Nothing quite says summer like swim lessons. It has been an annual ritual in our household for the last five years as our two oldest, and now our two youngest, are learning the basics of swimming pool survival. It really puts me at ease knowing my kids can make it to the ladder in the deep end. (But I’m still on guard when they jump off the diving board.)
This past week it was swim lessons for our youngest two who are 5 and 6. We take private lessons at a lady’s house who has been doing swim lessons for the past 34 years. She loved teaching so much she built her own in-ground pool in her backyard 32 years ago and has been packed with would-be swimmers ever since. She is known throughout our town as being one of the best around.
Her pool and deck area is beautifully landscaped with shrubbery and flowery plants all around. There is a rock waterfall nearby that flows to a pond at the bottom, filled with lily pads and small goldfish. She also has three friendly dogs that roam the backyard which my kids love.
On Tuesday, as we were leaving lessons, the 5 and 6 year old were having a discussion about all the “cool” things that were at the lady’s house.
My six year old daughter blurts out to her younger brother that her swim teacher must be rich because she had her own pool, a waterfall and three dogs. My mind thought about correcting her statement and going into a detailed explanation that those things don’t necessarily make one rich. But I caught myself from preaching to her, let the conversation proceed without interruption and enjoyed the innocence of the moment.
At times, it is beautiful to hear and see things through the mind of a child. At 6 years old, she is beginning to understand that possessions somehow equate with a person’s wealth. In her world though, these are very simple things and that’s how I would like to keep it for now.
In my reading this week I found these articles very helpful:
Looking for a new career path. Michael at Money Crashers outlines four things to think about in How to Prepare When Making a Career Change – 4 Money Moves.
Melissa at Free From Broke talks kids and money in Children and Allowance – When to Start and How Much. A great read for any parent struggling with this issue.
Do you feel inadequate as an investor? Then Boomer and Echo may have your answer as Boomer shares that A Wise Investor is an Informed Investor.
Worried about identity theft? Kevin at Out of Your Rut gives some great advice on the topic in Ten Common Sense Ways to Reduce Your Identity Footprint.
Summers are all about vacation time. However, it’s easy to overspend on our trips. Sicorra at Tackling Our Debt helps get us off on the right track in Planning a Vacation? 10 Ways to Get More For Less.
That’s all for now. Enjoy the reading and your weekend!
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I learned to swim in a lady’s backyard too (I also thought she was rich-she was ;-)). I have fond memories of her tossing pennies to the bottom and us fishing them out. If you got a certain number you got a prize. I always wanted the gum but it was sugar free and in the 80’s my mom was dead convinced that artificial sugar gave you cancer. The weird things kids remember.
That sounds like fun. My two oldest are pretty good at diving to the bottom to retrieve diving sticks. My two youngest just bend over in the shallow end and pick them up.
I think that is great that she built a pool to offer swimming lessons for kids. As a kid I took lessons at an outdoor community center pool but going to someone’s personal pool would have been much nicer. Thanks for the mention as well. I hope your weekend is going well.
That’s how I took lessons also, at a big community pool. Tons of kids and not much individualized attention. I remember always swimming into other kids going across the pool because there were so many of us. Arms and legs flailing…what a nightmare. I like private lessons much better.
We’d love to get swim lessons for our younger ones. I think we’ll be asking about them at the local pool soon.
If you plan on spending any time around the water it’s a must in my book.
We’ve been looking for something for our 4-year old to do this summer (not many camps and activities aimed at 4 and under). It looks like swim lessons/swimming activities might be the ticket.
Thanks for the mention!
You bet Robb! Four years old is not too young to start. My five year old took lessons when he was four last year. This year he is jumping off the diving board and able to swim to the deep end ladder.