With the weather slowly getting nicer that means that indoor swimming lesson classes will begin to get smaller and outdoor swimming will start. No matter the season, teaching swimming lessons is my passion, from teaching toddlers how to first get used to the water to watching them grow up and start swimming in the deep end of the pool with all of the older kids. Watching them grow is like watching your own child or those you love growing up, not needing their parents anymore. Teaching swimming lessons is life changing. A teacher has the ability to bond with all of their swimmers, no matter the age, and work with them to better their skills.
With swimming, in general, comes many things: constant laundry full of wet towels and bathing suits, and hair feeling like straw due to the amount of chlorine that is in it. Having lessons at a reasonable time of 10 a.m. during the summer and then at 6 p.m. both have their pros and cons such as in the morning some kids don't want to get up or parents can't always bring them because of work, and at night it can get too cold, plus with the water usually being freezing it makes it worse on everyone.
With having the opportunity to teach preschool swimming lessons for the past almost 3 years I have realized how vocal they actually can be from their screams of terror, cries for mom or dad because they are cold, and just simply the yells they can do just to get your attention. The noises definitely rattle the ears and it can be very unpleasant, but hey it comes with the job and I love my job.
Puddle jumpers and life jackets are experimental, either good or bad, depending on the child, but the diving board is my favorite when we decide to use either device. Every swim teacher has gotten the opportunity to either push a kid off the diving board or into the deep end, hoping for the child to end with a smile. Some kids do it themselves, and others need that extra little boost but in the end they all love it and can't wait to go again.
Chlorine can be everyone's worst enemy because of what it can do to your skin, hair and eyes. It causes knotty and tangled hair, dry and itchy eyes, and rough, dry and itchy skin that can be hard to fix depending on how long you swim or how often. Conditioner will become your best friend, some even add a drop of conditioner to their hair before getting into the pool so its easier to brush when they get out.
Most teachers have a love/hate relationship with most all of their children due to how they act during class or their attitude. The kids either decide they hate you for the day, can be complete angels, or have a mind of their own where nobody knows how to deal with them. We also deal with the germs that come from the kids such as boogers when they decide to try to wipe them on you because they want to, being spit/cough/sneezed on, being bit/scratched/licked, and the nastiest is being thrown up on, almost everyone has dealt with it. Needless to say we don't really care about the germs as much anymore we are almost immune to them.
In between class time play time is probably more fun for the teachers that get to teach in the water due to it being our play time too. Who doesn't like play time? Exactly, everyone does, especially when you just want a class to be over, you have play time to look forward to.
But, my absolute favorite part about being a swim teacher is being able to get to know all of my students and their parents due to them being between the ages of two and six. I am able to watch them grow to be stronger swimmers, and always know they will come back to thank me on helping them start to swim.
I also get some on the side babysitting jobs with my students due to having CPR, first aid and AED trainings, and sharing a great bond with some great families.
