Owen has gotten so much better in the water, but as we entered summer, I knew I wanted him to get some more swim lessons. I've always believed that knowing how to swim properly is an important life skill. So, we enrolled him in lessons at the Habersham YMCA after recommendations from friends.
Well, that experience was a disaster in many ways. First, the Habersham Y is across town, and lessons were daily at 5:30pm. We literally spent more time in the car getting to and from the lessons than Owen did in the water. And, 5:30 is a terrible time for swimming in Savannah, as we typically get afternoon rain showers including lightning and thunder, and two of our lessons were cut short due to lightning. Finally, the worst part were the lessons themselves. Owen was in a class with nine other children, most of whom had little swimming experience, and only two teachers, who clearly were overwhelmed. On the fourth day of lessons, I timed it, and Owen swam less than 5 minutes of swim practice, while spending the other 40 minutes hanging onto the pool edge waiting for his turn. I was pretty upset, and called the Y manager, who graciously agreed to refund our money, and then I withdrew him from the class.
Then, I signed him up for private lessons in our neighborhood club, which is less than 2 minutes from our house, and it was the best decision ever. His swim teacher was extremely professional and clearly knew what she was doing. It was 4 different 30-minute lessons, and the progress he made in one week was amazing. He was doing freestyle, breaststroke and a little bit of backstroke by the end. See the videos below.
Owen loves the water - he's pretty fearless, but does know his limits. He could spend an entire day in the water and love every minute of it. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing him enjoy our week at the beach when he will get lots of pool and beach time!
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