Lil Swimmers

Caleb & Joshua took swim lessons starting Monday, June 17 - Wednesday, June 26 through Manheim Township Recreation Department. I wish I had better things to say about the overall experience. Originally, I scheduled the boys for the LEVEL 2 lessons that were to be held from 10:25 to 11:15 in the morning. But, the secretary only enrolled Joshua and forgot to put Caleb in the class. After reminding her of my second child, I received a message saying that that time was already too full because an instructor got hurt and could no longer be there. She noted that the maximum number of children had to be six to accommodate for one instructor. I immediately questioned six - wasn't the ratio 5:1 (or ten children to two instructors)? She said that they could do a max of six to one instructor due to the instructor injury. I was forced to take the earlier lessons from 9:25-10:15, which was really unfortunate for several reasons. First, my nephew was in the 10:25 Level 1 class so my sister and I were going to be able to go together. Second, I had to work on Thursday morning, and my sister was going to take the boys while John was in his lessons. Now, we couldn't have the time we wanted.

I wasn't thrilled at the situation, but I wanted the kids to learn how to swim. They may never be on the swim team, but I want to know that if they fell into a pool or out of a boat that they wouldn't drown. That is my goal for them for swim lessons. The first day, there were six children, and the kids all enjoyed doing things with the kick boards, noodles, etc. The next day there were seven kids. My sister also noted that there were seven in the later class that we were supposed to be in. I contacted the secretary and she said that she accidentally added a seventh to the later class, but typically there was only to be six. The instructor also added a child to our class because the parent enrolled them in level 1 and the boy could swim better than that. Although that's unfortunate, I don't see how that's fair to my kids who had to wait longer in between their turns with the instructor. Not only that, many of the children were very poorly behaved, so the teacher spent a majority of her time telling the kids to get back to the wall while my kids waited patiently. One of the other students (not my kiddos) asked why they hadn't had kick boards since the first day, and the instructor explained that with only two kick boards, they didn't have enough equipment for seven kids. UGH!!!

I was annoyed. Once again, I contacted the secretary. I then spoke to her boss, and her boss' boss. I specifically asked about the maximum number of students in the class as I was comparing prices and timing from the different options available - from the Lititz Recreation Department to Universal Athletic Club to these lessons and others. I made my decision based on the price, the instructor to child ratio and the time offered. When I asked the township supervisor about the quantity of class time my children had received for the money I paid, she said that they never promised a 6:1 ratio, even though I have the email with them noting that the maximum number of students per class was six. So, for any other moms who read this blog and are considering options for swim lessons, I would beware of the Manheim Township Parks & Recreation Department since they will go beyond the ratio of students to instructors that they guarantee, which means that your children will have less instruction time and time to practice for what you pay.

All that said, Joshua did really great with the lessons. He put his head in the water immediately and dove down to get the rings when asked. He really worked on his front crawls and is swimming pretty well, in my opinion. He even scares me doing his dead man float! You can see him pictured above with his goggles. I was thoroughly impressed with him and his effort! The instructor said he needed to be able to swim greater lengths on his back to be able to pass this level. I hope to enroll him again, but I doubt it will be with Manheim Township. I have NO desire to give them more of my money, only to have the rules change as they go. If two instructors would have been present, one could have dealt with discipline issues - or really safety - while the other could have spent more time with the instruction. Or if one instructor would be there, to have less kids (keeping to the maximum number of students to class that they advertise) so that each one got their fair share of time to practice the skills.

Caleb wouldn't put his face in at first, but it was FREEZING this early in the morning (again - it was an earlier time than I had picked!). He did great the last couple days when it was warmer, but that wasn't long enough to get most of the skills being taught. He'll definitely need more time in the water - but he's also a full two years younger than his brother.

To practice the skills, we've gone to Mamaw's pool several times in June. She left the end of the month to go on vacation, and Ryan said how much he misses her and her "bath" as he calls it. He likes to "swim like a fish" and with flap his arms and kick his legs as long as she's holding him. He also likes to jump in on his own and scare us to death (TURKEY!). He is Mamaw's buddy, though, and doesn't want me when she's around. :) :) :)

The boys have been loving swimming. Caleb went under once at Mom's pool (as I mentioned in an earlier post) but has been doing well ever since. We also have swam several time in Universal Athletic Club's pool, and the boys love it! Caleb does great with a life vest on, and we've let Joshua take off his life vest (keeping a close eye on him, of course). He's doing great! The kids love to go on the bounce house and either slide or jump into the water off of them (depending on if it's the snake/dino thing or the one with the slide).

We love being outside, though, when we can. I'm anxious for all the boys to know how to swim so I don't have to worry so much around water. I realize it will take practice!

The boys love Mamaw's noodles. One day a man showed Caleb how to put the noodle on the water return and shoot water out of it. He thought that was the coolest thing EVER!

Shawn has been very impressed with Joshua's gained strength in swimming. I hope to be able to build on the momentum... We miss Mamaw and her pool! ;-)