Swimming

Over the summer, Eliana took a couple of swimming lessons at an aquatic center near our house.  Amazingly, our little girl who use to cry when she got her hair wet LOVED swim lessons and asked for more.  I was a little nervous because the instructor was a little tough on the kids (she was in the preschool class for goodness sake!) and did not praise them for just trying.  She really pushed Eliana and all of her classmates to really listen and do the kicks/strokes as instructed.  She would have the kids swim after a floating toy, trying to swim with both their arms and legs while wearing a noodle, and she absolutely would not let Eliana hold on to her.  At one point Eliana cried out, "I can't do it without you!" and the instructor replied back "Yes you can!"  And she did!  Eliana looked like a little wet puppy doing the doggie paddle, but she did swim to the toy all by herself.  It was a good lesson for me that Eliana is stronger than I think.  She also doesn't need to be praised for just doing anything.  Sometimes she needs to be pushed to try harder because she is capable of more.  Despite the instructor being tough, Eliana really liked her.  In the end, I was amazed by how much she learned in just a few weeks of lessons.