Swimming

The children in the Learn-to-Swim part of Land Sharks sure do have a fun time learning to swim! Here are a few pictures of the kids in action!

Success!

Part of the Land Sharks class is a learn-to-swim lesson for about 40 minutes in the Lakeshore Foundation pool. It is a therapy pool, so it is pretty warm! Because each child has a different disability, and each child is a different age, the instructors try to divide the children into groups based on their ability to swim. Teaching a child, any child, to swim can sometimes be a challenge! There are usually enough instructors for each of us to take 2 children each. This is nice because the children get more one-on-one time and more time to swim up and down the pool. (Not a far distance, but enough to wear them out!) Based on the child's ability to swim, the instructor either helps the child stay on top of the water, or lets the child swim independently, giving the child suggestions along the way. I usually take 2-3 children that need help swimming. It is very fun to see their different personalities in the pool! There is one little girl that will only swim with specific instructors; myself being one of them. She is not afraid to let you know what is on her mind, and if she does not want to do something, she will not do it. I have been swimming with her for a few weeks now, and she is getting more and more comfortable in the water. There was one we could not get her to do- try swimming on her back. I can imagine how scary that would be to not see where you are going and completely trust the instructor to not let you sink! Through a little perseverance, and a lot of encouragement, she finally swam on her back! And she did a great job, too! We were all so proud of her, as was her grandmother and the other parents watching the lesson- they all applauded the accomplishment. She was one excited little girl! Success!