Yesterday June 13, 2008: Samuel Duffey started officially swimming without the need of flotation devices. No floaties! It was so amazing to see him progress to this point.
On Monday this last week, the kids and I went over to our friend Christine's house with her 2 children Owen and Marianne. The played in her hot tub, the water being unheated, nice and cool. The kids had fun turning the jets on and off and splashing around while Christine and I talked about homeschooling and she showed me the curriculum she is using. While talking with Christine, I kept looking over at the kids to make sure they were ok, and I kept seeing Sam's backside and Sam underwater similar to the dead mans float. This startled me so I kept a close eye and over and over again Sam would come up for air and then lean forward and hold his breath with his face in the water and his backside floating at the surface.
Then yesterday, Saturday, we all went swimming as a family and in the big pool with floaties on Sam kept putting his head in the water and kicking his feet and waving his arms. Then we all went over to the little kiddie pool where Sam has wanted more and more to swim without floaties. So he quickly took them off and started swimming without them. Then when we wanted to go back in the big pool Chris convinced him to try and go without the floaties. He gave it a try and it worked! He got in and started doing the same swimming that he had in the kiddie pool in the big pool. I have watched in amazement as Sam has observed other kids and has pretty much naturally taught himself to swim. We can take little credit other than offering advice and encouragement. He now tells us that he can swim and that he doesn't need floaties or swim lessons! So I guess this was all brought about because he didn't want swim lessons, which we were going to put him in shortly. Yeah! I love it when your kid saves you money!
Meanwhile, as soon as Sam showed us that he can swim Chris and I marveled and cheered Sam, Peter I think was feeling the pressure to keep up. While Chris was over in the big pool witnessing Sam's first un-aided swim. I looked back and Peter was still in the little pool trying to hold his breath under water. Back on Monday at our friend's house Peter told me that going under water was too scary. And here he was struggling to do it. I am grateful for having Sam and how they encourage each other. The kids feel safer in the little pool going underwater and trying things because if it gets too scary they are tall enough to stand up. So I worked with Peter in the little pool for a while encouraging him to keep trying. Then I took him to the big pool to give it a try. As I said we were going to put them in Swim Lesson, but I called about them and because no on is signing up for them, I would have to pay nearly double for them to be in a class of their own with just Peter, Sam and the instructor. I was feeling the cost to be too high, and then when we saw the huge strides that Sam has made (and the fact that he doesn't want them) we know now that we just need to take the kids to the pool a lot and they'll learn. We plan on going 3 times this week. Sam was so funny after we got home, he said that he didn't need swim lessons because he could already swim. Then I told Chris that I would continue encouraging Peter and that he (Chris) help Sam at which time Sam interrupted and said, "But I can swim!" I am glad that Peter and Sam are learning to swim.
What about Joe and Will? you say
Well Joe relies on his floaties and has fun, he isn't too adventurous but as his brothers progress, I can see him copying them. But then there is Will...
Will has absolutely no fear of the water. We were given a nice little baby floating inner-tube for Will to sit in while in the pool. I don't think we have used that thing twice before Will got tired of it and doesn't want anything. We have tried floaties and he crys and crys. He is still so small that the arm floaties are as big as his head! When I hold him he wants down to be free and in the baby pool he can walk a little but pretty quick he falls. Then we grab him and he might cough or look a little surprised, but right away he'll want out of your grasp and then he'll do it again. I kept joking with Chris that he wants to be free and swim among the whales. He has no fear, and its no better in the big pool, he doesn't want to be held and he can't swim. If I can just get him through the summer without drowning! We're planning a trip to the store before our next water adventure to be sure.
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