Finding "Kapri"

With the use of Grammy Mary's YMCA gift certificate bday gift, we enrolled Kapri in swimming lessons...which were pretty affordable! $51 for 4 lessons of the "Shrimp & Kipper" class (Tues/Thurs for 2 weeks)...$12.75 each lesson - good deal right?? IDK, didn't research it too much, but definitely sounds good to me! Since it was during the week, we decided to have James take her in the mornings before her nap which worked out well. I got to go to the 1st one since I took a 'personal' day off of work to enjoy the 1st lesson and that was the same day we went to the fair....and I sneak-ily snapped some pics with my phone:

Since James had the wonderful opportunity to swim with her, I'll let him take it from here!

Last month I had the pleasure of taking Kapri to the Shrimp & Kipper Swimming Lessons at the Encinitas YMCA.  Each Tuesday and Thursday morning from 10-10:30am, we would meet with our instructor Rebecca, and anywhere from 2-5 other lil’ students and parents. The class would start off by us singing a song saying hi to everyone, going into the middle of the class circle, and then saying bye everyone while moving away from the circle.  Next, we would practice our kicks swimming around & around singing another song, of course, starting with kicking slow to fast, ending in a 360 circle swirl that would make Kapri say, “wheee” and giggle everytime. 

Then Rebecca would have us split up and practice swimming one-on-one with our Lil’ Guppies.  She would grab us toys to throw and retrieve.  Kapri would always choose the purple octopus and quickly began throwing it in the pool far away and Michael Phelps’n it to the toy.  We would practice on our strokes, form, and back-kicks during this session and even work with swimming noodles and kick boards.

By the end of this period the class would almost be over and we would join up in a circle and try a free swim to Rebecca and back to parent.  Kapri was a little hesitant at first, but became the only swimmer to want to do it more than once every time after that.  After a few tears and swallowed water from the other Lil Guppies during this session we would end by once again singing a song (my singing voice was glorious after these two weeks) to complete the fun filled 30 minutes of splish-splashing. 

After class we would shower up and head home, but on the last day of class they had a middle section of the pool-grounds where a water-park like play area with waterfalls, sprayers, and inter active water spouts was open to everyone.  So Kapri and about 20 other kids ran amuck, screaming and laughing for what seemed like forever.  That day alike after every swimming class she passed out for 2-3 hours after a quick snack and shower. 

Spending the quality time with my daughter will never be forgotten and I’m just glad I had the opportunity to help teach, swim, and be there for my Lil’ Princessa as she grows into a beautiful girl and better swimmer…Next it’s on to the Little Skippers Group (Pikes) J. 

- James

She completed the class with this fun 'certificate':

I'd like to get her in further lessons - there is one a step up from what she did, that is parent/child in water... but the instructor said she could skip that & go strait to the teacher/child in the water lessons. Which of course I later found to be more expensive, ah, go fig. So, maybe we'll wait til after the summer (when costs go down for off-season), then enroll her. In the meantime, and I got her an awesome chest/arm floaty thing at Target that she absolutely loves & it works great!!