Peyton Prevett is spending her summer in the pool, but she’s not just having fun. She created a summer job for herself by offering swimming lessons.

“Every summer for the past six years I have helped Mrs. (Allison) Stroud,” Prevett said. “Now it is a little nerve-racking because I am doing it on my own.”

Prevett said that the best part of her job is watching the kids have fun.

“Of course I love to see kids learn something new,” Prevett said. “But most of all I love seeing them have fun.”

She makes sure to make the minimum age of kids that she teaches three years old.

“I teach three to five year olds,” Prevett said. “Mostly because I want to make sure that they want to get in the water. I may teach some two year olds as long as they are comfortable getting in the water. I think the most challenging part of this job is when a child is really scared of water and they want nothing to do with it. I have to make sure to teach them that this is completely fun.”

Even though swimming is all fun and games, Prevett teaches it for safety purposes.

“I want to make sure that kids who have pools at home know what to do if they fall in by accident,” Prevett said. “It is pretty important that they know what to do.”

Prevett is going into her senior year at Auburn University studying communication disorders, with the hopes of going to graduate school at Auburn.

“I really love kids so I hope to use my degree to help them,” Prevett said. “I can also see myself working with geriatric patients.”

Her swimming lessons are usually from 10 a.m., until noon, and then 1 p.m., until 3 p.m.

“Since the kids are in the pool, they don’t get overheated,” Prevett said. “But I always make sure to take breaks, that they drink lots of water and make sure they are wearing enough sunscreen.”

For students thinking about offering swimming lessons, Prevett recommends first working as an assistant.

“This is a very good and rewarding job,” Prevett said. “But I would say you need to be an assistant first because that will be very beneficial.”