Winter Swim Camp

My kids LOVE to swim!  I never really cared for the water all that much and did everything I could to get out of swim lessons when I was a kid.  So, it was important to me that the children feel comfortable in the water and learn to swim. 

We tried the community education swim classes, but found that the kids were more afraid of water after completing the course than before they began.  So, I asked around and discovered FOSS Swim School.  At first, I refused to bring the kids there because of the price (about $15 for a 30 minute lesson) and tried the community education route once more - out of mere frugality.  Again, I was hugely disappointed and figured I would give FOSS a try. 

WOW!  What a difference.  The children loved it!  The main draws are heated water in the pool (about 91 degrees!), small class sizes, and teachers who really enjoy what they're doing.  We usually do a swim camp or two in the summer where the kids have lessons Monday through Thursday for 2 weeks straight.  They make great progress and have a lot of fun.  I noticed that they were doing a one week swim camp and decided it would be a good activity for our week of Christmas break. 

At 10:45 Joseph's lesson begins.  He has a determined look here, but typically has a huge grin and continually gives me a thumbs-up to let me know how much he's enjoying himself.

11:00 is when Haley jumps in for her lesson.  She worked hard and made some good progress on her form.

11:15 means that it is time for Madeline to get in the pool.  She just about passed onto the next level, but needs to work on her endurance a bit.  She was so dedicated to swimming this week that she ate eggs and peanut butter toast for breakfast hoping that the extra protein would help her out!

Here's the little cutey patiently waiting for here turn....

And 11:30 finally rolls around and she gets in.  Because she has 2 big sisters, she has inherited a good number of swim suits and wore a different one each day.  Her instructor was quite impressed.

So, what are the little ones doing when all this swimming is happening?

Eleanor is munching on a snack and watching Dora on the portable DVD player.  I'm not typically the mom who says, "Hey, let's bring along the tv!" but in this case I figure it's okay.  An hour and a half of watching her older siblings swim is a bit much to expect out of a three year old kitty...I mean girl! (yes, she's still big into pretending that she's a kitty and me-ows throughout the day)

And daddy came to watch the kids swim one day - they were so proud to show him what they could do!  Needless to say, all is easier when daddy is along.  Now, if I could just find a way for him to earn a living/bring in a paycheck and still be with us all day...any ideas?

About 12:15, 6 hungry kids head out to eat some lunch.  It was a great week, but I'm glad that we don't have to do it again until summer!

God Bless!

Heather :-)