articles

My 3 Year Old Can Swim!

What 9 months of lessons at Emler Swim School of Westwood looked like for us!

By Melissa Basgall, Publisher Macaroni Kid Kansas City Kansas- Leavenworth January 3, 2020

I know it's hard to believe, but outdoor pool and lake season is in just 4 months! This summer Everly will be 4 years old, and she'll want to be more independent than ever when we go to the neighborhood pool. We went to Florida a few weeks ago, and she was running all over the place, wanting to jump in here and swim over there. And, she is starting to refuse wearing her swim floaties, which tells me she likes the idea of being a big kid who swims on her own.


For the past 9 months we've been taking swim lessons at Emler Swim School of Westwood. We actually started taking her last April to prepare her for summer, but she loved it so much and it's been so successful that we kept up with lessons all year round.



Over the last 9 months Everly has learned all kinds of swim safe skills. She's learned the jump-turn-swim technique, which teaches kids how to swim back to the side of the pool if they fall in accidentally. She's learned to backfloat, another survival skill. Most of all, she's actually learned how to swim. Now, she's not 100% ready to swim independently, don't get me wrong. She can only swim short distances with a lot of encouragement and coaching, but she's gaining confidence and getting so great! She loves her instructors at Emler, and it remains her very favorite activity of the week. 


Here's her first lesson in April of 2019:




And here's not even 8 months later:



I can only imagine that another few months of lessons this spring will really help get her prepared for pool season, and that by the end of the summer, she'll be swimming on her own! If you're interested in getting your little one enrolled in spring swim lessons so they can be ready for summer pool season, give Emler a try! They're enrolling now, so head to their website today for more details and to find the right class for your little swimmer!