Swimming Test

Shane had his fourth and final swim class. It involved some testing. His teacher has praised his effort levels continuously. He's noted that Shane is not "detail oriented," and there's some stuff he does right and some stuff he does wrong. But he doesn't quit and has energy to spare. 

I'd say that's an accurate assessment. Shane's don't well and I'd like to sign him up for another round, but with the beach and graduation coming up it may not happen. 

This is the raw footage of some of the swim tests. I didn't bother to edit it, so only watch if you're bored or happy to fast forward.

The hope is one day Shane will be a good enough swimmer, Carrie will be able to watch him without a panic attack.

Swimming Lessons

It's past our normal time to start swim lessons! We're not doing Pokemon night, and I'm not doing board game night, so.....we started swim lessons.

Shane loves swimming.

The instructor said that he had, "Great energy" (ha) and that he "didn't give up."

And you know what? I agree. Shane did go both of those things. He was borderline overly energetic, but this instructor seemed happy with that. I was worried I put Shane in too high of a level class with having to swim the length of the pool repeatedly, but he noticeably improved over the course of the lesson. I wasn't expecting to see that so quickly!

Not that Shane is suddenly a top marks swimmer now. It's all about increments. He has more trouble on his back than his front, but now I'm hoping to see improvement after every lesson!

I'm wondering if I'm eventually going to have to sign up for the one sports activity neither Carrie or I want to sign Shane up for: A swim team.

Cannonball!

Last day of this round of swim lessons.

Shane has improved!

I didn't realize the far end of the pool he was swimming in was 10 ft.

I sat at the far end to get a different vantage point. I'm too far away and Shane can't hear me when he's swimming, so I don't even try to correct him. The teacher got on his case for trying to swim over a girl he caught up with. The little boy in the class and Shane started bumping each other while waiting their turn to dive in once, as well.

Shane got to end practice in his favorite way ever.

I need to sign Shane up for April lessons soon. As long as he keeps improving, I don't plan on stopping.

Diving In

You'd think it'd be uncomfortable to have your goggles pin your ears down. Shane spent the whole lesson like that.

From what I can tell, the skill he needs to work on is turning his head to the side to breath.

Shane pops his whole head up no matter what stroke he's doing.

He's swimming further and further.

Three is a great class size for him. I'm going to try for the same time slot next month.

The diving practice at the end was fun to watch.

Flutter Kicking Fantastically

Shane loves the flippers in his swim class.

He loves swimming in general, too....when he gets there. Last week, he sung praises for swimming as his favorite sport. This week, he wanted to skip. Go figure.

He was plenty eager to get in the water.

Shane's teacher has the kids swimming the length of the big pool. They're covering so much ground (water!) and there aren't any chairs beside the lane, so I can't track what's going on as well. I've brought a book each time, but I end up peering over half the time.

His teacher seems solid. Mostly no nonsense but sometimes he splashes the kids and they squeal. The distances he's been able to make Shane traverse is impressive.

Shane didn't want to get out when class was done. I let him jump in 'the warm pool' for a little while.

When I finally got Shane out he wanted to climb into lockers, use the swimsuit dryer, bury himself in warm towels....

We eventually got home! Shane had a lot of fun for someone who didn't want to go.

Swim Season

"YES!! Swimming is my favorite sport!" Shane yelled.

I let him know there really were sports for swimming involving races swimming a certain style, but we're just doing lessons.

He was still pumped. Maybe he'll want to join the swim team one day.

Shane started off the night in a level 1 and 2 class. I knew he'd be too skilled, but it was the only class that had room for him. The program director told me their should be an opening in the older class to move him into. I wanted to put my foot in the door, so I took a chance to get him started. 

His teacher moved him to the next pool within a few minutes. The young kids were trying to blow bubbles and Shane wanted her to watch him swim across the pool. She put her class on hold to walk him over to the older kids.

Shane went from top fish to bottom dweller, but it'll be good for him. He either didn't know better or was having too much fun slap-kicking his fins on top of the water when his new class started laps.

He adjusted fairly quickly.

The instructor had the kids travelling much farther than I've ever seen Shane swim before. They went the length of the pool and back.

Shane's eager and confidant. If that continues and he listens, Shane should progress quickly.

My plan is to have him take lessons up until summer. That way he'll be pool and beach ready.

Weekly Activities

Four days, four activities scheduled.

Monday - TKD

Tuesday - Baseball game

Wednesday - Make-up baseball game

Thursday - Swim lesson

The week started off on track. 

Shane and I practiced his form a little, but I didn't realize he was supposed to use a back stance for part of it. Instructor Kang showed him the basics, but ended the form practice early since Shane had some trouble. I went over a back stance with him later at home (it helps that I used to do TKD).

Shane won a race and got to challenge Instructor Papa at the end of class.

IP went easy on him.

Random aside: Another parent and I worked on fixing the door during class. The screw holes were stripped, so it was just a temporary fix until they shot out again.

Then, as has repeatedly happened, it rained and stormed both nights we had tee-ball games. We've had five rain-outs this season. 

It let us spend time with Mommy. We went out for dinner Tuesday to celebrate her being home. TV was watched (Hooray for Green Days!).

Teeball has a couple more weeks of activity (and rain make-ups) and then it will be done for the season.

Thursday, the weather cleared up and Shane went to his final swim lesson.

It's probably a good thing today was the last one. There were a couple of extra kids who missed their lesson on Tuesday (Thanks, storms) and the group was a hyper one. The instructor, Michael, had to keep telling kids to stop swimming around, splashing, jumping, and what have you. Shane contributed. At one point, I went in to tell him to listen to his instructor and Shane kept ducking his head under the water as I talked ("I didn't know you were talking to me!" "Who else would I call 'Shane?"). We had a few words at the end.

Shane's come a long way, but he's gotten too comfortable. A step away and some time to mature should help refresh his attention when we start again either after summer or next spring.

Taco and Swim Thursday (Do those mix?)

New taco shop in town!

It was a good excuse not to play outside in the 90+ degree weather before swim lessons.

I've been waiting for this place to open for months (it was originally slated to open early December!).

Shane's swim teacher decided to have Shane and another boy go up and down the length of the pool while he worked with some of the other kids.

It still didn't get out all of Shane's energy.

We played soccer for a few minutes outside when we got home!

If you ever hang around me and I seem perpetually tired, Shane's the reason why! He inherited my energy level.

How our day ended

Twas a normal Thursday.

I had to stop for gas on the way home and remembered there was a Pokemon league at the FLGS Thursdays. I asked Shane if he wanted to pop in for a second.

Obviously, he said, "Yes!"

We only stayed a few minutes. Most of the players were much older than I expected and I didn't want Shane grabbing or calling out other people's cards ("WHOA! You have a..." "Shhh! You can't do that!"). There were a few kids around Shane's age, though.

Maybe we'll go back some day.

Watershed Moment

New class time: 6:35 PM. All the earlier classes sold out.

That's okay, because that means Shane gets more attention. He had the same instructor last year! 

And what a difference a year makes.

Shane launched himself off the wall at every opportunity. He swam back and forth in the deep water and tried to follow the instructor whenever he was with the other kid.

The first time he did it, he floundered a little. That put me on edge. The rest of the time he was amazingly self-sufficient. The kid touched the bottom of the 7' deep zone alongside the wall.

He his teacher on his toes and me on the edge of my seat. Shane got big praises when he was done and I was happy to get him out of the water!.

Especially because the knot on his trunks came undone.

Shane's not modest. He kept swimming a couple of times with his trunks around his thighs.

Shane's real proud of how much he's improved. We've got three more lessons left before summer hits.

Gaining Confidence

The routine has not changed in two months: Thursdays are swim lessons.

I did find a new place to sit. It's like sitting in tropical rainforest in the pool area. The AC in the main gym was much appreciated.

The real story happened after the lesson. Shane likes to play around for a little bit when he's done. He prefers the warm (and crowded) pool. However, the water gets too deep for him midway to stand and keep his nose above water. He ventured out (barely) too far once and a lifeguard had to reach a hand out and pull him back (he was near the wall, so it was no problem - both the guard and I were watching).

Today, Shane kept trying to crash a private lesson. He'd 'bonded' with the teacher before the lesson started (aka she smiled at him) and he wanted her to see him swim! I told Shane to hop out and went to get him a towel.

Instead of getting out, the stink relocated to the deeper side. He stopped in front of the lifeguard chair and looked across the water at me standing with the towel. Then he launched off the wall and started to swim across.

The pool is about 20 or 25 feet across. Shane's normally good for 5 or 10 feet before he stops and stands. The lifeguard looked at me and went on alert. She slid out of her chair and sat on the wall with her feet in the water. I stepped right up to the edge and did my best to look calm.

It was an ugly swim, but Shane was making progress! He'd flail forward, halt to breathe, and then duck his head and splash some more. As long as he didn't panic, he had a chance to make it. I crouched down ready to grab him when he was 3/4 across. Shane plodded along until I reached out and grabbed him. "Daddy! I did it!"

And he did!

I was both elated and on edge.

I tell you, Shane's swim was the most stressful part of my day. When he got halfway I started to calculate if I'd get there quicker or if the lifeguard would if he foundered.

I gave Shane and big cheer and made a mental note to sign up for another month of lessons.

Swimming On

It's all part of the routine.

We had to get out of the pool 5 minutes early due to lightning, though. Shane didn't get a chance to play around for 10-20 minutes after either. That was a bummer.

I think I'll sign Shane up for more lessons in May. I don't think there are any Tee-ball conflicts and Shane needs to keep progressing.

Activity Overlap

 Swim lesson Thursday! Shane's working on tying knots and his stroke.

He had a new teacher today. His old teacher was there, but there were so many kids she split the class.

Shane's looking good....

...until he aborts everything for a big breath.

He's getting there, but I'm going to have to schedule more lessons.

We took our time leaving and then had to eat on the car on our way across town. Tee-ball was next!

We met on the Monticello Little League field for the first time. All of our games will be held there.

It was a rougher practice for Shane, but I expected it after school, swimming, and the excitement of a new field.

We played a simulated game. It felt too early, but our first game is on Saturday. When else would we do it? It went better than I expected.

Raheem was out when we got home. He and Shane played some basketball (Mostly affably - Shane gets whiny if Raheem takes too many shots in a row).

Lots of sports. A lot more sports than I ever planned on trying to cram into a day when I look back on it. I just want to get Shane out of the house and give him opportunities to play with other kids and get some energy out.