Getting Diploma A, B and C is quite an affair here in the Netherlands. Maybe because here they have so many canals, there is a requirement for children to be able to swim. But swimming is not merely swimming, it is more of safety requirements and stamina. Thus, in order to get Diploma A, the kids have to swim in their clothes, shoes and socks and have to perform certain acts, such as dive and swim through a hole in the water.
That is the problem for Ilham, getting Diploma A is almost like reaching for the star !! I suppose I am more anxious and more desperate than him, for him to get the Diploma. I have good reasons. We are moving to Den Haag, and both the British School and the American School in Den Haag do not have swimming in their curriculums! Which means I have to get him registered at the local pool to get the Diploma!! If you do not have at least Diploma A, when the kid goes to the local recreation pool, he must be accompanied by an adult (they assume that all adults can swim!). That's the problem !! I do not want to get in the pool !! Can you imagine me going in the pool with my head-to-toe swimsuit? I would definitely get their unwanted attention !!
For him, he just wants to get the diploma at the same time as his best friend Daigo. And it looks like Daigo will get his diploma next week !!
Anyway back to Ilham, first he is having trouble with diving. He did not dive but he jumped !! If you dive, you have an advantage and will be able to swim through the hole faster and better. The hole seems a mile away...
The dreaded hole..............And then, somehow he seems to be having difficulty holding his breath face down in the water for 10 seconds? (I'm not so sure, but it feels longer).
And then, his freestyle was not so good.
We have been working so hard at home, by practicing in the tub and by watching videos of little kids diving on the internet. To my surprise, his diving has definitely improved !!! Even his swimming teacher was surprised !! In fact, he was so confident that he dived from the high board.
Let's see him in action... I'm very proud of him. This video was taken yesterday during the swimming lesson.
Today, at 1 pm he will be assessed and I really hope that he will do well and shall be invited for Diploma A.
Good Luck Ilham...
5 comments:
Good luck to Ilham!..InsyaAllah he'll be able to do n get it.
why d video so short? 6 secs je?..hehe..
mum dread to go into the pool ke?
:-)
Hope Ilham made it!!! So cute.. seeing him dive into the water! BTW, we cannot assume all adults know how to swim - here in Malaysia cause I mmg tak tau berenang. I penah lemas once!
TK..sama lah kita..thou not d lemas part(sorry to hear about ur lemas)
tapi I tak suka berenang cos tak tahan sejuk n tak suka baju basah2..hehehe..
:-)
Cheqna,
I was so surprised by his diving that I tertekan the button. That's the story ha..ha..
Btw, mum did not dread to go into the pool, just shy-shy je.
TK,
I'm sorry that u drowned once, what happened? Were u small then?
Here everyone can swim, it never occur to them that people in other parts of the world might not know how.
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