After six weeks of early morning rises, sleepy heads, rides to the next town still in our pjs, many hours of singing Cedarmont Kids songs, watching Scooby Doo to the Rescue, 'emergency' bathroom stops beside the road, traffic jams behind big green tractors or grandpas on the way to the coffee shop with no exact time to be there;)...
and bunches of gas....
these two litle rascals....
can S*W*I*M!!!
One was cooperative and ready to learn....and did so very well I must say.....
And one was as uncooperative as can be, but still learned inspite of herself....
I'll let you guess which fits.....
ISR is a most fantastic program. Hang in here with me for a minute while I do a 'commercial'.
"Today's ISR is the result of more than 40 years of research and development, making it a nationally recognized program with a specific mission of preventing childhood drowning through specialized aquatic survival training."
This program is designed to teach babies from 6 months to 6 years of age. The babies who are between 6-12 months old will learn how to orient themselves in the water and roll to a back float position to rest and breathe. Since most babies this age have the ability to accidentally get into the water, most don't yet have the ability to get out of the water on their own---they simply don't have the upper body strength to pull themselves out of the water. But, they can be taught how to float on their backs and breathe, and maintain the back float for those precious few moments that can make a difference between a baby being rescued from the water, and a sure drowning situation.
Children who are older than 12 months generally are developmentally ready and physically strong enough to get out of the water should they fall in. ISR teaches this group to swim for a short distance, then roll onto a back float position to get breath, and then turn back over to swim again in search of an exit, or if they cannot find a way out, to float until they are rescued.
"ISR's focus is on drowning prevention and aquatic survival. Because quite frankly, just knowing how to swim a few feet in the water is not necessarily going to save your child in an emergency situation. Your child's ability to survive an aquatic accident depends on her ability to orient herself in the water and get a breath, and keep breathing until he/she can be rescued or can get out of the water on her own."
I highly recommend ISR to any parent. It is costly and time consuming, but really, what price can you put on your child's life?
My John Luke has made leaps and bounds of improvement since day one of lessons. He is a cautious child by nature. Shy and reserved. I am fully convinced that he has benefited in numerous ways from these lessons. Not only gaining the ability to survive in the water, but also gaining a whole new confidence level.
Allie Beth would like for us all to think that we have wasted her time {or maybe vice versa}. Her instructors have named her Rocky. "She never gives up", they say. She's also been known as Allie Monster and Wild Woman, so I'm learning to live with it. She's what they call a "strong-willed" child. They assure me that one day she'll benefit from that title. I'm not sure I'll make it to see that day;) {But that's another story for another time....I'm actually reading a book right now about this subject...I'll post more later.}Inspite of her "strong will", she learned just what she needed to. She has mastered the "swim-float-swim" sequence. I am happy. She is too but we'll never know it.
I am grateful for this opportunity and for those who have made it possible for us. If you ever have a chance to be a part of ISR, do it!
In fact, Sara, one of the instructors will be teaching another session beginning July 18th in Opp at the Mizell Wellness Center. If you think you may be interested, email her at stuttleinalabama@gmail.com.
Okay, so now I will return to my regularly scheduled program:))
One more thought...I do have video of my new swimmers but I am technology disabled and cannot figure out how to transfer it onto this blog from the video camera. Go ahead laugh! Stay tuned. Maybe someone lots smarter will assist me later! For now pictures......
Here, she is about to roll to her back
Well, we are under construction once more. Got the patio poured. No furniture yet......another "junk store" trip is in my future;)
The tile is down in the laundry room. Paint on the walls is next on the list. Then organize, organize, organzie! One of my favorite words! As of now it is called the dungeon. I'll give you a sneak peak before tile....beware it is B-A-D!
Last but certainly not least, for those who are looking for updates through this blog, my sweet dear friend Kristen is home! Praise the Lord! She is doing better and hopefully soon will be back in business!
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