23 March 2016

Summer Swimming Class

I totally intended to write about this in super late fashion. Surely, there are parents who are now looking for swimming class for their kids this summer. So, here it is!


I enrolled Sophia in Marooners Swimming Program last year. My husband, R and I have long thought about it. We don't want her cooped up here at home doing nothing but watching movies. You know, kids must sweat out their energy so they'd be more behaved when they're out. Seriously, our girl is a water baby. I think her real parents are merpeople! We could have made her take swimming lessons early on but we knew her window of readiness wasn't open yet so we waited for the right age. 6 years old - basically young to have a clean slate of mind for new learning but big enough to follow instructions. Marooners Swimming Program has graduates of Bachelor in Physical Education and Sports from Polytechnic University of the Philippines as instructors and they do their lessons every summer in few cities in Metro Manila. They hold two here in Marikina - one in Palmera Centro and the other in Marquinton Residences. We're lucky that the clubhouse in Palmera is just a few blocks away from home. 

The fee was Php3,500 for 10 sessions. Each session was one full hour in the pool. Sophia was grouped with the younger kids, ages 3-6. All students were told to bring swimsuit, swimming cap, goggles and kick boards. Since my girl already has a Sofia the First rashguard, I bought her an alternative one-piece Hello Kitty swimsuit. I also got her a pink goggles, Speedo swimming cap and a Barbie kick board that we bought at Toys R Us in Robinson's Metro East. 



The coaches were very patient and good with kids. They may be shouting, since they're all in water and it makes hearing hard in there, but they can really make the kids follow their instructions. Just take this as a testament on how good they were: My 6-year-old knew how to swim in 6 feet in just 10 days. No kick board on the 5th day. It's best to let your child take the lessons in 10 consecutive days so she can do the activities the instructors have set for each day. The final day was fun! They had relays and some games. Sophia was so happy to do it with her team even if they didn't win. Also, I learned how loud of a cheerleader I can be. Hehe.


The most exciting, though was the graduation day! Each kid was asked to bring their food contribution that all of us can share with. I brought my homecooked kiddie spaghetti. Other parents brought pizza, bbq, fried chicken, pansit, donuts and cake. The teachers gave a special number, much to the students' delight. I remembered Sophia said, "Teacher Marthy is so funny!" Then afterwards, they got in a real competition. As in, Michael Phelps and Akiko Thompson feels. Sorry for mom-bragging but my kid got a gold medal for the backstroke category! I was the proudest! Who wouldn't be? Her godmom V's sponsorship was worth it!



I hope she still remembers all the basics she learned last year so she can take the Advanced course this summer. 

For those interested, it's best that you contact them directly in their phone number since I'm not so sure if the Facebook account is still active. Here it is: 399-1515 or 0920-8729955. 

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