On our second day we did actually manage to get into the pool. They started with a swim assessment. Not that I had any pictures to prove it as they have a strict no photo policy.... Unfortunately Ryan threw a fit and refused to go, and Connor followed suit. Only when Ryan got into the water he stopped. Connor on the other hand continued to cry the whole time. The result of which being that Connor was put into the afraid of the water group. And Ryan in the fine, but can't swim camp.
I was actually surprised as there were 5 different groups in the preschool age ranging from afraid of the water, can't swim, think they can swim, swims just enough to be dangerous and swims like a fish.
After a lesson or two in hindsight it was probably a good thing they were split up into different classes. Ryan spent more than half of his lessons in trouble either directly for not listening, playing on the rails, and not staying on the step, or indirectly for egging on the other kids in the class.
At the onset there were 4 kids in Ryan's class - him, a little girl, and two other little boys. The teacher wasn't really prepared for 3 rowdy boys and had a hard time trying to get them to behave. Luckily one of the boys' parents insisted after the first week that he move up to the next group and the other was routinely 20 minutes late so Ryan's class time was mostly spent with just him and the little girl who was busy trying to learn how to swim instead of getting in trouble.
Connor's class was just the opposite. It was him and 3 little girls, including a set of 3 year old twin girls who actually were a little afraid of the water. Connor spent his entire first class crying. Luckily his second class went much better and he hopped right into the water and had a great time splashing and playing.
By the time it was over Connor was doing a great job using his arms, and even cupping his fingers. Unfortunately he out and out refused to put his head in the water which means the second they let go of him he goes straight to vertical trying to keep his head out of the water.
Ryan on the other hand made some big strides in the head in the water camp. As we were practicing after class the next to last day he even went as far as to put his whole head under water over and over again in a game to see who could touch their nose to the bottom of the pool. He did such a great job we were so proud of him! Unfortunately putting his head in the water while swimming was a whole different story... But he actually did a pretty good job going back and forth between Kevin and I while we played in the pool. His last swim lesson however didn't go so well.... While his teacher was working with another kid and he was playing around he fell off the step into the deeper water and neither his teacher or the lifeguard noticed. Luckily I was watching him and jumped in and grabbed him before he actually drowned. He wasn't even phased by it and went right on with his lessons with my constant reminders to get back on the step and sit down.... His lesson however ended early when he slipped while jumping into the pool and banged his shin on the edge. He had a nice knot almost immediately. Poor kid...
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