Outdoor swimming lessons in Vancouver — not my best idea

When we had that heat wave a few weeks back, I decided to sign my 6 year old up for more swimming lessons, since he didn’t do very well in the Spring lessons and I want him to keep going for at least a bit of the summer.

So when I heard Maple Grove Pool (my favourite outdoor kid pool ever!) had lessons for two weeks with timing that fit our schedule that period, I signed him up. After all, it was sunny and hot already, so no doubt the heat would continue, right?

Wrong of course. It hasn’t rained yet, but it is not terribly warm in the mornings these days, and my poor baby is shivering in the unheated pool. The instructor wears a wetsuit, but our 5 and 6 year olds are just in swimsuits?

My poor guy is pretty tall and thin, so he hasn’t got a lot of meat on his bones and gets cold pretty easily. I did get him a long sleeve swim shirt but he still was so cold Tuesday.

So we’re going wetsuit shopping this afternoon. It’s probably not a bad investment anyhow, since we’ll be at a cottage in the Cariboo later this summer, and I bet it’s cold there too.

Does it ever get warm enough here to swim in the mornings? I can’t imagine these lessons are ever easy on the kids. And what about Monday when they’re calling for rain? Looks like outdoor lessons were not my best idea.