Summer. A time for barbecues, pool parties, camping, and of course…swimming. I’m pretty sure I taught myself how to swim when I was about 7, by stepping 4 inches away from the wall and then doggy paddling for my life back to safety. My skills did improve over the years but long distance lap swimming was never something that interested me. The pool is for relaxing and cooling off…not for strenuous activity.

Imagine my surprise when I would grow up to become a swim teacher in the summer. My good friend Rachel owns a swim school. She is the only one I would trust to dunk my kids before their first birthday. When she asked me to start training to teach for her, I thought…hmmm this can’t be that hard. I. Was. Wrong.

Teaching kids to swim is an art. A refined skill if you will. And it by no means comes naturally. Taking a 7 year old who has never learned to swim and refuses to put his face in the water takes a little more finesse than telling him to just, “put your head down and kick.” I am really lucky to have a mentor and teacher that is one of the best and teaching swim lessons has come to be one of the things I love most about summer. I brainstormed this blog post with the girls I teach with and we had quite a good time coming up with each of these, while also hysterically laughing at some of the stories we had to tell by the end of summer. So what exactly does a day in the life of a swim teacher look like?

Mondays.

If you were to drive down Rachel’s street at 9:30 am on a Monday morning during swim season, you’d think we were running a daycare and had just told all of our kids that Santa wasn’t real. Why? Because there’s crying. LOTS of crying. The scene is the same every Monday. The kids arrive before their lesson, smiling and dancing around in their adorable bikinis and brightly colored swim trunks. They peer through the gate with excited giggles and point to the toys scattered around the edge of the pool. This changes drastically as soon as their parents begin to lower them into the pool to our open arms. I mean, I don’t blame the poor kids. Imagine being 2 years old and having a complete stranger take you from your parent and pull you into a pool. Don’t think I am exempt from this as a parent. I’m a swim teacher and without fail, my own kids still cry on the first day every single year. Which is exactly why I don’t teach them.

Tuesdays.

If there was crying on Monday, there is sometimes more crying on Tuesday. Why? Because kids REMEMBER! We always say that if they can make it through Monday they’ll be fine, but if they can make it through Tuesday, they’re set for the week. And I’m talking about the parents here. Not the kids.

Biting. Scratching. Hitting.

Unless they’re blissfully happy after the first several swims, kids that are upset once they’re in the water fall into two categories. Cuddlers. Or fighters. Yep, I said fighters. Again, we don’t take it personally, but each of us has taken our turn being bitten, scratched by nails that resemble talons, and slapped in the face, back, neck, and chest. It never ceases to amaze us how strong a tiny little two year old can be.   

Burping.

Remember what I just said about Mondays? Well, when kiddos are upset and crying, they suck a ton of air into their belly. The same thing happens as older kids are continuously inhaling before they go under water. What happens when we take in air? We burp. Kids are no different. And boy oh boy do we get them all. Formula burps. Milk burps. Hot cheeto burps. Hot dog burps.  Basically any food imaginable has been burped into our face at one time or another. What’s the worst? Hands down, juice burps. Nothing compares to having a toddler surface from the water and blow hot apple juice into your nostrils. So what could be worse than burps? Puking. Adults and older kids have the ability to control their burps; however, little ones do not, and those “burps” sometimes come up as puke. In our face. Which leads me to a tip. Parents, as a friendly reminder, try not feed your child at least 2 hours before swim lessons. If they eat it, we smell it and sometimes see it. And as someone who has had chocolate milk vomited into their mouth, we really appreciate it when you follow this tip!

Sneezing.

Remember when you were little and you’d get water up your nose? Miserable huh? When our little ones get water up their nose, their initial reaction is to shake their head like a shaggy dog and then without fail…they sneeze. Again, in our face. Sneezing wouldn’t be so bad as we can usually anticipate when they’re coming. What we’ll never get used to are the boogers. And the snot. Lots of snot. Snot of every shade of green and yellow, and boogers of every shape and size. Wet, soggy, boogers. If you’re a parent, you’ve probably wiped your own kids’ noses on every piece of fabric you own, but in the water our options are limited. Good thing chlorine was invented.        

Smiling.

I’m talking about the teachers for this one. At our peak in the summer, we are in the water from 9:30 am until 7:00 pm teaching. That’s a very long day for anyone. Now spend that entire time, laughing, cheering, and smiling. Kids are very receptive to our moods so the more bubbly we are, the happier and more willing to swim they are. Being a swim teacher takes a very unique personality and if you can’t smile through the puke and the biting and the crying…I’d say stay away from the pool. The best part is that it never feels forced. While they may not be our own kids, it is extremely hard not to grin and shout with excitement when our little ones learn a new skill.     

Fridays.

Fridays are glorious! And not because we are thrilled to be done with the week. Yes, being a swim teacher is exhausting and Fridays mean the weekend is upon us…but Fridays are our favorite days because almost everyone is HAPPY! Kids who started the week screaming are laughing and splashing without a care in the world. Parents beam with pride at their child’s progress. It really is a sight to see after our time on Mondays.   

At the end of the day, teaching a child to swim gives us an immense amount of joy. Watching them grow in confidence and learn skills that could one day save their life is a true gift. If you live in the Central Valley and you want to learn more about our swim school, click here. 

Just remember that part about puking. We’d really rather ask them what they had for breakfast than see it with our own eyes.