Fishes

 Have you ever seen such cute little swimmers?  Me neither.  And although in this photo they do not look enthusiastic about the water, they really are!  Which is so much fun to watch! 

 Little Owl has really grown in his skills.  He was really hesitant to swim at first, and I was not about to make him, since I was so terrified of swimming lessons when I was a kid.  All I wanted him to do was try it one time and then see what he thought.  So the first day was a little hard for him....but he surprised me (and himself I think) because after he got his feet wet, so to speak, he was just fine.  He is such an interesting kid!  Reminds me so much of J.  How he tries things that he is uncomfortable with.  His quiet strength and courage.  Whenever he would be afraid of a new skill, he would just talk to his teacher quietly and together they would figure out what he could do to learn the skill and still feel comfortable.  Our swim instructor is so awesome too!  She's gentle and patient and somehow makes the boys feel confident in however they are doing.  And isn't that the whole point?  Learning to be confident in your ability, and figuring out your body and how to make it work for you in the water?

 I know this picture isn't the best quality, but look....he's swimming!

Little Hen is such a squirrel.  He is always grinning when he's in the water and frequently makes his teacher crack up.  He is not swimming on his own yet, but, well...he is only 3.  He does jump off the edge of the pool though into pretty deep water and thinks it's great fun!  He seems to think the goal is to make the biggest splash possible.

 

Cricket is another story.  He is always making the teacher laugh too, but is so hesitant to try things in the water.  In the fall, when we were at Fort Wilderness, he fell out of his kayak into water that was just a bit deeper than he could stand and it really shook him up.  So his goal this semester was to just learn to be confident in the water.  His body is changing so much just now.  He's grown so tall and slender.  I sometimes wonder what it must be like for him to be moving around in such a long body.  He is after all only eight years old.  I sometimes forget that! In the picture above you can see his teacher has wrapped some noodles around him so he can focus on kicking those long legs with more coordination.  I am so proud of this kid.  He isn't totally swimming on his own yet, but he has learned to do several different strokes, how to jump in, and has the start of a good dive. 

 

And then there is this crazy kid.  He is such a fish!  He told me the first day of lessons, before he got in the pool, that he was going to try really hard because he wanted to show the teacher what he could do.  Awesome.  I am continually impressed with his ability to focus.  When he started lessons he really couldn't swim by himself at all.  He now can do the several different strokes, the dolphin kick, can jump in, dive in, and can retrieve rings from the deep end on his own.  And more importantly, I have seen him come out of his comfort zone and learn to be friends with new people.  The first session he and Cricket had a three year old girl in their class.   It was just the three of them so I was a bit worried that it would be an awkward mix.  But it wasn't.  At all!  They would talk with her and play with her like they were great friends.  And when that eight week session ended and the new one started they were a little bummed that Mia wouldn't be with them.   I just find that to be incredibly sweet.  I love how these kids keep tearing down the stereotypes that are ingrained in me. (even though I'd like to think I don't have any...truth is I do...I think we all do)  What a privilege to be able to learn from them...with them.