Water Explorers, Kanemoto Pool, Longmont Public Library, You've Got it Made

We finished our second round of Water Explorer classes today.  (Go to pages 16 and 17 in the link.)  Our first round was at the Longmont Rec Center.  This session was at Kanemoto Pool.  We start our third round at Sunset Pool on Monday.  I was hesitant about what to expect in these classes.  One of the teachers told me that the main goal of the class is for the kids to learn to stay with the teacher and do what she tells them (instead of looking to their parents for guidance and praise).  In our first class, Spence didn't stay very well for his first two classes, but by the end, he was participating with the group and no longer trying to wander off.  He was the youngest one in the class and did end up in tears a bit - I think he is still getting the hang of preschooler group dynamics.

But in our second class, he stayed with the teacher the whole time and joined in with everything she asked the kids to do, including floating and putting his face in the water and jumping right away.  There were several kids in our second class who had not been in the water without their parents before, and like Spencer in his first class, they had a difficult time staying with the teacher through the first and second classes.  They participated in the third class but didn't do as well in the fourth.  Having seen the way Spencer adjusted, I think that this is probably very normal for the age group, and I understand now why the rec center personnel suggest that kids take the Water Explorer class several times before moving up to Turtles.  I am excited to see how he will do in his third round.

After that, we will take a break from swim classes for awhile.  He is signed up for plenty of other things for the fall - a Friday morning Mommy and Me preschool class called Terrific Twos, a tumbling class, a music and movement class, and a toddler cooking class.  (Not all at once, of course.)  We will see how he does.  When he turns three, several options will no longer be available to us, including the Friday morning preschool class.  On the other hand, he can then take sports clinics, and I am sure he will love that.

One of the great things about taking swim classes through the rec center is that after the class (or before the class, or both), you and your child can swim and play for as long as you like at no extra charge.  Centennial Pool is the only one that doesn't boast this option, as it is really just for swimming.  It has a weight room, but I think that's about it, so after the swim lesson, you are expected to collect your child and take them home.

We took brookies by the Longmont Public Library today.  They have been processing a lot of interlibrary loans for us lately, and I thought they might appreciate the recognition of their efforts.  I think they did - I got a thank you note emailed to me right away.  Brookies are delicious - they have a chocolate chip cookie bottom and a brownie top.  I use the recipe from You've Got it Made, with a slight tweak to the chocolate chip cookie recipe.  (I use white chocolate, dark chocolate and milk chocolate chips, instead of all milk.  It makes a big difference.)