We were all guns blazing when we arrived back in New Zealand to get down the pools, get the kids swimming, confident in the water and be regular about it. We've been home 13 weeks now and today was only the second time the pools have been frequented and the first time in ages that the kids have even seen their togs!
Swimming here is so accessible that it is easy to take for granted what a fantastic facility we have. Most kiwis know how to swim and have been doing so for a long time unlike many Irish or English. Swimming lessons or just visiting the pools in the UK was expensive hence we never went. Seeing our oldest so keen to put on her armbands and 'swim' ( I use the word loosely at this point) was a complete thrill for me. I have great memories of swimming albeit mainly about getting a chocolate fish or teddy afterwards and really want our kids to have that same love and confidence in water.
My big challenge now is to put some of my teacher training to use in order to save us a bit of dosh and to move the kids forward. BIG CHALLENGE! I've been scanning a great blog on swimming for all sorts of hints, the best being 18 pages of songs altered for swimming. I don't even pretend that I can replace a 'real' coach just to get them to a point of enjoying jumping in, submerging themselves and splashing around independently. That way when they go to lessons it will be for something a parent can't pass on.
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