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Amélie will be 17 months old next week, and this morning she had her 12th toddler swimming lesson. This article covers her latest 2 lessons, and I've tried to include more pictures than usual as the last few articles have been low on them. There is only one new technique but I would recommend reading this article as there is a lot more in it than usual.
By Dad
In our baby swimming articles there was so much to cover in each lesson. The toddler lessons have much less material so we have started covering 2 lessons per article. Both lessons 11 and 12 were very similar although there was a new technique in lesson 12. The lessons were similar on another front, as both times only myself and another parent turned up. So there was only 2 of us in each lesson instead of the usual 5 or 6.
...... Read the rest of this Article >>This article rounds up the first term of toddler swimming lessons. In the New Year we will cover the second term. Apologies for our tardiness, we have had a rough time of it lately so haven't updated the site as often as we would have hoped.
By Dad
We usually post these articles the same day we have the lesson. Unfortunately the last few have gone up much later than we had hoped. Clare was pregnant with our second child when her waters broke prematurely at just 32 weeks. She managed to hold onto him for a little while longer and our son was born 11 days ago, healthy but premature. We visited him a few times a day in the special care unit but the whole family fell ill last week. We couldn't visit him until we were all better in case we took the bug with us. The good news is that he came home yesterday and is doing great.
I've been both Mum and Dad for a few weeks. Juggling that with running the family business and at least 2 hospital visits per day. It was a privilege to look after Amélie on my own. She made it very easy on me, but I can't tell you how relieved I am to have Clare and our new son Caleb home at last. I was lucky enough to be at the birth as my Dad took care of Amélie while we were both in hospital. Enough about our trials and tribulations though, and onto the swimming!
Last weeks lesson was canceled at the last minute because the pool temperature was too low. This is why out lesson 8 article is a week later than it should have been. Still no Clare today, so I took my Dad along to take the pictures. He's not as proficient with the steamy low light conditions as Clare so only a couple came out.
By Dad
We started the class as usual until it came to the 'humpty dumpty' part. Instead of sitting on the wall the toddlers stood on the wall with the 'toes on the edge' technique that was introduced in lesson 6. The parent held their hands to prevent them from accidentally falling backward. Our pool has a wall around the side so they are standing on the wall and not at floor level, so we have to be extra careful.
...... Read the rest of this Article >>Amélie is exactly 15 months old today. This is also the first time Clare wasn't with us, so the picture today is recycled from last week.
By Dad
I didn't have Clare to help, so I got Amélie dressed and ready to go 45 minutes early. The lesson plan was the same as last week with 3 exceptions. There were 2 new routines, and we had a holiday swim race. We raced for a full length of the pool in pairs, and Amélie held on right to the end. It's great to be able to swim with your toddler holding onto your shoulders. The Mother who raced me picked the short straw as her baby was a good few months older hence heavier than Amélie, and she was racing a man.
...... Read the rest of this Article >>There hasn't been much new material in the last few articles, but today there was some progression. The most obvious of which was jumping in from the side.
By Dad
The lesson plan was similar to the recent lesson plans so I'll concentrate on the differences. The first of which was a focus on moving forward with surface swims. We get the toddlers doing 'tiger rars', which is moving their hands and arms like a cartoon tiger would. It's really just doggy paddle but we try and make it interesting and fun. The whole time we are also mimicking the roar of a cartoon tiger, shouting 'rrrrarrrrr rrrrrarrrrr' while the toddlers are pawing at the water.
...... Read the rest of this Article >>Alex usually writes these articles, and I watch and take the photographs. This week however we have an unusually high workload so he is working and I'm penning today's toddler swimming article.
By Mummy
I say I just watch and take the photographs, but I also get Amélie changed to go, and changed to come back after the lesson. I've also taken her on one occasion, and outside of the lessons we go swimming as a family and use some of the routines and techniques we have learned from the lessons.
The lesson before us went on late so Alex and Amélie were in the pool killing time. They were practicing 'monkey monkey monkey' before the start of the lesson. The aim of this is that eventually your child will be able to shuffle up and down the side of the pool using their hands on the side of the pool or rail. It was quite a coincidence that near the end of the lesson they were asked for the first time ever to let the toddlers do 'monkey monkey monkey' on their own.
After a short break for half term, the swimming lessons have started again. So this morning we took our 14 months old daughter for her 4th toddler swimming lesson.
By Dad
Over the past year I've written about 40 articles covering baby swimming lessons. Occasionally there was a lesson where there wasn't much new material. Sometimes there was so much new material it took me most of the day to write it all up. Most of the time though there was a good balance and I always thought each individual article was worth writing (and from the positive comments we get, worth reading too).
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