Best swim instructors ever.
Summary: Exceptional methods and results. Fabulous with highly sensitive and/or very cautious kids. Impeccably reliable/timely. Safety-focused. CPR certified. Built an incredible rapport with my little that makes grown ups work hard to earn her trust.
Details: We have a lake and a pool in our backyard but put off lessons due to covid. By the time we finally got my then-3.5yr old in the pool without a puddle jumper, she wanted NOTHING to do with the experience. She's naturally very cautious and not a water baby at heart (didn't even like splash pads or the bath).
We reached out to Tamara of Swim Me after reading glowing reviews but had very low expectations for success. She started with lower-risk activities like kicking her feet in the water and chatting. Over the course of several months (our family schedule was wonky), we've worked with two instructors, both of whom have an OT background and they have done an extraordinary job. A few things I specifically valued: they were on time, all the time. They focus on safety and teach it regularly in a fun/relevant way. They encouraged us to leave our pool vacuum in the pool along with anything else that's normally in it. If she, God forbid, falls in, they won't be foreign or hard-to-manage obstacles, she knows how to navigate them easily. Sometimes they even throw in extra things as a curveball just so she can figure them out in a SAFE environment.
We went from terrified of a grave outcome if she found herself in water, and from screaming and crying any time she had to get in, to a kid who knows (and follows!) all the pool safety rules. She can land anywhere in the pool (which in 95% of it is over her head) and knows more than one way to get to air and back to dry land. Honestly, I got misty the first time I saw it. It's not just seeing her impressively kick and paddle from one side of the pool to the other (which she can do and brings great joy to us ), but knowing she is equipped for a myriad of scenarios.
Now if you were to ask her, she'd just tell you that Ms. Beatrice is super fun and she loves their play time. I can't think of a better scenario: we know she is infinitely safer from a real danger, and she just thinks she has an epic playdate weekly.
Bonus: she also loves the splash pads and the bath now which is a secondary win for mom. read more