Kicks, scoops and monkey cheeks. Those are some of the words frequenting our vocabulary during the past four weeks of swim camp. The girls have both been going twice a week to lessons. Thursday we finished up, and both girls graduated to the next classes for their individual levels.

Linnea became a “mermaid” almost after the first lesson. Right away she was having fun, and she is now able to swim independently on her stomach without any floaties for more than 15 feet. She also can flip and float on her back and then flip again to her stomach. She swims on her back doing “bird flaps,” too.  

Laurel can move independently on the noodle and float on her back using the noodle. She was reluctant to put her face in the water all the way up until the last class. She’d barely get her goggles wet, and she didn’t want to “Humpty Dumpty” off the edge. But on the last day she kept her eyes OPEN when she put the goggles in the water. That made all the difference because she was able to see a whole new world underwater — her instructor’s legs and toes and all sorts of toys. She kept saying, “I want to do it again! I want to go under again!” This was quite an aboutface, and it left her instructor and I both shaking our heads in wonder. Something clicked that day, and what a thrill to witness it. Linnea and I both cheered from the poolside.