One Year On – Swimming Lessons at Swim!
Disclaimer: The Swimming lessons at Swim! were given on a gifted basis for 2 x 6 month periods. The links to Swim! within this blog are linked to myself but I do not receive any payment from these.
The Beginning – Where we Started
Bruce started swimming lessons at Swim! Oldham in August 2020 and has since made huge progress. He’s had 2 main instructors and enjoyed his time with both of them. When he first started, he wore armbands and also needed a floating device to support when trying to move in the water. He was adamant that he needed a nose clip and wouldn’t leave the house without at least 3 spares in his swimming bag.
Read more about the start of Bruce’s journey here.
The Journey
It didn’t take long for Bruce to become comfortable with both the setting and the instructors. In fact, he literally bounced to his 1st lesson after the initial assessment. All the staff were really welcoming and fully explained the lessons and the set up at the centre. You can tell everyone there has a lot of passion in what they do and in encouraging children to learn such a vital life skill. This really does translate to the lessons.
I’ve been able to track Bruce’s progress, each lesson, via my online Swim! profile. This has enabled me to see where we could practice a little more when in the pool together and also helps me to talk to him about what he’s achieved, following the lessons.
He’s moved up 2 stages since starting his lessons and not only am I proud, he couldn’t be prouder of himself. For me, that’s always been the priority with his swimming lessons. That he enjoys learning and that he can experience that sense of achievement.
Where we are now
Now when we go to Swim!, it almost feels like a second home.
Bruce absolutely loves his lessons and has achieved star of the week 3 times in the last 2 months alone. Star of the week is something that’s celebrated every week at Swim! and all the children are encouraged to applaud the stars at the end of the lesson. This is a huge boost for the children and is lovely to see so many of them celebrating each others progress.
So does he still wear armbands, a nose clip and a floating device. The simple answer, no, to all 3. The arm bands came off within about 8 weeks, with the floating device then only being used when learning new strokes. The nose clip was the final to go. It was something I never thought Bruce would enter a pool without. However, on one particular lesson, one of the instructors spent some time talking to him about it and why he felt he had to wear one. After lots of questions answered and plenty of reassurance, I saw him finally remove the nose clip and jump into the pool. It’s never gone back on since.
If you’d like to take a look at Swim! for your little one and are interested in finding out more about them, you can book a free intro session here.
