Teach Cole how to swim: Lesson 1

Jolie and I decided to enroll Cole in swimming lessons. The classes are 30 minutes a piece for 6 weeks. The class is tailored to people of Cole's age.. 18 months. Cole was not a big fan of the experience. He was pretty clingy.. and was attached to me like a baby monkey on his momma. Here's what we attempted to do..

• Motor Boats - the child lays either on his back or stomach on my arms which were outstretched at shoulder height perpindicular to my body. Then I would rotate in a circle singing "motor boat, motor boat, goes so slow, motor boat, motor boat, step on the gas, motor boat, motor boat goes so fast" (and the singing gets faster with the song).
• Humpty Dumpty - Let the child climb out of the pool and sit on the edge with their feet dangling in the pool. Then sing "Humpty dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall..." when you get to the end pull the child into the pool. More advanced, the child stands on the edge and jumps into your arms.
• Sit the child on your knee facing away from you and have her hold one of your fingers on each hand and practice "reach and pull" which helps them learn how to use their hands to swim.
• Wheels on the Bus-- Hold the child in your arms facing away from you and sing the wheels on the bus song..
  • The wheels on the bus go round and round... (move the child in a circular motion both clockwise and counterclockwise)
  • The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep... (have the child slap the water with his hands)
  • The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish (tilt the child back and forth so that their ears go in the water)
  • The people on the bus go up and down, up and down..(lift the child in and out of the water)
  • The driver on the bus says move on back, move on back... (push the child a little forward and pull them back)
• Splash the water- putting the child on their stomach, like with "motor boats" have them splash the water with their hands and feet.. To get them to splash with their hands have them give you a "high five" but put your hand slightly under the water