"I'm scared" Aydan (5 years old)

I asked Aydan to draw a picture of 'swimming'- she drew herself on top of the water. When I asked her how she felt right before we got in the pool, her tiny little 'I'm super shy until I get to know and trust you' voice chirped, "Scared." Aydan is five and she is absolutely adorable. She made very clear what she did and did not want to do, which is fine because I happen to know how to Jedi mind trick kids. Well, sometimes. For example, when Aydan told me she didn't want to jump... No wait, I believe she told me, "I don't jump." I replied, "Well, you can do one jump or two." She ended up doing three :)

When Titi (a friend from high school that I haven't seen in...waaay too long) approached me about teaching Aydan a lesson as a participant in my project, I didn't think it was going to work. Aydan had taken some swimming lessons and likes the water, so I felt like I'd be cheating if I taught her in my project. But then she told me that Aydan doesn't like to put her face in the water. Bingo. I see so many kids that LOVE the water, but don't like to get their faces wet. Hence...Project: Face in Water.

Aydan and I spent the first few minutes on the steps where she could stand, blowing bubbles, pouring water over our heads on a cue, and getting our chins, mouth, ears and noses wet. The one-on-one time with her was amazing and just what she needed. After about an hour lesson, Aydan didn't want to get out of the pool. While I swam with her sister Alexis, she stayed in the shallow end with her mom and the lifeguard watching her, and practiced. She practiced and practiced and practiced. By the time I was done teaching Alexis, Aydan was laughing and showing off her new-found swimming skills. Check out Aydan's FaceBook album to see more photos and videos showing how far she got in a total of just two hours!Aydan swimming to the islandMore videos to come- I'm very slow at this! Next up...Aydan's sister, Alexis...

I almost forgot to give credit where credit is due. All of the pictures and videos from Aydan's lesson were taken by my amazing twelve-year-old nephew! He sacrificed an entire day of his holiday weekend to help out his Auntie. What a love!