Roux has been taking swim lessons for a little over two years now. We started him in private lessons just after his second birthday. We found a swim school that we absolutely love called SEAL Swim School. They offer both group lessons and private lessons. We have always felt that Roux would do best in a private one-on-one lesson, and he has thrived!
The private lessons we take are twice a week and each lesson is only 15 minutes long. I love the way they structure their lessons. They work towards very specific swim skills.
The lessons are structured to last about six weeks at a time with a couple of weeks in between each new season. They have a graduation after each six weeks and have proven to be proficient in a certain set of skills. We take a break from lessons only in the “cold” season for Florida because it is an outdoor pool.
When Roux first started these lessons, at about two years old, there was a fair amount of crying and not wanting to be in the pool (away from mama).
That was really hard to watch. The instructors were always so great with him. Going slow, developing trust, making it fun, and still teaching him a little bit at a time.
After his very first swim lesson, he was given a big donut with a little seal on it – made out of frosting. It was so cute! I loved this special little reward they gave the kids. It helped Roux to associate swim lessons with fun right away.
Every kid is obviously different, but after two lessons of crying and some fussing, he really fell in love with swimming with his instructor.
The pool has fun castles to climb on, a slide, lots of big toys like Mickey and Buzz Light Year in the pool. They have dive rings, fins & more to keep kids’ attention and use objects like these to work on their swimming skills. Plus, the instructors themselves are fun, animated, usually silly, and happy people to be around.
I was shocked that my two-year-old was actually learning to swim.
He was going underwater, front stroke swimming, holding his breath, knows how to float on his back, learned to dive for rings, knew how to respond if he fell into a pool, and was very comfortable in the water. Now, at 4 years old – he is building on all of those initial skills and he is learning to do the backstroke.
They spent a lot of time teaching safety skills from the beginning.
Roux learned right away that if he ever fell into the pool that he would grab the wall as soon as possible. They reinforce this with repetition every single lesson. They also do a safety day in each six-week block where the kids come in dressed in their clothes to practice what it would be like if they fell into the water with all their clothes on.
We live in Florida and have a lake in our backyard. It was critically important to me that Roux is comfortable in the water.
I wanted him to learn to swim, not just learn how NOT to drown.
It doesn’t take much. Twice a week for 15 minutes at a time is all it’s taken us. And now it’s a really fun + active activity he looks forward to!
I’m so grateful to his instructors in this program for what they have taught my son, it is invaluable to me and gives me the ultimate peace of mind. As a parent, it helps us to really build upon the skills that he’s already learning so that he really is a strong swimmer.
If you’re looking for some of our swim favorites, check out the links below. If you’ve been following me for a while you know I’m OBSESSED with this towel and these amazing toddler shoes.
If you’re looking for beach-specific items, check out this post!
