Swimming Lessons

Although we didn't make much progress in swimming lessons last year, the girls really wanted to go back to the same pool.  So we gave it one more shot.  And it was much better!  Although we did the same session as last year, it was a little less crowded.  Only 6 lessons going at once instead of 8.  Olive had the maximum class size of 6, but there were only 3 kids in Hannah's class.  

So this was the first year Olive was in real swimming lessons.  The past years she was in the preschool class because...she wasn't in school.  They did things like blow bubbles, put their ears in the water to "listen to fish," use kickboards, and float with the teacher holding them.  That was all in her comfort zone.  But this year she aged out of preschool and she had to take "first wave," which is jumping in deep water, swimming with your head underwater, treading, and back floating.  She did NOT want to do these things.  And when Olive doesn't want to do something...watch out!  She spent the first lesson screaming, crying, and refusing to do anything her teacher asked her to do.  So we went home and had a long conversation about being scared, trying new things, emotions vs. behaviors, and what good behavior in lessons looks like.  And we talked through some strategies she could try when she feels scared (deep breaths, saying "I can do this!)  I knew how Olive felt because I was always scared to put my head underwater...and consequently never learned.  I didn't want that for her.  But more importantly than learning to swim, I wanted her to learn some life lessons about trying new things, controlling her behavior, etc.  And the next day she did it!  She apologized to her teacher for her behavior and then she used her strategies to calm herself down and at least TRY new things in the pool.  It wasn't perfect, but she TRIED.  And she was so proud of herself, I've never seen her smile so big!  I cried watching her because it is pretty amazing to watch your kid push through her fear be so proud.  It was a transformative experience for her.  Swimming lessons were worth it just for that....but she also learned to swim!  She went from refusing to even let me hold her in a backfloat position, to backfloating across the pool by herself in deep water!  She learned to tread.  Not just for 30 seconds to pass her level, but for 1 minute!  She put her head underwater for the first time without holding her nose!  She became a swimmer!

And great things happened for Hannah, too.  Her class was so small they went through all the requirements for third wave...and fourth wave, too!  She passed two swimming levels in one session!  She was already a swimmer, but she learned the breaststroke, sidestroke, and flip turns.  She swam laps across the pool for the first time!  

Hannah is with her class in the front and Olive is in the deep water in the back.

The last day they get free time to do slides or diving boards.

Olive's first time going down the slide by herself!

Two proud girls.  Olive passed first wave and Hannah passed fourth wave.  (They have candy in their mouths.)

Swimming Lessons

We did swim lessons again this year in the little pool just a few minutes from our house.  It is great!  The class sizes are super small (just one other kid in each class) and the kids learn A LOT!  The lessons are 30 minutes Mon-Thur for two weeks.  At the end of each week the kids get a "report card" with the skills they have mastered so far.  

This was Olive's first year. Hannah didn't start lessons until she was four, but Olive really wanted to swim after seeing Hannah in lessons last year.  You have to be at least three for the first preschool swim class.  She was very nervous the first day.  Then she really liked her teacher and she was excited to go every day after that.  She went from not wanting to get her face wet to blowing bubbles and jumping in the pool!  She even went off the diving board (with lots of help) on the last day.  I was really surprised she was so brave.  Especially after watching the older boy in her class cry and chicken out before her.  

Hannah has been looking forward to swimming all summer.  This was her first year in the "real" swimming lessons instead of the preschool ones.  You have to be five years old to be in her class.  Her teacher said she "improved immensely."  Before lessons she used a mask to swim.  In two weeks she learned to swim underwater (no mask!), do a front crawl, back float, tread water, and jump into deep water!  I'm so proud of both of the girls' hard work!

Aunt Marissa and Grandma both visited during swimming lessons and the girls were so proud of showing off their skills!

Swimming Lessons

We had to go to a different pool for swimming lessons this year because our old one was torn down.  Sad.  Our old pool had about 4 different swimming lessons going at the same time with 2-4 kids per class (and last year Hannah was the only one in her class!).  This pool had 8 different swimming lessons at the same time, with 6 kids in each class.  The girls couldn't believe how many kids were in the pool!  I don't know if it was the large class sizes or maybe the teachers, but the girls didn't progress much in the two weeks.  We still had a good time, but I might have to rethink lessons for next year.

I did notice Hannah's back float improved this year.  She is great at the backstroke and back crawl now!

I didn't get a picture of it, but Hannah did her first real drive off the diving board!  It ended up being more of a belly flop, so I haven't talked her into attempting it again.  Here's her usual jump:

And Olive went down the slide for the first time.  Can you see the fear on her face?  She did not want to go again!

Swimming Lessons

This was Hannah's third year in swimming lessons and Olive's second.  Olive said, "I love swimming lessons as much as you love me!"  Both girls learned so much in just two weeks!  Hannah learned to dive for the first time.  Now she can also tread water for a minute and swim across the short side of the pool.  Olive went all the way underwater for the first time and even opened her eyes underwater.  Her confidence in the water improved so much this summer.  She now LOVES swimming with a life jacket (when last year she HATED it).  She wants so badly to swim as well as Hannah that she goes in the deep end to practice treading water.  I am so proud of how hard they both work to learn new things and become better swimmers.

Grandma got these cover-ups for the girls and they wore them every day.

Hannah was the only one in her class, so she got private lessons!

There were three other kids in Olive's class.  She was so excited to make friends!

Hannah jumped off the diving board by herself for the first time!  (Last year the instructor was in the water to help if needed.)  She even tried a kneeling dive off it!

I am so bummed that this is our last summer with our pool.  It is closing for good at the end of the summer.  I loved taking lessons from this pool because it was so close to the house and the class sizes were super small.  I recommended it to everyone I knew.  Hopefully we'll be able to find another pool next year that is just as good.

Swimming Lessons

We gave Hannah the options of soccer, baseball, dance, gymnastics, or swim lessons for a summer activity.  She chose swimming.  She had 30 minute lessons M-Th for two weeks.  She loved every minute of it!  The first day she scraped her knee getting out of the pool and in the five minutes it took to clean it up, the lesson ended.  She was crying and saying "It was too short!"  

I was really impressed with her progress.  She has never liked getting her face wet and we've only been swimming a handful of times.  By the end of the two weeks she was comfortable going underwater, blowing bubbles, using the kickboard, floating, and even stepping off the diving board (with her teacher waiting to catch her).  I guess I shouldn't be too surprised because she is fearless Hannah.  I am so proud of her!!

 

 

 

Olive was a pretty patient spectator.  Sometimes we left and walked to the playground across the parking lot.  She also really liked drawing on her Magna Doodle.  

Hannah was so excited about swimming that we decided to buy a pool membership when they went half-price in the middle of July.  We've been several times and made some great family memories.  (Sorry no pictures- cameras aren't allowed at that pool.)  Olive never liked swimming before, but this year she is all about it.  She walks in water all the way up to her chin, blows bubbles, and even floats on her back and tummy (with support).  I think she will be ready for swimming lessons next year.  We've got two swimmer girls!

Swimming

We usually get a Prairie Village pool membership when they go half-price halfway through the summer.  This year we found out there was no half-price option since Prairie Village changed their pricing structure (cheaper for individuals, no family memberships.)  I checked out our other options and it was actually cheaper to pay the non-resident Overland Park fee than to pay discounted resident pricing for Prairie Village.  What?!  AND Overland Park has FIVE different outdoor pools (and 1 indoor), while PV just has one.  Guess which membership we got?  The girls were very excited to check out all the pools. We went swimming pretty much every day for 3 weeks.  It was awesome.  I don't know if we'll ever go back to PV pool again!

#1 Tomahawk Ridge: awesome family slide that up to 4 people can go on at once.  The curvy slide goes under a waterfall.  Prettiest pool (in my opinion)

#2- Stonegate: great slide, large deep water area.  This is where we did swimming lessons.

#3 Bluejacket: large zero entry area, basketball goal

#4: Young's: 31 foot straight slide, awesome curvy slide, largest pool

#5 Marty: smallest pool, small innertube slide

Steve and Hannah liked Young's Pool best because of the slides.  The straight slide was crazy.  It is such a steep drop that I went airborne for a second! And at the end you are going so fast that fly across the water before you sink!  That was my one and only time doing it...and I like roller coasters.  It's the largest water slide Hannah has ever done and of course she LOVED it.  Olive liked Bluejacket because it had a large area for her to practice treading water.  I liked Young's for the best curly slide and I also liked Marty because it was small and there weren't many people.

Olive learned more this summer just from being at the pool than from swimming lessons.  We got her to go underwater with a mask for the first time!  Then she really started swimming using her arms and legs.  She also got brave enough to go under just holding her nose.  And Hannah swam across the long side of the pool for the first time!

Random Summer Things

Swimming- We got half-price pool memberships in July just like last year.  It's perfect because it doesn't really get hot enough to swim until July anyway.  Especially this mild summer!  Plus it comes right after swimming lessons so they get to practice all their new skills.  First week of kindergarten we went swimming every afternoon for a full week!  Hannah can jump into deep water, tread water, and then swim over to the edge.  She really wanted a snorkel set (with flippers!) and she brings it every time we go to the pool.  I love it that she doesn't care at all about how she looks.  And this year she is tall enough to go down the water slides!  We had a lot of fun with that.  Olive has come a long way, too.  She is so brave in the water now.  She loves to hang on the side in the deep water and she can jump in the shallow water all by herself.  Every time we drive by the pool Olive asks, "When are we going to do swimming lessons again?"  We have so many good memories of swimming this summer.

Little Free Library- Leawood was in national news for shutting down a nine-year-old's little free library.  I'm glad we don't live there.  Ridiculous.  The libraries promote literacy and community.  I was so excited when our subdivision started one just two blocks from our house!  We've biked there several times to get some books.

Summer Reading Program- Speaking of reading, the girls participated in the library's summer reading program again.  New this year, HANNAH READ THE BOOKS HERSELF!  She read 30 books over the summer (and both girls listened to probably five times that many).  I am so happy my girls love reading as much as I do.

Sad Goodbyes- Both the Vroomans and my sister/brother-in law moved away from KC this summer.  We recently went over to the Vroomans house to help them out with some small things that were found in the inspection (since they are across the country.)  It was so surreal to see their empty house.  I remember helping them move into it, Hannah crawling for the first time right next to the fireplace, her first Halloween trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, and her first time staying up until midnight on New Year's Eve.  That place has a lot of memories, but it is not the house we'll miss. :(

Swimming

Every year we get a family membership to Prairie Village when they go half price in July.  Then we spend just about every sunny day there for at least an hour or two.  Even though school has started, you'll still find us at the pool when it opens at 4:30. :)  Since we are swimming so much the girls have picked up some new tricks.  By sheer determination, Olive taught herself to tread water (just for a few seconds).  She now loves to glide from the side of the deep pool into our arms a few feet away.  And after going off the diving board for the first time in swimming lessons, Hannah nonchalantly told us she was going off the high dive at PV pool.  Steve didn't believe her.  Then she walked over and did it (several times) like it was no big deal at all.  

You can hear Olive in the video saying "Go Hannah!  Go Hannah! Go Hannah!"  This is what she does while watching Hannah jump.  She is the best little sister cheerleader!

Olive calls this "the starfish"

Random Summer Pictures

After a very busy spring, it was nice to have an lazy and unscheduled summer.  Hannah took tennis lessons.  Both girls took swimming lessons.  And we took our longest family vacation to date to the Black Hills.  Other than that, we had nothing planned.  It is very relaxing to not be tied to a schedule!  In our free time we did "homeschool" that was the same country curriculum I taught my 2nd graders.  We read over a hundred books about Brazil, USA, and China this summer!  I taught my students about Canada, but the girls opted for USA instead and we did that around the 4th of July so it worked out perfectly.  We'll probably take a break on the homeschool now that they are back in real school.  Here are some of the other random things we did this summer.

Prairie Village Art Fair

3D movie on national parks to get us excited about our vacation

We went to our usual kid events in June.  This year we saw a puppet show and live bird show.

Hannah is finally tall enough to ride the tandem bike with Steve!  She has been waiting years for this.  They have taken a few bike rides together.  The longest was 1.5 hours!

Hannah went ice skating for the first time at a friend's birthday party!  She has been looking forward to this for years, too.

fun at a new park

building huge block cities

Our board game of the summer was Carcasonne.  It is so much fun now that the girls are old enough to play real games with us!  When Steve worked from home he could play with us after lunch.

We cleaned their rooms (a major undertaking!) and reorganized closets to hang their shirts instead of fold them.  This is Hannah's.

A Friday night concert in Franklin Park was even more awesome with balloons.  A pink sword for Hannah and a purple tiger for Olive.

science experiments

In July it was too hot to do anything but swim.  So we did.

We went to this park at the beginning of the summer and Olive only climbed about 2 feet off the ground before she wanted to come down.  At the end of summer she climbed up here with no fear!

And Olive got freckles this summer!