Underwater Basket Weaving and Other Aquatic Arts!; Tuesday, Fourth Period [05/17].

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Since the weather appeared to be cooperating, the class would be meeting once again at the beach, and when they did, they would find their instructor as eager and excited as ever, warming up with some squats and arm stretches and encouraging exclamations beside the bonfire for a different kind of warm-up later. And once everyone was there and ready to go, he did one final stretch up high over his head, rolled his neck a little, and laughed before opening his arms to the class in greeting.

"Hello!" he said. "And welcome back! Are you all ready for another thrilling day of learning aquatic arts? I know I am! And since this particular aquatic art will require a lot of physical activity, let's all take a moment to stretch and warm up so that our bodies are limber and ready to go! Because today, we are tackling that most important Aquatic Art, the one for which mostly all other Aquatic Arts stem from, and that, of course, is swimming!

"Now," he continued, after waving a hand to encourage them all to keep stretching while he talked, something that he, himself, was also going to do, "last week, it sounded as though most of you are already familiar with swimming, but there's still a good chance that we all possess a very diverse range of swimming skills! Some of you, such as myself, may have been swimming since you were practically a tadpole, freshly hatched into a world of water and wonder! Some of you may have learned a little later, but due to your exposure to watery depths, may have a wide range of experience and skills. Some of you may not know how to swim barely at all! And that is fine, because we're going to go over many different techniques, we shall help each other, those who already know the basics will receive an excellent refresher, and by the end of the class, hopefully we'll all be confident enough in our swimming abilities to pursue a...bit of a challenge!"

His grin was particularly excited and shiny over that.

And he gave them a little more time to stretch and get warmed up before calling out, "Alright, my intrepid aquatic artistes! Everybody in the water! Let's get swimming!"

Comments

Re: Class Activity: Swimming! - Underwater Basketweaving, 05/17.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Oh, did you need some encouragement, Jo? Because, believe you me, Sidon had encouragement. By the boatload!

"No need to worry, there, Jo!" he called out enthusiastically before moving a little closer in case she needed the help. "Come on in! The water is fine!"

Actually, it was a bit chilly. Very chilly, actually, but you got used to it once you were in!

Re: Class Activity: Swimming! - Underwater Basketweaving, 05/17.

[onlyajones]

Jo stared at the water, tentatively dipping a toe in to see what the water would be like and let out a shriek at how cold it was.

This was bringing back memories of standing on the edge of the pool at Malory Towers and she found she kept glancing backwards to make sure no one was going to sneak up behind her and push her in.

No one was sneaking up behind her, so she took several deep breaths and pushed herself to go into the water, grimacing at how cold it was but at least this time was without the shrieking.

Re: Class Activity: Swimming! - Underwater Basketweaving, 05/17.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

And that tentative inch forward may not have looked like much, but Sidon knew, as a nervous swimmer himself back when he was a small, uncertain little hatchling, it was a big step! And he was certainly going to do for Jo what Mipha had done for him so long ago and flash her a big, proud, toothy grin.

"That's the way to do it, Jo!" he called out encouragingly, with a proud pump of his fist. "Way to go! The first steps are always the hardest, and don't worry! I'll be right here if you need me. You can do it! I believe in you!"