Swim school

I got up at 5AM the other morning to register Colby for his next session of swim classes. Online registration opens up at that time, and when you live in an area with a bazillion people fighting for very few spots, you better get up early.

We were planning to sign up for a class with his friend Lori, which I thought would really be good for him. He's still making progress in his current class, but he sometimes gets out of the water and doesn't follow directions. I thought having a friend in the class would be a good influence.

Well, I must have registered at 5:05 because we did not get into the class. Somehow, I was beat out by 5 other people, including his friend Lori. I was sooooooo bummed the entire day. I have put so much thought and energy into this whole swimming thing, and I was so disappointed.

Yesterday, I started doing some research, and I discovered that 30-40 minutes away, there is an indoor swim school. All they do is teach swimming, and they have an amazing reputation. People drive from all over to take their kids there.

There are three things about this school that make me think this would be perfect for Colby.

1. The water is above 90 degrees, vs the water at his current program which is 82 degrees. The cold temperature has been a problem for him, so this would be a great solution.

2. They are required to wear goggles. In his current class, they cannot wear goggles. The people at the swim school told me that vision is tied into balance and they learn to swim much faster in goggles. Plus, it helps with the fear going under the water. Seems like a no-brainer. They also wear flippers to help them learn the right way to kick.

3. This is the biggest factor....parents must NOT be in the room. There is an observation deck behind glass, but your child cannot see you. If your child is misbehaving, they deal with it. There are other people around the pool deck to help with these situations. In our current class, Colby is constantly looking at me, sulking, and threatening to get out of the water. This would take me out of the equation so he could focus on the swimming and forget about putting on a show.

I asked the woman on the phone what happens if a child does not follow directions, and she said they basically pick them up and put them back in the water. I asked if anyone had ever been kicked out of class for not following directions, and she said no, not once in thirteen years.

WELL SIGN ME UP!

Availability is very limited, so we don't have much of a choice of when we are going.
We will be making the 40 minute drive twice a week. The first class is today at 4:30, and our next class is at....gulp....8am on Sundays. Am I crazy? Awesome? Awesomely crazy?

I should know the answer to that tonight. I am so excited!