Swim lessons

mommymegan831

we just got back from DD's 1st swim lesson that was not mommy and me.  It was 5 kids and 1 instructor in a half hour lesson.  All the kids had on floatation belts and they held on to the wall as the instructor took them out then back to do a kick or float and they jumped in the pool twice.  Each kid was taken off the wall three to do their 2 min swim with the instructor, they spent the rest of the time on the wall.  Does that sound right or have your kids had swim lessons where they were more engaged the whole time?

echowysp2

Ds' lessons typically had less kids and they sat on benches without floatation belts (which seems to defeat the purpose of learning how to swim).  They'd sit on the bench until their turn.  His lesson was 30 minutes and I'd say he'd get more than 3 times.  More like 10 times, not counting jumping in to get rings.

NicoleWI

We're doing swim now, too, and it's the same thing except they actually sit on the side of the pool. I watch DD sitting there shivering! It's not great, but I guess they can't manage all the kids in the water the whole time. I'm still figuring out what I think about it.

LoveEeyore

Ours stand on the side, but in the pool.   The teachers will put wandering wigglers on the edge, but the kids generally are good.  I can't envision the flotation thing you mentioned, but our instructors said they don't want the kids in devices until they have basic survival skills without them.

neverblushed

Doesn't seem that unusual for preschool lessons.  

My kids both learned at the local Y.  If the classes had 6 or more kids, they provided an assistant.  So it's possible that 5 is the cap for a single instructor.

Also, you might want to hang in there and see what happens over the next few weeks.  I was astonished at how many people drop out of the lessons after the first session: their kid isn't ready, they find something else, they don't like the instructor, etc.  Often, my kids' classes would start out with 6 kids and be down to 3 in a week or two.

Another benefit of preschool lessons is the independence the kids get from being in the water on their own and having to learn to wait their turn while the instructor works with another kid.  For my kids, who were home with me FT, this was an important aspect of the lesson.  If your child is in preschool or a structured daycare program, this is less of a benefit to you, though.

If you go for a few weeks and you feel like your kid is getting 5 minutes of swimming and 25 minutes sitting on the wall, maybe look into semi-private lessons, which are a little more expensive, but not like paying for private lessons.

Littlejen22

This is exactly what I hear about from most swim lessons that are an hour or less which is why I am doing private lessons. I just don't see how they will learn anything.

ss+el

neverblushed:

Another benefit of preschool lessons is the independence the kids get from being in the water on their own and having to learn to wait their turn while the instructor works with another kid. 

We haven't done lessons yet, but this is also what I was thinking. Also, watching each other do it could be beneficial to learning it.

smilejenn

We've done group classes for the past two years. I think the ratio is good, although our program doesn't use flotation devices since it can restrict how quickly they learn to swim on their own. Most non mommy and me classes start at age 3 and children of that age should be capable of sitting on the edge of the pool while they wait patiently for their turn.

i can understand how some children take longer to learn how to swim than others and may need private instruction, but we've loved our group classes. Last summer my older son learned how to float, tread water, dive, and swim the backstroke and free style in two months. We started our youngest this year as soon as he turned 3 and in one month he was floating, diving, and swimming under water. 

jlw2505

I hope you are not paying much for that lesson.  Where my kids go, the young kids (age 3 in the "littles" program) have 3 kids to 1 teacher.  The class is in the area of the pool (only used for a swim school so not too deep anywhere) where they have steps so the kids sit on the steps and swim out to an island.  They rarely use floatation things as the kids are not learning if they are being kept up.  The teacher keeps the island close in at this level and can reach any of the kids from anywhere he is standing.  The class is 30 mins and they each swim a ton and do a rotation so the kids are always moving and involved. 

Starting in the older "littles" classes (typically age 4, they move up to 4 kids to a teacher and the island is a little further out.  If they are at a part of the pool that is not at the steps, there is a drop down bench that the kids can sit on.  The rest of the class is the same where the kids swim from the bench to the island and back and rotate so one kid is always swimming and they get a ton of swimming in.

As they move into the "middles (ages 5-7 and where both my kids are now), the classes are still 4 kids to 1 teacher and the island is further and further away as the kids can swim on their own by this point.  They have another level up, the "bigs" for 7 and up and they have 5 kids per 1 teacher and use a whole lane for this.

 In all the classes, the teacher is in the middle of where the kids are swimming, showing the class something or if they are all on the bench or island, the teacher is there with them working.  The kids swim a ton and very rarely do they just sit and "hang on the wall" while other kids swim.  Two kids are often swimming at once other than in the very young/beginning classes when its always 1 at a time but it moves fast.