Swimming Lessons

Dallin started taking swimming lessons this summer. I'm so glad we went with the teacher we did. We chose private lessons for him which cost a little more, but they were totally worth it. Dallin was able to focus so much better and got more out of each lesson. Miss Gail was wonderful with him too. She was tough on him and knew just how to motivate him. We are very pleased with his accomplishments.

Swimming was also wonderful for Dallin because he excelled at it. He thrived under the positive attention he was getting. Dallin had two lessons a week for four weeks and then we would practice at the pool around three times a week with us. Zane and I didn't have to fight him to practice with us (sometimes he needed a little persuasion to roll on his back) and he was always excited to go swimming. After his first lesson, he enjoyed swimming so much he refused to wear his floaties again. He told us they can go in the garbage now.

Miss Gail teaches her students to roll on their back to breath. Dallin didn't always like doing this because he would swallow a lot of water at first, but he definitely understands that if he can't breath in the water for any reason, he needs to roll over and float. Today his shark was floating on his back in order to "breath."

This video was after 6 lessons.

Dallin has now had seven lessons, and today at the pool he swam across the width by himself while I watching nearby with Gavin. He also jumped off the diving board, rolled over to breath, then swam on his stomach to the side while I was a few feet away with Gavin. Next time we are at the pool with Zane, I will get a video of this. Besides safety, this was my main goal for him with swimming lessons. Gavin likes to try to crawl out of his floaty into the water, so I have to watch him like a hawk. If Dallin can swim to the side by himself, then I feel a lot safer going to the pool while Zane is at work. We are so proud of how hard Dallin worked this summer and how much he learned!