Swimfants
Yesterday was Colin's first swim class. Yep, that's right. At the ripe old age of 6 months (OK, 6 1/2 months) Colin took his class at the gym. And he seemed to have a great time - the kid is a natural!
I figured he'd pull his legs up, or squirm when he first hit the water - it was relatively warm for a pool, but not as warm as a bath. But nope - he just relaxed as if it was no big deal. The "instructor" led us through a number of children's songs which we played to in the water... we did the Hokey Pokey, some swishing back and forth, Twinkel Twinkle Little Star (which was floating on their back), and even did some backstroke and crawl. He got to practice pushing off from the wall, with a little help of course, and jumping off the side into the water. But Colin's shining moment was play time at the end of class. I grabbed an over-sized rubber ducky, and put it a few feet in front of him, then put him on his belly, while supporting him under his chest.
He immediately started doing the "swimming" that he normally does on the floor.... arching his back and kicking his legs furiously. Colin started doing this a few months back when he was on the floor and wanted to get to something he couldn't reach. On land it looks pretty funny, but in the water it looked like real swimming!!! When he kicked I'd move him forward so he could reach the ducky (which, of course, he immediately tried to jam into his mouth).
To be fair, Colin has strong swimmers on both sides of his family. Grandpa Buzzy was a great swimmer and a lifeguard, and Big Man is reputed to have held his breath so long while swimming under water that his mother thought he drowned! And while he may or may not be the next Michael Phelps, he certainly had a lot of fun. After class, a warm shower (also his first!), and some lunch Colin promptly fell asleep for most of the afternoon. Poor little guy was wiped out, but he seemed to really enjoy it. I can't wait until next week so we can do it again!
I figured he'd pull his legs up, or squirm when he first hit the water - it was relatively warm for a pool, but not as warm as a bath. But nope - he just relaxed as if it was no big deal. The "instructor" led us through a number of children's songs which we played to in the water... we did the Hokey Pokey, some swishing back and forth, Twinkel Twinkle Little Star (which was floating on their back), and even did some backstroke and crawl. He got to practice pushing off from the wall, with a little help of course, and jumping off the side into the water. But Colin's shining moment was play time at the end of class. I grabbed an over-sized rubber ducky, and put it a few feet in front of him, then put him on his belly, while supporting him under his chest.
To be fair, Colin has strong swimmers on both sides of his family. Grandpa Buzzy was a great swimmer and a lifeguard, and Big Man is reputed to have held his breath so long while swimming under water that his mother thought he drowned! And while he may or may not be the next Michael Phelps, he certainly had a lot of fun. After class, a warm shower (also his first!), and some lunch Colin promptly fell asleep for most of the afternoon. Poor little guy was wiped out, but he seemed to really enjoy it. I can't wait until next week so we can do it again!
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