Don’t Make Your Kids Get Out of the Pool
My four year old made great strides in the pool this summer. He started off scared to put his face in the water, but now he is closing out the summer with back flips in the pool. I don’t want to end his progress just because the summer is over. And he certainly doesn’t want to get out of the pool.
We have a bunch of great swim programs in the area so the kids don’t need to stop swimming just because the season changes.
I thought I should start with the swim school led by the woman who took my little guy from fear of the water to absolute adoration at the pool this summer. That woman is Betty Berry and she leads the EAAC Swim School at Episcopal Academy from September to June.
During my son’s first lesson this summer with Betty, I didn’t really understand what was going on. They were just chatting on the stairs of the pool for a really long time. I remember thinking, when is this lesson going to start? But the lesson had started. Just because I wasn’t observing my son actually swimming, didn’t mean nothing was happening. Betty was already working her magic. She was learning about my son. She was trying to understand what makes him laugh, what gets him engaged, what his hesitations in the water may be, and most importantly, why he has those hesitations. Knowing each child is part of her teaching method. Each child is unique and comes to the pool with different experiences of the water. She tells her coaches at EAAC that it’s their job to find out about each child and formulate their teaching techniques based on that specific child. She wants her coaches to learn what each child needs and then meet those needs. She wants them to discover what each child fears about the pool and then show them how they don’t need to be fearful. She wants each child to feel success in the water no matter their swimming level.
My son and Betty developed such a repoire that after that first lesson, he couldn’t wait for his next one. This was not the boy I had seen a few months earlier at his previous swim school. I had been used to tons of resistance from him any time I said we were swimming. When he met with Betty the next day, he walked right into the pool and was eager to start. I knew then that Betty had something very special in the water with her kids.
Over the next few weeks, I saw a progression with my son that was on his own time and his own terms, not his swim teacher’s or mine even. My son put his face in the pool when he was ready (with Betty’s suggestion to use a mask instead of regular goggles). He put his arms out on the kick board when he wanted to, with some gentle pushes from Betty, who he trusted. He took on floating on his back when Betty showed him how to be comfortable doing so. And most recently, he has moved into the area of the pool where he can’t stand to work on what I would finally call “swimming”.
So the swimming that I was looking for during the first lesson came out over the course of the entire summer. Now my son loves the water. He feels comfortable and confident in the pool. And I have a hard time getting him out at the end of the day. He is proud of himself for what he learned. From day one with Betty, he has felt success in the water with each small step.
The EAAC Swim School will get your little one in the pool as early as four years old. Betty coaches the smallest and greenest swimmers, but EAAC runs swim programs for kids through high school. In fact, one of my daughters will be swimming with them three times a week this fall. Betty told me that the newest swimmers will do what my son did this summer — learn to kick, work with a kick board, stand comfortably in the water and eventually put their face in the water. Betty also stresses socialization in the pool at this age. She recognizes that she is seeing the kids close to the end of their day. Their ability to focus is likely gone. She knows that the kids are excited to see their friends so she allows for playtime in conjunction with the lesson.
The EAAC Swim School has one fall session which is likely full when this post is published. But, there are two winter sessions and a very popular spring session. The younger swimmers (“dolphins”, “barracudas” and “sharks”) swim two times a week at EA. A swim evaluation is required ahead of enrollment so that the child is placed in the right group. The coach to student ratio is 1:2 for dolphins, 1:2.5 for barracudas and 1:4 for sharks. The coaches are experienced high school students who swim for their schools or work as lifeguards and have all been trained to work Betty’s magic in the pool.
My little guy had one on one swim lessons all summer. When I tried to get him to join a small group lesson with other kids, I was met with resistance again. So for him right now, he prefers to be in the pool with just him and one coach. And that’s ok. He doesn’t like loud sounds or busy pools that can come with group lessons. He prefers a calming environment. He likes the consistency of having the same coach. So I wanted to find a swim school that worked for him this fall-Coach Betty’s words still ringing in my ears…
La Maison offers one on one (or two on one) swim lessons for members or nonmembers in their pool located on the basement level of their gym. There are nine swim instructors and lessons can be scheduled online based on the instructors’ availability. My son met with Pierre, one of the lead instructors at La Maison. Pierre was friendly and engaging and my shy son immediately got in the pool to start his lesson without any hesitation.
The swim program at La Maison is individualized and dictated by the child’s abilities and confidence level in the pool. Overall, safety skills will be taught first. After skills like floating, “bops” and doggie paddle are mastered, then glides, jumps and treading water are brought into the lesson. And eventually swim strokes are developed. During my son’s first lesson at La Maison, he went through all of these skills with Pierre, as part of his assessment.
La Maison makes their swim environment easy and tear-free. Parents are permitted to sit in the pool area with their child as long as it’s not distracting. The instructors come to the pool with an average of 10+ years of teaching experience. La Maison has towels and a family locker room for swim families. Half hour swim lessons are offered Monday through Thursday from 3-7 pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 9 am -3 pm. Fall spots are filing up so I wouldn’t delay if this sounds like something that would work for your family.
The Paoli Shopping Center now has an indoor pool. I know it sounds crazy that there is a full size pool in the spot where Pier 1 used to be. But I have seen it with my own two eyes. Big Blue is a franchise swim school that will be opening this fall in our area. While an opening date hasn’t yet been established, construction is well underway and the pool looks close to finished to me. Children 3-6 years old can come here to learn to swim, or they can master their skills beyond the age of six. Free trial lessons are offered at this swim school that is new to the Main Line. And the price for group lessons is very reasonable.
Well I’m off to enjoy the last few days of summer at our pool. But I look forward to getting my kids in the pool all year long!