Finley and I have completed our swim class! We started last week and finished up yesterday afternoon. After a great deal of searching, I opted to sign us up for a class that met several days in a row instead of a once a week class. I found a toddler class at the really, really nice MIT pool in Cambridge that met 3 days the first week and 3 days the second week. This selection proved to be quite wise, I sure know my boy! There is a lot to report, so I'll do my best to go day by day:
Day 1: My parents were on hand and joined us on the pool deck for the inaugural class.
I had suspected Finley would be less than thrilled with swimming since we had not been in the water (aside from the bath) since late last summer which is like "never" in toddler terms. My suspicions were right on, he cried and gripped me like a vice. My parents continued to smile at us from the bleachers, as they reminisced about getting me and my siblings water-ready all those years back. They also snapped some photos and kindly sent just the semi-happy Finley shots! We bounced around, jumped in, tried to put our faces in to blow bubbles, kicked, splashed and all those sorts of first-swim-class things.
Finley perked up when it was singing time and even more when it was time to play with the rubber duckies, phew :)
Day 2: I hoped the second class would be better and I was right! Finley adjusted to the water much more quickly and while he still held onto me tightly, there were no tears. Jumping in (being lifted in) was still his least favorite and song time was the best, but he did seem slightly more at ease. It also seemed to help that I put his SPF water shirt on that day, the splashing seemed to bother him less and his upper body was probably a bit warmer. Instead of ducks, we played with ping pong balls and Finley was thrilled to toss the ball around and chase it down. He was leaning out to grab the ball as we jogged towards it, he seemed quite at ease in the water at last. He even put his face in a couple times like he practices with Dan in the bathtub!
Day 3: Our after nap MIT routine was now set and Finley was borderline excited to get his bathing suit on and head to the pool. I would ask, "Are you ready to go swimming?" and Finley would respond, "Pool!!" He knew the way into the building and even wanted to sit poolside before class started to splash his hands in the water. During the class, Finley started to come out of his shell and have fun. He glided to the teacher and then back to me on his belly with his hands out front, I was shocked! We also got to play with the swimming noodles, which were a big hit for all the kids. Finley did not want to use it to float, but rather pulled up the end and said, "HELLO" into the end of it...it was pretty funny, but not his best "following directions" moment. He still loved playing with the ducks, but he was the star of the singing circle when the teacher led us in The Wheels on the Bus and after doing the wheels, door, and wipers--Finley called out "beep beep beep" splashing his hand in the pool. I asked, "Should we sing the horn?" and he screamed, "yeah!" so everyone sang "The horn on the bus goes ____" and Finley filled in his three beeps. Everyone was impressed and Finley was all smiles. That's my boy!
Day 4 (6 days since Day 3): Dan called to say he was able to leave work early and rush over, he works at Harvard these days so it wasn't a long ride. Finley was thrilled to see his daddy and Dan was just as happy to see Finley swim around. However, it was hard for Finley to see his dad sitting up on the bleachers so far away and not be able to go hang out with him. That combined with the time since our last class, made class number four a little tricky. However, Finley did the best he'd ever done swimming on his belly and kicking his feet. Amazing stuff, I tell you!
Day 5: Back to Day 2 and 3 levels of comfort and enthusiasm, Finley had fun getting wet, being on his belly, gliding to the teacher, chasing down ducks, and singing with the group. He was also getting quite good at crawling out of the pool "elbow, elbow, knee, knee." Hooray!
Day 6: "Graduation Day," at least that's what us moms dubbed it, was here! It was more of the same aquatic fun and I was so pleased that we had not only survived, but actually learned some things and enjoyed ourselves. Finley was voted "most improved" and that was a very fitting title watching him now glide around on his belly, kicking his feet, smiling and chit-chatting!
Here are some photos that I took yesterday of our pre-swimming routine. We park and get out to watch any cars, trucks, and sometimes even a freight train passing by. It can take anywhere from five to fifteen minutes to walk into the sports center depending on how many exciting vehicles are around. Once inside, we would walk down past the basketball courts and into the changing room, by the last couple of classes Finley knew the way all by himself. Then it was time to go into the pool. Finley was not a dutiful son of two lifeguards, as he constantly needed reminders to walk not run and even though he slipped twice, he couldn't resist the urge to run on the deck. This week, he discovered that he could splash around near the big pool in what he called the "tunnel."
We'd arrive to our spot and take off our shoes to wait for class to start.
"There! Splash! Water!" and then it would be time for class. Afterwards, we'd change (though I'd leave on his swim shirt because when it's 90 degrees outside, a nice damp top is a good thing), watch the big kids play basketball for a while, and then watch for some more trucks with a snack outside.
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