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  1. #11
    MSWR0319 is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    I think you should let her go. Now, I will say I would probably be feeling the same nervousness about being safe in the water if I didn't know what the program's goals were. I am on the board for our local Y, and this program is a Y USA initiative. We piloted it a few years ago with second graders. The whole point of this program is getting the kids to the point where they are water safe. When we did it, we broke the kids up into swimming levels and there is a specific ration of swim instructors per kids. There are also life guards present. The kids will have many eyes on them and (at least in our pool) they didn't go in the deep end unless they had passed a specific test as another level of safety. I believe our kids did lessons each day for a week or maybe it was two? At the end of the program they were re-evaluated and the percentage of kids who were able to save themselves went from 45% to 98%. It really was amazing what that little time does to help keep kids safe. I'm impressed that there are parent drivers willing to help and that the school is willing to let the kids out. This is where we are struggling to get the schools to cooperate. They don't want to deal with the logistics of getting the kids to the pool.

    I can't believe they aren't having them change back, especially since boys wear shorts and it's hard to put shorts on over wet shorts. But, if she doesn't drive off well the first time and is a little uncomfortable, she'll dry off much better the next time! My 10 year old doesn't dry off well at all from his showers but he's learning since his pajamas are half soaked if he doesn't.

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by gymnbomb View Post
    I do not think it is a good plan, but if I wouldn't make her sit it out.
    This. I don't understand why the school would take time out of their school day to do this. But I would let her do it especially since she likes to swim.
    Mommy to 2 DS's (2003 and 2007)

  3. #13
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    KpbS is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    To me, the inefficiency of the whole process bothers me.
    But if she would enjoy it and you feel confident in her abilities in a group lesson (way less attentive instruction than private lessons) I suppose I'd go for it. It seems odd to me that the kids who aren't participating would be transported all the way there just to sit on the sidelines, instead of having an extra recess at school or something.
    They really don't have them change out of a wet suit? That seems like a recipe for chafing, rashes, wet clothing, etc. So odd.

    If she could stay at school instead, I would try to promise to take her to a pool for a fun swim a couple of times as a trade off for those weeks instead. I agree that sitting on the sidelines of the pool sounds very unfun.
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  4. #14
    doberbrat is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by ett View Post
    This. I don't understand why the school would take time out of their school day to do this. But I would let her do it especially since she likes to swim.
    Plus, how are they supposed to pee??? When we have field day, kids come to school in their bathing suits then change into clothes later in the day. But that is a 1x a year thing...
    dd1 10/05
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  5. #15
    bisous is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Oh I didn't even think about the bathroom issue. We don't have any two piece swimsuits. Guess I better go try and find one! Sitting in a wet suit does sound really quite miserable all day. We'll have to see. I think they're trying to avoid locker rooms and I'm actually grateful for that. That would add yet another layer to my worry, lol.

  6. #16
    bisous is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by MSWR0319 View Post
    I think you should let her go. Now, I will say I would probably be feeling the same nervousness about being safe in the water if I didn't know what the program's goals were. I am on the board for our local Y, and this program is a Y USA initiative. We piloted it a few years ago with second graders. The whole point of this program is getting the kids to the point where they are water safe. When we did it, we broke the kids up into swimming levels and there is a specific ration of swim instructors per kids. There are also life guards present. The kids will have many eyes on them and (at least in our pool) they didn't go in the deep end unless they had passed a specific test as another level of safety. I believe our kids did lessons each day for a week or maybe it was two? At the end of the program they were re-evaluated and the percentage of kids who were able to save themselves went from 45% to 98%. It really was amazing what that little time does to help keep kids safe. I'm impressed that there are parent drivers willing to help and that the school is willing to let the kids out. This is where we are struggling to get the schools to cooperate. They don't want to deal with the logistics of getting the kids to the pool.

    I can't believe they aren't having them change back, especially since boys wear shorts and it's hard to put shorts on over wet shorts. But, if she doesn't drive off well the first time and is a little uncomfortable, she'll dry off much better the next time! My 10 year old doesn't dry off well at all from his showers but he's learning since his pajamas are half soaked if he doesn't.
    It was that effective? Wow! That's so surprising. My kids make SO little progress in a 20 minute group lesson. They've had dozens upon dozens of said lessons and they usually don't get much better. But maybe kids who never get to swim it is different? Like I said, I don't think it takes most kids as long as it takes my kids to learn!

  7. #17
    bisous is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by KpbS View Post
    To me, the inefficiency of the whole process bothers me.
    But if she would enjoy it and you feel confident in her abilities in a group lesson (way less attentive instruction than private lessons) I suppose I'd go for it. It seems odd to me that the kids who aren't participating would be transported all the way there just to sit on the sidelines, instead of having an extra recess at school or something.
    They really don't have them change out of a wet suit? That seems like a recipe for chafing, rashes, wet clothing, etc. So odd.

    If she could stay at school instead, I would try to promise to take her to a pool for a fun swim a couple of times as a trade off for those weeks instead. I agree that sitting on the sidelines of the pool sounds very unfun.
    I wish I could just bribe her with pool time somewhere else. We might start up swim lessons again. Things are just so tricky right now since I'm still on crutches! I feel like my life is on hold for all extras until I get up and running (literally!) again.

  8. #18
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    YMCA has a good lifeguard and group lessons record, so besides the whole ineffectiveness of it with the school, I def let her go. Also hear you on the nervousness of pool supervision, but this is really your chance for DD to have consistent swim lessons without much effort on your part. I’ll say this with parents who aren’t swim safe, the longer they grow up without any or further exposure to swim time, the harder it is to take the commitment to learn to swim.

    My parents just never learnt; from lack of pool access, the fear, then the time and effort, and now it’s just forget about it. I would give this a try and you can always pull her out later if it’s become an issue.


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  9. #19
    MSWR0319 is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by ett View Post
    This. I don't understand why the school would take time out of their school day to do this. But I would let her do it especially since she likes to swim.
    Our school now has 45 minutes set aside everyday to do “targeted” work because there a program now offered that buses the kids to a church nearby, gives them a 20 minute biblical class, and then buses them back. They only do that once a week but in order to make it logistically easy they set it up to have this time every day. Yet they won’t let the kids out to learn how to swim for free at a location less than a five minute walk.

    Quote Originally Posted by bisous View Post
    It was that effective? Wow! That's so surprising. My kids make SO little progress in a 20 minute group lesson. They've had dozens upon dozens of said lessons and they usually don't get much better. But maybe kids who never get to swim it is different? Like I said, I don't think it takes most kids as long as it takes my kids to learn!
    They actually had probably 30-40 minutes for each lesson but still not a lot of time. I was surprised too but given that we’re in a very rural area and swim lessons are hard to come by, I think there were probably a high percentage of kids who couldn’t save themselves to start with.

  10. #20
    hbridge is offline Emerald level (3000+ posts)
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    The swimming part would not be my concern AT ALL. My concern would be random parents driving my child. I would think this would be a huge liability issue for the school, what if there is an issue with a child during transport, an unknown adult “alone” with children, kids arriving at different times, ect. Why aren’t they getting a bus? Also, the kids should change once they are done swimming, they will be uncomfortable wet for the rest of the day.

    If your child wants to participate, definitely let her, but I would also express my concerns to the school.

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