Last Updated on 13 December 2023 by Colette
This post features gifted experiences
I can’t believe we’re already into the second half term of the year! It only feels like a couple of weeks since I wrote an introduction to our second term of Kickers. I talked about how the change in lesson time had benefited Amy and that, though she missed Sarah, she was doing really well with her new teacher, Claire.
This half term we’ve seen a number of firsts including Amy’s first proper Seal Dive where she actually went right under the water and got her hair wet and some lovely Kick and Splash swims under the water. However, she has also proven how fickle these toddlers can be – going under the water with confidence and smiles one week and refusing point blank to even stick her chin in the next! That said, even on the days when Amy’s feeling more stubborn, she still enjoys her lessons and her confidence is growing all the time. She does make me laugh when it comes to jumping in off the float as she will often sit on there and complain “Me feezin!” when she’d clearly be warmer if she just got on with jumping back in quickly!
In my most recent update I talked about what a lovely experience Amy’s Puddle Ducks lessons are compared to Ben and Chloe’s council run lessons. I’ve been taking Ben and Chloe to our local pool for swimming lessons since around their third birthdays. £5 for half an hour’s lesson 50 weeks of the year. That’s £250 each a year which means we’ve now spent over £1000 on their swimming lessons. Now I don’t begrudge the expenditure one little bit, learning to swim is non-negotiable to my mind. All three kids must learn to swim.
However, I’m becoming increasingly disgruntled with their council run lessons and I’m starting to feel that though they’re not expensive, they’re also really not providing us with value for money. As my Mum is so fond of saying “You get what you pay for“.
As a “Yellow Hat”, I feel Ben’s progress has stagnated. His teacher is unable to give him the focus and attention he needs when she has at least 8 other children to watch in the pool. Shouting instructions from the sidelines is no substitute for someone in the water showing him and doing it with him Ben seems to spend good chunks of his lesson messing about while Dave or I quietly glare at him from the spectator area, hoping to catch his eye and let him know we are not impressed with his efforts. We are often frustrated that Ben doesn’t seem to be either trying very hard or being pushed in his lessons.
During Chloe’s 30 minute “Red Hat” swimming lesson, she swims the width of the pool around six times. The majority of her time is spent holding onto the edge and waiting her turn. Compare this to Amy who is working solidly for her half hour Puddle Ducks lesson and you can see why I might be feeling a little annoyed. If we’re waiting for Amy’s turn for a dip or jump then we are always set another task eg blowing bubbles or monkeying down the wall, no time is wasted in a Puddle Ducks lesson. Just to prove my point, I spent Chloe’s lesson on Tuesday timing how much time she was actually being constructive in her lesson (swimming, practising putting her face in the water etc) using the lap timer on my phone. And though I knew she wasn’t swimming much, even I was shocked to discover that throughout the entirety of her 30 minute lesson, Chloe swam for around 4 minutes. Seriously. When you work out the cost of each minute of actual swimming for our council run lessons and Puddle Ducks – Puddle Ducks is suddenly an absolute bargain. (Swim Academy lessons for school age children start from £12.50 per half hour session)
There is a clear structure and obvious steps for development in our Puddle Ducks sessions, each child is taught at exactly their level. I remain unconvinced that the council run lessons follow any sort of structure at all. In fact they appear to make it up as they go along much of the time – Chloe has only had one “Penguin” badge in the last year (which basically says she can get in the water) and they just don’t seem to monitor her progress at all.
As you can see, I’m falling ever more in love with the Puddle Ducks way of doing things and realising that our council lessons are something of a false economy. Perhaps it’s time we made the jump so that Ben and Chloe could finish each swimming lesson with smiles like this . . .
Follow our full Puddle Ducks / Swim Academy journey here!
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I think you are quite scathing, but in such a measured and collected way, and with such disappointment that I really don't think anyone can argue. It must have been a real let down to realise 4 minutes was all that she was active, it is no wonder your son messes about. I remember swimming lessons like that when I was a child. It was boring and put me off, and I can't really swim even now…
Puddle ducks does sound brilliant. It needs to be catered to each child. Think I need to get my eldest enrolled in some swimming lessons x
Bless her she looks so proud and happy! Abbie has never been swimming but has been asking us recently so its something we will be starting up soon! x
Oh it looks like you had so much fun!! We've been baby swimming with Water Babies (who I'm a n ambassador for in the North) for years – Roo started at 8 weeks, Toby at 16 weeks and Edie at just 2 weeks!! H x
Oh it looks like you are having an amazing time, I adored swimming as a young one so it's wonderful to see others learning to love the water as well. x
Well, you get what you paid for 🙂 The difference between the classes is huge and I think it's better to do less session, but better quality if the money is an issue. She seems she is having fun and she learns, that is so important. x
I know exactly what you mean. My kids go swimming in the council centre and it is not as good as I would want. Will look into changing.
Oh good! I remember how traumatic swimming was for me, It's nice to see she has such a great instructor. Hope she enjoys it, it's such good exercise x
Looks like your little one is really happy to have been swimming. I don't even remember when I learnt how to swim, it was probably with my parents when we used to go on holiday x
Looks like loads of fun. I LOVED swimming when I was younger. I'm so glad I was swimming from a young age. It's great to get them active in the pool
oh wow this looks amazing I wish we had one close to us as my little people love swimming
I agree that swimming is a must. I think it is so important for Children to learn to swim. Puddleducks sounds like a amazing class. x
That really is not good. Four minutes in half an hour? When Jen did lessons at school I always suspected that the children weren't really taught much. :-/
Puddle Ducks sounds so much better than the council-run swimming lessons!
Puddle Ducks sounds great! It's crazy how much we spend on swimming lessons isn't it? I can only take Isla at the weekends, because I work all week, and that seems to be a premium price as well! Absolutely loving the photos! #triedtested
Love the action shot, seems to be worthwhile lessons, wish I could ave afforded them for my kids. #triedtested
I'm with you on the fact that swimming lessons are non negotiable. It's disappointing that you don't feel that you get your money's worth with the council run lessons, it's amazing how swimming lessons can differ from one provider to another.
#triedtested
This was a great read, the swimming lessons sound fab. I'm dreading starting them because Baby Girl hates pools. She screams when she even goes near one. I know the solution is to get her used to it. Will look up and see if there's a Paddle Ducks local to me x #triedtested
Sounds like the Puddle Ducks lessons are proving to be better value in terms of enjoyment and what you get from it!
I completely agree about the importance of children learning to swim. My daughter is 11 months and we take her swimming quite a bit and will start her at lessons when she's a bit older. Puddle Duck lessons sound really good and I like the sound of the structure! #TriedTested Helen x
The lessons sound fab, it is interesting to hear the comparisons between the two types of classes #triedtested
Puddle Duck lessons sound fantastic…So much better than the council led lessons.
That smile at the end says it all really 😀 x
I know what you mean – sometimes it is paying out just to have your kids in the water and the lessons are so full they don't really learn quickly. Glad Puddle Ducks is working out x
These lessons sound fab:) I completely agree re: council run classes you do certainly get what you pay for #TriedTested
Never knew there was such a big difference in swimming lessons. Puddle Ducks definitely sounds much better.
Learning to swim is so very important and the time taken can vary from child to child, however I do understand your frustration with the council run sessions. These are the sessions which we are currently doing and we are at an early stage (stage 2) so you can see progress from a non-swimmer to a swimmer, however I know many other parents whose children are "yellow hats" and saying exactly what you are saying. I think I agree with your mother, you get what you pay for most of the time!
Thanks for hosting the linky
x
Ahh, she looks pleased as punch with herself.
I've been looking into swimming lessons for my daughter, I had a bad experience with council run lessons when I was younger and I still can't swim!! Puddle Ducks sounds like a fab company and she definitely looks like she enjoys it!
Sounds like she's doing really well. I need to get my daughter back to swimming, we've not been able to go for a while x
So pleased to hear it is continuing to work for you #TriedTested
It sounds like the Puddle Ducks lessons are really good! I've been looking at baby swimming lessons but have worried abot the quality of teaching, and your post goes to prove that I'm right to do so. Are the Puddle Ducks lessons nationwide? As I may look into whether there are classes near us… Thanks for highlighting this 🙂
I love reading all of Amy's swimming updates! You can really see her progress, and I love the sound of the classes. I totally agree learning to swim in very important. My parents taught all of themselves, so hopefully we can do the same for our two xx
What a gorgeous photo! I think you're right that sometimes you have to look closer to see the actual value for money. It's not just the money either, it's a big time commitment so you want to be making the most out of a trip to the pool!
What a shame the council run lessons are not very good. I've just come back from my son's lesson and he is progressing so well. He has problems concentrating at school so I was unsure if he would take to the lessons but he is taking it all in and they spend the whole lesson swimming or doing practice moves. Many people switch to this pool because they teach them to such a high ASA standard.
Aww his beautiful is that photo! Glad you all had a lovely time! Suz x
Looks and sounds like she is enjoying the classes and getting a lot from them!
#TheList
four minutes?! ridiculous amount of time. I think private lessons are the way forward and puddleducks sounds like they've found the right formula!
Glad she's enjoying it. We loved our water babies lessons, but I have to say that our normal lessons now are great. N swims or does something pretty much all lesson, they cost just under £5 each, and the teacher is sometimes in the pool with the 8 of them. My only issue is that before these lessons we knew how he was getting on because he didn't have a float belt on. now they have to unless they can do the lesson without (usually the 6yos or year 1s), and if they can touch the bottom. Now I've no idea how well he's actually doing because he always has a float belt on.
I can't believe a half hour lesson only equated to 4 minutes of actually doing something productive?! That's mad. My eldest goes to a swim school similar to Puddle Ducks on a saturday morning. There is a max of 5 children per lesson and they are all graded in stages so are all around the same level. There is some wait time but definitely more than 4 minutes worth of swimming in half an hour #TriedTested
The lessons sound great. My daughter goes to swimming lessons, and in her previous class she too spent a lot of time hanging on to the side and not that much time swimming, though I have noticed since moving up a stage they make them work a lot harder – which is good!
Yes we saw the difference when the boys did private lessons compared to those with school. The numbers in a class makes a huge difference #TriedTested
I agree learnign to swim is a must! We've just booked 1-2 lessons with a swimmming teacher for £30 per 6 weeks. Hoping they are good! Amy looks so pleased with herself!
Love the sound of Puddle Ducks, I wish we had one near us as I still need to get my two swimming. Its disgusting that for a half hour lesson they're only active for four minutes, especially with the prices they charge.
Puddle Ducks sound like a great way for children to learn to swim and give that one-on-one attention that;s needed x
I wish we could have a course free of charge! We had to give up Puddle Ducks due to the cost… #TriedTested
Wow 4 minutes is definitely not enough! Lily was doing water babies but we didn't renew as it was quite a lot of money and too far away for us. I need to get her back swimming as she's gone a few weeks without so I'll have a look at Puddle Ducks, I've heard fab things 🙂 X
The Puddle Duck lessons sound great, I think it's so important children learn to swim too.
Learning to swim is so important! Those lessons sound like so much fun!
Oh I've heard lots about puddle ducks my daughter went from loving water since newborn to screaming all of a sudden for no reason I can unfold x
These lessons sound amazing, I really need to look in to what it local to us, as I agree with you that children need to learn to swim. It looks like these ones are lots of fun, and with a smile like that you feel like it's worth it!
We started Monkey private swim lessons at 10 weeks. He's never had a fear of the water and he still loves them. We are almost at the point where he can swim unaided. I agree the council ones sound on the face of things really good value but if they are not swimming whats the point? Thanks for hosting #TriedTested xx
i always wanted to take L to swimming lessons, she is now 20 months but I was always stopped by the item of buying lessons in bulk,because firstly I dont know if she likes it, if I like the teacher and the place