Our Little Swimmer

When Benjamin was 9 months old, we enrolled him in an Infant Survival Swim Class. In four short weeks, he learned how to roll over onto his back and float, should he ever fall into the water. Here is a video clip of one of his final lessons of that session, which is done in full clothing:

That was almost one year ago. Today we had our final lesson of the second session, which taught him how to roll over from a float to swim to the side of the pool. Here is a clip of that, also done in full winter clothing, which is very heavy! (Note: the child crying in the video is not Benjamin, but a student who was waiting for his turn in the water. :)

It has been so amazing to watch Benjamin not only learn water survival skills, but also develop a love of swimming. He used to cry when it was time to get in the pool, but now he cries when it is time to get out! He loves to swim to the wall and then jump back in and kick to my waiting arms. Then he instantly turns to do it all over again. He knows that when he gets tired he can simply roll over and float on his back until he catches his breath. Then he flips over, almost effortlessly, and continues swimming to his destination. All this before he is even two! Pretty amazing, huh?