NOTE: This post is NOT sponsored. I just happen to really like this place and had some pictures looking for a reason to be used.
It is important to me the kids learn to swim. Even if we lived in a land-locked state, say…
Xavier in the water
South Dakota or West Virginia my stance would be the same. There is a bit more, well, not urgency, but the importance of learning to swim is definitely prominent here in Seattle where we are minutes away from Green Lake, Lake Union, Lake Washington and the Puget Sound.
Safe & Sound Swimming is where we go. Each of the four younger kids have swim lessons there, some longer than others. We have tried to coordinate getting their lessons synched up and have succeeded – largely by being patient. It took a little while to get Xavier in, but it was worth it.
Dela and August with their instructors
The kids LOVE swim lessons and look forward to it each week. We make it a special event, usually having a treat afterwards as well as having presented it as a fun activity they get to do.
At Safe & Sound Swimming the lessons are 15 minutes each, which doesn’t seem like much, but it’s one on one instruction and that makes all the difference. At the community pools where the lessons are a half hour there are 5 or 6 kids in a group so they get maybe 5 minutes of actual instruction. This is 15 minutes of solid instruction.
The week of Halloween there was a pumpkin in the pool as a flotation device. Here Ciaran is using it.
By the time we get the kids showered, changed, and home, there’s still plenty of Friday evening left. It’s nice to have all the kids in the pool at the same time. It’s kind of cute watching them interact with each other as their lessons sometimes wind up coming in proximity of each other.
Ciaran, Dela and August in a rare moment side by side in the pool.
I really like Safe And Sound Swimming. They do a great job working with the kids. Ciárán really was hesitant to even jump in the pool when he started. Now he’s on the verge of taking the deep end swim test.
Déla took to the water immediately, and has never had a problem with her lessons. It is that sort of accommodation Safe And Sound Swimming offers that gives it so much more of an edge over other places that offer lessons. Kids learn at their own pace and while some kids, particularly the younger ones, may cry when they are placed in the water for the first time, the instructors are all patient and do a good job with them.
Xavier enjoying his lesson
So yes, I recommend Safe And Sound Swimming. My kids all like it and the scheduling works for us. If you’re in Seattle and need a place to get your kids swim lessons, check the place out.
More important, I was able to put those pictures to goood use in a blog post for NaBloPoMo.