Swim classes

About four weeks ago we started Sophie in swim classes. We go once a week for thirty minutes, and she absolutely loves it. I don't think I'll ever forget the first day of swim class and her absolutely precious reaction. She had been pretty pumped up about learning to swim -- she's been "swimming" in the bathtub for the past couple months, "swimming" on the hardwood floors, pretty much "swimming" wherever she can. So, by the time the first day of class came around, she was beyond excited. Normally, Sophie takes a while to warm up to new people and new locations; she'll just stand and observe for quite a while before participating in whatever action that's required. (At a recent birthday party involving inflatable playscapes for bouncing, Sophie literally watched all of her friends jump for 45 minutes, while I held her, before she would take part. But, once she started jumping, it was hard to get her to stop!!)

I think it was the anticipation of swim classes that resulted in a different experience -- we walked in the front door, Sophie ran inside the building yelling "I go swimming, I go swimming" and spinning around in circles near the front desk. Needless to say, the girls at the front desk thought this was adorable. And for my part, I was amazed -- this was literally the most publicly exuberant that I've ever seen my little girl. We got to class a little early, mostly so that Sophie could warm up to the whole thing -- which, evidently, wasn't really needed. Nonetheless, Sophie had a blast watching the big kids in their swim lessons while we waited. The swim school has a central open room with glass walls, so that parents can watch their kids in either of the two pools. It's really a nice layout, and gives Sophie the opportunity to watch and observe.

As for the class, it's great. We love the teacher. There are only a few other kids and parents in the class, including Sophie's friend Owen. We've already covered a lot of material - kicking and scooping, back floats, blowing bubbles, climbing out of the pool, etc. And, every class involves at least two songs. Being a proud mommy, I am happy to report that Sophie is the only child that sings along with the instructor and parents. She really loves the "School Bus" song (The wheels on the bus), which has been cleverly adapted to the pool, and she's caught on pretty quickly with the revised lyrics. And, "Ring Around The Rosy" has been a favorite for months, so she's quick to sing-along to that too.

And for those of you wondering....yes I get in the pool with her (somewhat reluctantly, because a swimsuit and pregnancy really don't mix; but also excitedly, because I get to share this experience with her). Here's a photo from the second class. I wish we had more photos, but the rest were blurry -- guess I need to give Allen a photography lesson regarding shutter speed :o)