Swim Class Week Four - Final Week

The final week of George's swimming class wrapped up yesterday and I would definitely say that it was a success. He is a totally different boy in the water now than he was when he started four weeks ago. Last summer, when we were swimming a lot, he was doing really well on picking things up, but he still needed a lot of work. Now he doesn't freak out when his head goes under the water, he isn't afraid to float on his back and he is much more proficient at "lightly" assisted swimming. At one point yesterday while they were playing to "celebrate" he wandered a little too far into the deep end (somewhere between 3'-6" & 4' deep) trying to retrieve the ball they were playing with. I could see that he was going a little too far, so I walked over and got the ball (it was close to the side) and told him to start heading back towards the shallower end. He was at a depth in the pool that put the water level right at the base of his head (when he was on his tip-toes) and he started to get a bit scared when he realized how deep he was. He actually went completely under 2 or 3 times, but I talked to him and told him that he was fine, to stay calm and work his way to the edge and he did. I cannot say how proud of him I was and at that point I realized that my goals for the class had been met. Now we just have to keep him at this level or above until this summer when Gran & Grandpa's pool opens!!