http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/bushelandapeck/30599 For three summers now, the kiddo has taken swim lessons.  As of Tuesday, she has earned the privilege of using the entire pool!  That's a big accomplishment for a not quite 4 year old. Of course she must be supervised.  However, without either the kiddo or I knowing it, the instructor gave her a safety test.  And then she announced, "Well Kiddo, you have now earned rights to the whole pool!  You can swim anywhere you want."  The kiddo was so pleased. Now don't picture a preschooler with a perfect freestyle stroke.  She's not near that.  What she does know how to do is swim without panicking, get her breath when she needs, and safely swim the length of the pool.  She knows the water will hold her up. So the kiddo works on her freestyle stroke, and she also works on the butterfly.  Yeah, the butterfly.  I was in shock when her instructor started her on this.  But when you think about it, the butterfly is technically the easiest;  it's just more exhausting than the others. At almost 4 years of age, the kiddo has the energy, for sure!  So, the butterfly is no big deal to her like it is to me.  Makes sense. I would be proud of the kiddo whether she was a natural fish or not, but it is so much fun to watch her swim simply because she enjoys it so much. For three summers now, the kiddo has taken swim lessons.  As of Tuesday, she has earned the privilege of using the entire pool!  That's a big accomplishment for a not quite 4 year old. Of course she must be supervised.  However, without either the kiddo or I knowing it, the instructor gave her a safety test.  And then she announced, "Well Kiddo, you have now earned rights to the whole pool!  You can swim anywhere you want."  The kiddo was so pleased. Now don't picture a preschooler with a perfect freestyle stroke.  She's not near that.  What she does know how to do is swim without panicking, get her breath when she needs, and safely swim the length of the pool.  She knows the water will hold her up. So the kiddo works on her freestyle stroke, and she also works on the butterfly.  Yeah, the butterfly.  I was in shock when her instructor started her on this.  But when you think about it, the butterfly is technically the easiest;  it's just more exhausting than the others. At almost 4 years of age, the kiddo has the energy, for sure!  So, the butterfly is no big deal to her like it is to me.  Makes sense. I would be proud of the kiddo whether she was a natural fish or not, but it is so much fun to watch her swim simply because she enjoys it so much. en-us