Violet's first swim lesson

I was not at all surprised.  Jack was so challenging in so many ways as a littler guy, and Violet has been so much easier in most of those ways.  Yet, almost everything that we found relatively easy with him has provided us some of the biggest challenges with Violet.  I like to tell people that my children have complementary neuroses.

Today was Violet’s first swim class.  When Jack was her age, he hated the water and he hated swimming.  Violet has always loved swimming.  She never had any problem jumping to me, putting her face in the water, bending down to reach a ring that was at her feet in the water.  However, Jack has always been surprisingly cooperative in any instructional setting.  After his initial hesitation about taking a swim class at all, it was no big deal.  Knowing this, I told my friend that I wouldn’t be shocked if Violet didn’t love the swim class because Jack took to it so easily. 

Sure enough, when the instructor called her name, she was the only child who wouldn’t walk with him on her own.  I had to walk her over to where he was introducing himself.  That never happened with Jack.  Thankfully, she let me leave without a fuss.  However, as I was watching from the parent observation area, I noticed that every single exercise that the instructors invited Violet to join was met with a shake of the head.  That also never happened with Jack.  Violet was the one child in the class who had to be consistently prodded and cajoled and physically assisted to get her to participate.  In her defense, I think she probably was the youngest and smallest child in the class. 

This was also Jack's first swim lesson of the summer.  I am very fortunate that kids' lessons are at the same time, even though they are obviously at different levels and with different teachers.  Jack was so excited; he told me that swim lessons were going to be just like play time for him.  He did great, as usual.  He was so cute.  He told me this morning, "I can't believe that Violet is going to learn to swim."  You know time is moving fast when it's going fast for a six-year-old. 

I don’t think Jack understood how it was going to work to have his class the same time as Violet’s.  Before it started, he was saying that he would help her learn to swim and that if she was confused, she could just watch him.  However, the way the classes are set up, the two groups are out of sight from each other.  It’s probably for the best, though.  While it might have been comforting for Violet to be able to see Jack, I think it might have been too distracting for them both.

When the class was over, I asked Violet's teacher how she did.  He said she was fine, except that “she gets yes and no mixed up.”  Hmm, I’m not entirely convinced that’s what was going on there.  But I asked Violet if she liked it, and she said yes.  I asked her if she wanted to go back again tomorrow, and she said yes.  So that’s something.

Unless that’s another example of her getting yes and no mixed up.  Stay tuned.