by the end of four more lessons she will be swimming unassisted!
Here I come!
Notice Ian's hand...he is patting the water to his right. That is where he is asking Mackenzie to jump. She did it, too! She jumped in, not to Ian, but next to him and attempted to surface on her own. He is working on teaching her to tread water. She tried it several times in a row today. Way to go, Mackenzie! She really is a brave little 3 1/2 year old. She listens well to instructions and sticks her tongue out in concentration as she tries to do exactly as told. Ian has been surprised by how much progress they have made in such short time.

Yes, I am a proud Momma!