August 11, 2016
Another red letter day for us this week. Esme can now float and locomote in water. It's been a long time coming...
She has long loved going to the lake (usually Lake Dunmore at Branbury State Park) and playing in and near the water. She has used various floatation devices such as a life jacket (required by state law for kids when on a boat -- even a kayak), beach toys, inflatables, and, most recently, a water noodle left by her sister on a recent visit. One recent favorite is a pair of inflatable yellow fish with a connector between them that she can lay on while either kicking or using her arms. This has been a great tool for allowing her to observe her increasing ability to move in the water, usually by kicking. I, being the former Red Cross Water Instructor (swim instructor at camp), have been taking every opportunity I can to teach her effective techniques such as the flutter kick, breaststroke kick (frog kick), and dolphin kick for her feet and, for her arms, the doggy paddle and breaststroke. She's usually pretty open to my teaching for a period of time, then just wants to play or practice the skills she's learning. I haven't pushed too hard because I want her to enjoy the water, not feel like it's a chore.
Two years ago, on a visit to North Carolina, she became comfortable jumping into a pool (as long as there was an adult in the water waiting to 'catch' her). Last summer, she started being able to move herself in the water a little with the help of various floaties. This summer, she has expressed interest in actually learning to swim -- at least partially due to seeing her friends do things that she could not do. She's been listening to me much more and working to apply those lessons.
Last week, at a visit to Sugar Hill Reservoir at the Goshen Dam, she joined me on a friend's paddleboard with her water noodle. We were well off shore (in water that was at least 15-20 feet deep) when she wanted off. When I started back to shore, she became very upset with me. She didn't want out of the water, she wanted off the board -- to swim with her noodle. I carefully helped her into the water and she kicked herself around a bit. At one point, while trying to get back on the board, she let go of the wrong thing and ended up going under. I was right there, but before I could get a hand on her she had taken care of things herself -- one hand on the noodle and one on the board. I cheered her on for handling the situation herself and helped her back onto the board.
I've been telling her for about two months that the next steps for her are learning to float and dunking her head underwater, but she's been very resistant on both counts. Until this week. We left Brandon just after noon on Tuesday and headed up to Vergennes, where we turned toward Lake Champlain and Button Bay State Park. (You may have seen Tina's Facebook post this week with some pictures of our trip.) One of the wonderful things about Button Bay is that it has a very
kid friendly swimming pool. It is designed more like a beach with a gentle slope that starts at the level of the pool deck and deepens gradually to three & a half feet at the deep end, so kids can wade in to whatever level of water they find comfortable. Fully planning to use this as a teaching moment, I entered the water with her and her purple water noodle, but we were immediately stopped by the lifeguard who told us that water toys such as ours were not allowed in the pool. I was dismayed at first, thinking this was going to impede our learning and fun, but Esme had other ideas.
We had fun frolicking about for a while with me swimming around the pool with her hanging on my shoulders. I continued to let her know that floating and dunking were her next steps. She let me help her float a little, but it didn't seem like we were going to make much progress. Tina eventually joined us in the water and I took a break. When I returned, Tina called me over and told Esme to "Show Daddy what you can do!" Without hesitation, Esme pinched her nose
with one hand, fully submerged, then started kicking -- moving clearly toward Tina with no support other than her buoyant little body. I was ecstatic. For the next hour or so, we played a game. Either Tina or I would throw my goggles varying distances from Esme who would lunge towards them, then kick her way over to grab the goggles and bring them back. (Yes, it felt a little odd to be playing fetch
with my daughter, but the girl was loving it and getting faster and more efficient every time.) By the end of our time there, she was jumping from the side into the water and kick-swimming almost all the way across the pool. Sure she's still holding her nose closed with one hand and holding the other out in front of her reaching for the goggles (meaning she's not using arm strokes to move), but her comfort level and skill in negotiating around other swimmers constantly increased throughout.
Today we're headed back to Lake Dunmore. I'm excited to see her swimming on her own in a lake. I just wonder how long it will be before she knows how to go underwater without actually holding her nose -- so we can begin the process of coordinating arm strokes with legs to help her be the little fish she seems to clearly want to be.
Another red letter day for us this week. Esme can now float and locomote in water. It's been a long time coming...
She has long loved going to the lake (usually Lake Dunmore at Branbury State Park) and playing in and near the water. She has used various floatation devices such as a life jacket (required by state law for kids when on a boat -- even a kayak), beach toys, inflatables, and, most recently, a water noodle left by her sister on a recent visit. One recent favorite is a pair of inflatable yellow fish with a connector between them that she can lay on while either kicking or using her arms. This has been a great tool for allowing her to observe her increasing ability to move in the water, usually by kicking. I, being the former Red Cross Water Instructor (swim instructor at camp), have been taking every opportunity I can to teach her effective techniques such as the flutter kick, breaststroke kick (frog kick), and dolphin kick for her feet and, for her arms, the doggy paddle and breaststroke. She's usually pretty open to my teaching for a period of time, then just wants to play or practice the skills she's learning. I haven't pushed too hard because I want her to enjoy the water, not feel like it's a chore. |
| Lake Dunmore seen from Rattlesnake Cliffs. |
Last week, at a visit to Sugar Hill Reservoir at the Goshen Dam, she joined me on a friend's paddleboard with her water noodle. We were well off shore (in water that was at least 15-20 feet deep) when she wanted off. When I started back to shore, she became very upset with me. She didn't want out of the water, she wanted off the board -- to swim with her noodle. I carefully helped her into the water and she kicked herself around a bit. At one point, while trying to get back on the board, she let go of the wrong thing and ended up going under. I was right there, but before I could get a hand on her she had taken care of things herself -- one hand on the noodle and one on the board. I cheered her on for handling the situation herself and helped her back onto the board. 
I've been telling her for about two months that the next steps for her are learning to float and dunking her head underwater, but she's been very resistant on both counts. Until this week. We left Brandon just after noon on Tuesday and headed up to Vergennes, where we turned toward Lake Champlain and Button Bay State Park. (You may have seen Tina's Facebook post this week with some pictures of our trip.) One of the wonderful things about Button Bay is that it has a very
kid friendly swimming pool. It is designed more like a beach with a gentle slope that starts at the level of the pool deck and deepens gradually to three & a half feet at the deep end, so kids can wade in to whatever level of water they find comfortable. Fully planning to use this as a teaching moment, I entered the water with her and her purple water noodle, but we were immediately stopped by the lifeguard who told us that water toys such as ours were not allowed in the pool. I was dismayed at first, thinking this was going to impede our learning and fun, but Esme had other ideas.
We had fun frolicking about for a while with me swimming around the pool with her hanging on my shoulders. I continued to let her know that floating and dunking were her next steps. She let me help her float a little, but it didn't seem like we were going to make much progress. Tina eventually joined us in the water and I took a break. When I returned, Tina called me over and told Esme to "Show Daddy what you can do!" Without hesitation, Esme pinched her nose
with one hand, fully submerged, then started kicking -- moving clearly toward Tina with no support other than her buoyant little body. I was ecstatic. For the next hour or so, we played a game. Either Tina or I would throw my goggles varying distances from Esme who would lunge towards them, then kick her way over to grab the goggles and bring them back. (Yes, it felt a little odd to be playing fetch
with my daughter, but the girl was loving it and getting faster and more efficient every time.) By the end of our time there, she was jumping from the side into the water and kick-swimming almost all the way across the pool. Sure she's still holding her nose closed with one hand and holding the other out in front of her reaching for the goggles (meaning she's not using arm strokes to move), but her comfort level and skill in negotiating around other swimmers constantly increased throughout.
Today we're headed back to Lake Dunmore. I'm excited to see her swimming on her own in a lake. I just wonder how long it will be before she knows how to go underwater without actually holding her nose -- so we can begin the process of coordinating arm strokes with legs to help her be the little fish she seems to clearly want to be.
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