Ahhh, summer . . . long, hot days spent eating watermelon and hanging out at the pool all day with your friends. My kids have the watermelon part down, but when it came to the pool, they were perfectly content wading in the kiddie pool where there was no fear of getting more than their shoulders wet. Amelia is still pretty young, but I knew I needed to get Easton in some more swim lessons before the summer passed us by. He has taken lessons for the past several years, but still wasn’t swimming with his head down or able to swim any length of the pool by himself (as a former swimmer, this hurt my soul, but more importantly, I wanted him to know how to swim for safety reasons). My sister told me about the Hosford Swim School in Tallahassee Florida that everyone was raving about and spots filled up quickly. When we made plans to spend the summer in Florida during our move back to California, I was so excited that we’d get to enroll the kids!

Easton was THRILLED to learn that he had been signed up for two weeks of swim lessons. I mean, look at that face!

And not just any swim lessons . . . the Hosford Swim School was known for being tough (watch video and listen closely). This was almost like swim boot camp! They are stern with the kids and don’t take any of the whiny “I can’t do it” nonsense that kids like to scream at them. But I knew it was exactly what Easton needed.

Each child spent ten minutes or so one-on-one with the instructor before taking a break until their next turn, Easton’s main instructor was David. There was also another instructor, coach Malcolm, who went around in between breaks, helping those kids that needed it. Easton got taken out quite often and I’m so glad he did. He forced Easton out of his comfort zone and by not rushing to him when he “thought” he was drowning, Easton learned that he COULD swim. He didn’t take no for an answer – it was awesome! It was definitely a rough first week though. Easton dreaded that hour everyday.

Here’s a video of him learning how to transition from freestyle to resting on his back.

Amelia wasn’t so happy either. These were her first swim lessons, and while she loves the water, she wasn’t crazy about going under and getting water in her ears.

I was amazed that she could make it to the wall all by herself! She was the youngest one in the entire program! Look at her go!

She had Coach Dickie as her instructor (the man that created the program along with his son, Malcolm) and he had her diving for rings in no time!

During the middle of the second week, something clicked for Easton. Being made to swim on his own, he built up some confidence, learned how to do arm strokes, and really started enjoying himself!

He was swimming almost half the pool by himself, winning races to the wall, and volunteering to go first!

He was so excited at the end of the two weeks to receive his medal and certificate! I can’t say enough good things about this swim school and how much Easton has improved since then.

Amelia completed the course as well and was told she’d be swimming like Dory in no time!

Easton and Amelia’s awesome swim instructors!

Suckers, medals, and congratulatory hugs all around!

Here’s Easton just a few weeks later swimming by himself!

I would definitely recommend this school to anyone that lives in the area or even surrounding area. I’m only disappointed in the fact that they don’t offer this awesome school in California! We may just have to come back to Florida next summer for two weeks!