Parker's First Swim Class

(Parker on the way to his first swim class ever! He has no idea what is in store.)

I figured it was about time for Parker to learn how to swim. He always enjoyed bath time, so I crossed my fingers and signed him up. His classes are at the Foss Swim School, which I have been told by SEVERAL people that Foss is the place to go for swimming lessons, especially Parker's age. Even though we have had only one class so far, I completely agree.

We arrived a bit early for the class. I knew that it would be a bit chaotic and noisy. I wanted him to get accustomed to the pool and action that was surrounding him before "diving in". We sat at the pool side for about 15 minutes. He was nervously looking on, watching the other baby class before his. He didn't seem frightened, just unsure.

Parker had no problems getting into the water. He was ready to play. As soon as he met his other classmates (2 other little girls), he started splashing at them and smiling - turning on his charm! One of the first exercises the teacher had us do was practice doing the back float so that the kids would get get used to water touching their ears. Parker didn't mind too much, but he would not put his legs down and relax. He wanted to see what everyone else was doing.

Phillip left work for a while so that he could see Parker's first class. Every time Parker finished a new task, he would look over at Phillip, very proud of himself.

I then had to float Parker on his tummy, trying to get the basic idea of swimming. He really liked that, but we need to work on the concept of kicking and paddling.

One of the last exercises was called "zooming". I gently push his face in the water and shoot him out to the teacher while Parker is underwater. I thought for sure that this would get Parker upset. He absolutely loved it! We did it so much that his poor little eyes were red by the end of class. He did not want to stop.

In class, we also worked on learning how to get in and out of the pool. This was the only exercise Parker did not want to have anything to do with. Anything that involved getting out of the pool, he did not care to learn. He would not wait for the exercise to be finished before he tried to slip back into the water. He let his objections be known. I guess I have the next Olympic swimmer on my hands! Maybe I can get him a Wheaties contract...


With all of the work in the water (class was only 30 minutes), he was starving. He loaded up on carbs with spaghetti and then took a 5 hour nap! Later that night, he slept for another 12 hours!! Swim class is totally worth it!! I wonder how he will do today...class starts in a couple of hours.