Lessons

What do children learn in lessons?

Babies (6~15 months)
Babies learn to hold their breath under water, roll onto their back, and float until picked up. This is a gradual process that is taught to your child over the course of 4-6 weeks. Your baby needs to be able to sit unassisted and roll over both ways to start these lessons.

After 6 weeks of lessons, watch 11-month-old Gracie roll and float!

Toddlers and Children (1-6 years old)
Children 1 year and older learn to swim with their face in the water, roll over to breathe, and then flip over to continue to swim. This means children can swim-float-swim across a pool, and they have the proper body position to learn the freestyle and backstroke as they get older.

After 6 weeks of lessons, watch 3-year-old Grace swim-float-swim!

What is the lesson format?

All students receive private 10-minute lessons, 4 days per week. New students usually need about 6 weeks (24 lessons) to master the full swim-float-swim sequence. Consistent attendance is key, so please be sure you can commit to the full program before you sign up for lessons.

Why are lessons formatted this way?

Private: Private lessons are not only safer than group lessons, but also allow instruction to be paced and customized for each student.

Brief: Young children have a limited attention span, and learning a new skill like swimming can be tiring! Also, while 10 minutes sounds brief, a private 10-minute lesson gives a child more individual instruction and practice than they would get in a typical 30-minute group lesson with 3-5 kids.
Frequent: So we can build on learning from day to day. If practiced frequently, swimming can be learned in a matter of WEEKS, not months or years!
Consistent: Lessons are repeated for about 6 weeks so that your child can learn to master and enjoy swimming! When kids have completed the full learning process, they can be confident and happy swimmers, so please be sure that you can commit to the full set of lessons for about 6 weeks.

What is the parent's role during lessons?

Parents usually watch lessons from nearby. Before and after the lesson, you are a huge source of encouragement! If you are positive and excited about swim lessons, your child will usually follow suit and will be proud of the new skills they are learning. Parents are usually invited into the pool at one of the final lessons to learn how to help your child practice when you swim together.

Will my child cry during swim lessons?

Swimming is not an easy skill, and can be emotionally-laden for kids (and adults!) because not everyone is naturally comfortable in the water. Many young children are also going through separation anxiety and the typical tantrums of the "terrible twos/threes." For these reasons, tears are pretty normal at first, but most kids calm down and start to enjoy it after the first few lessons. I do everything I can to make lessons fun and keep kids happy while teaching the skills they need to learn, but even kids who cry during lessons will still learn to swim. They will be safer around water, and they will eventually learn to love the water if you stick with it. One of my own children is proof! He did not like lessons and initially hated the water, but he eventually learned to love swimming and became very skilled at a very young age. If your child cries, keep the long-term goal in mind. Crying is temporary, but a child who knows how to swim is safer around water, and can enjoy the water for a lifetime.

See my FAQ page to learn more,
and feel free to contact me with other questions!

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