We spent a lot of time at the pool this summer and Tessa was losing all her reservations about being under water or away from the shallow steps. After a couple of friends recommended her, we decided to call Coach Maggie for some lessons. Tessa already loved jumping off the side into the deep water, but now she is allowed to jump without her floaties, next to Maggie who then directs her toward the wall for safety. She taught her the monkey crawl to get back to the shallow end, or "elbow, elbow, knee, knee" to remember how to climb out. She finally learned to blow bubbles when she goes under water (90% of the time) and kick her legs parallel to the water rather than try to keep them under her (50% of the time - still practicing that one). She learned to float on her back and use "monkey, star, soldier" arm movements to propel herself on her back. Tessa is a little daredevil and has no fear of being in the very deep end with either floaties or mom or dad. Some days she whined about doing her lesson, but once she got started she ended up having fun.
Floating on her back, only her head was supported (in this photo, she's holding hands but usually didn't)
Kicking and blowing bubbles while swimming to the wall. 
Blowing bubbles when she goes under. 
