So, when swim lessons were first set to start, Eli asked if we'd be taking their arm floaties with us to the pool during the lessons. When told, "no, you're supposed to learn to swim without them," Luke looks at me completely deadpan and says, "We're going to sink!"
Fast forward to the end of swim lessons ... and they're still sinking. In a "class" of 6, four kids could swim on the last day. Two could not. Is now the right time to remind you that I have twins? Yep. They were those two. They've inherited a slight spazziness from both me and my wife, but I don't believe that was the problem. Every class, Eli was "on stage." He was singing. He was dancing. He was a one man show. When he'd get things right, the "look at me's" would start. And the kid is LOUD, so while yelling "look at me" he'd miss the next 50 instructions. Luke, on the other hand, kept avoiding effort, with "can'ts" and flat out "don't want to's."
I was torn the first few days of class because I felt swim lessons should be fun. If Eli wanted to bring his Broadway act to the pool, then let him have fun...as long as he was learning. If Luke was nervous and scared to try stuff, I'd work with him on his confidence solo and, again, he was fine as long as he was learning. Then I started noticing the other kids swimming and mine still doing their impressions of rocks in water. We talked with them. Eli was told to calm down and listen and yet still hopefully have fun. Luke was told our "try, don't cry" chant and reminded that he was there because he couldn't swim, none of the kids could. That was the whole point of swim lessons. This seem to bolster his confidence.
Yet, at the end of the class...their rock impressions have been slightly elevated to bubble impressions, in that they fragily float across the water but the slightest panic pops them and they sink.
So, off to the local pool we go this weekend for me to continue their lessons personally, post swim class. Wish me luck.