Swimming

We have done lots of swimming this summer, probably because with Sean being so little and unpredictable it is one of the easier things we can let the girls do! Eric started taking the girls to "family swim" at our local pool every Thursday night starting in June. It is an hour of swimming that is offered at half-price, with the idea that parents are in charge of their children's safety. There are lifeguards, but in limited quantity. You are allowed to bring pool toys and other things that are normally not allowed, and Dad's are allowed to catch their kids (who are unable to swim!) jumping off of the diving boards.

Eric got Hannah started on this right away. It was something she loved and eagerly latched onto once she started swim lessons end of July. By the end of her swim lessons she was able to swim and go off the diving board by herself. And not only the lowest diving board but the medium one, too. She decided last week that she intended on going off of the "high dive", the highest one available for the last family swim of the summer...which was today.

Now this mother did not embrace the idea of her 6 year old who could barely swim jumping off of the high dive, even if Daddy was standing by below to save her if need be. But I agreed if Hannah could pass a "swim test" that Eric put her through. Once she passed, I reluctantly agreed to video tape her crowning moment. She has literally been talking about this for days and was very nervous about doing it, but excited nonetheless.

Her successful jump!

This is one of those moments where I sit back and realize that this is yet another reason why I want to homeschool. I love to witness the joy of discovery. Hannah is learning to do so much right now and she's very excited and proud of her accomplishments. Her enthusiasm is contagious and I love that I get to see so much of it firsthand. I love how she informs me how much easier math is getting for her and the way she assured me today that "of course" she could read her assignment to me, as if I was a silly question for me to ask.

Grace is night and day with Hannah. She's our cautious child. She does not enjoy the pool nearly as much. But we've discovered that if allowed to swim in the baby pool she is a lot more adventurous. I think she feels insecure in the deeper water and enjoys being able to test her abilities in a situation she feels in control of. After watching Hannah jump into the pool from the high dive, Grace "imagined" herself to be diving into the baby pool much the same way. I'm sure much of the hilarity of the moment is lost in translation and this is very much a "you had to be there" thing, but I took a video which I still think is funny :-)

Elaina seems oblivious to all the jumping going on. She seems to enjoy seeing just what she can do in the water. She's a lot like Grace in that she much prefers the shallow water. But Elaina will float (propelling herself with her hands) to the deepest part of the baby pool until her head goes under and she jumps up, sputtering and indignant. When she's not doing that she is running back and forth between the pool and me, yelling "It's fun!"


And of course, the amused audience :-)


We've enjoyed this summer...it makes me sad that the pool is closing (already) next week and that summer seems to be wrapping up. At least this year I won't have to prepare myself to say good-bye to Hannah. We will be hitting the books at home!