Private Swim Lesson

Brian and I decided that we didn't want Leia Rose to lose what she learned this summer, so we asked her instructor, Carrie, for a few private lessons this August/September. Okay, I don't know if I'm ever going to pay for "group" swimming lessons again, . . . just look how much Leia Rose did in just one private half-hour lesson!!! I was definitely having one of those I'm-so-proud-I-almost-cried type of moments!

First let me say that, for some reason, Leia Rose was so afraid to go that she clutched the courage doll all the way there again. I think she felt better when I told her that she wouldn't have to go on the slide, . . .


Then within the first two minutes (literally), Carrie had Leia Rose swimming face down in the water, arms stretched out front, taking breaths, and doing scissor kicks!

Once she mastered the breathing technique, Carrie started adding "big arms" again. If you look closely, here you can see Leia's right arm back behind her in fairly good form.

Carrie also taught Leia Rose how to "streamline" in order to "shoot like an arrow" through the water. What happened right after this picture stunned me so much, I couldn't even photograph it, . . . I just had to cheer her on! Leia Rose swam freestyle all the way to the laneline, breathing to the side and using big arms! (Shenandoah's diving board, here we come!!!)

After "mastering" freestyle, they began work on the backstroke! This was very hard for Leia Rose only because she couldn't seem to coordinate her arms to circle backwards.

And finally, Carrie had Leia Rose dive down to the bottom to retrieve a dive ring not once, but three times!!! (Aren't you so proud of her, Shenandoah?!?)