Learn to swim

Ages 3 months – 2.5 years

This class is designed as a child’s first experience in an aquatic environment. Using a model of early childhood education, our program works to help infants and toddlers develop a life-long love of water through song and play while also incorporating large safety components of learning to go underwater, floating and finding the way back to the safety of the wall. We offer a compassionate introduction to water and safety and therefore create families who love the water and will continue swimming for recreation, health, and competition.

Infants and toddlers stay in this class and continue to work on more advanced safety skills from 3 months until 2 years, or even until 3 years if needed. At age 2, swimmers become eligible to move to a level 1 curriculum if they are ready to start following directions in a more advanced class and to start working to separate from their parents. Swimmers are promoted in to the next level, Transition to Level 1 or Level 1 when ready, between ages 2 and 3)

Skills to be worked on in Parent/child:

• Developing a love of water through song and play
• Entering and exiting the water
• Blowing bubbles
• Submerging eyes, nose, ears, and mouth in water
• Letting go of wall and going back to wall with assistance
• Bobbing under water while holding on to the side
• Floating on back and front with assistance
• Flutter kicking from a seated position on the side
• Flutter kicking on front and back with assistance

Acclimating and separating from parent

Ages 20 months to 3.5 years

This class is designed for a swimmer between ages 20 months and 3.5 years who is ready to learn our level 1 curriculum, but needs the assistance of a parent in order to acclimate to an aquatic environment, or needs a little more time separating from the parent. Swimmers who register as a transition will be learning our level 1 curriculum but with the assistance of a parent in the water. The parent will stay in the water for as little as 1 class or as long as the full session.

Once the teacher has determined that a parent does not need to be in the water, they will remain on the edge of the pool deck with the class and in a bathing suit until a child has been promoted to level 1. As soon as a child is ready, to swim independently with a teacher and to follow directions independently,  he or she will join the level 1 class independently.

Skills to be worked on in Transition to Level 1 (same skills as Level 1, but with a parent):

• Developing a love and respect of water through safety education and practical experience
• Entering and exiting the water
• Blowing bubbles
• Submerging eyes, nose, ears, and mouth in water
• Letting go of wall and going back to wall with assistance
• Bobbing under water while holding on to the side
• Floating on back and front with assistance
• Flutter kicking from a seated position on the side
• Flutter kicking on front and back with assistance

Learning fundamentals

Ages 3+ years


This class is designed as a first experience for swimmers ages 3+ who are ready to learn to swim independently of a parent. These classes are a 3:1 ratio, and can be any age from 2 to 10 or even older. All swimmers in level 1 still require a flotation device to swim. When a swimmer can swim without flotation and float on their backs without assistance, they are promoted to level 2.

Skills to be worked on in Level 1:

• Developing a love and respect of water through safety education and practical experience
• Entering and exiting the water
• Blowing bubbles
• Submerging eyes, nose, ears, and mouth in water
• Letting go of wall and going back to wall with assistance
• Bobbing under water while holding on to the side
• Floating on back and front with assistance
• Flutter kicking from a seated position on the side
• Flutter kicking on front and back with assistance

Learning fundamental swimming skills

Ages 4+ years

This curriculum is designed for swimmers who no longer need flotation assistance and are over 4 years old. Swimmers must be able to swim 5 yards independently and float on their backs without assistance for 10 seconds. Swimmers will work towards swimming longer distances and be able to swim, float and rest, and swim again in order to make it to safety without assistance.

Skills to be worked on in Level 2:

• Developing a love and respect of water through safety education and practical experience
• Entering water by jumping or stepping into water unassisted
• Bobbing up and down while holding breath
• Front and back float without assistance
• Front and back flutter kick with assistance
• Learning freestyle, introduction to side breathing
• Learning backstroke
• Beginning to learn to tread water

Stroke development

Ages 5+ years

This curriculum is designed for swimmers who can already swim 10 yards without assistance, above or below the water. They must have a partial understanding of freestyle and backstroke in order to be promoted in to level 3. Swimmers in this level will focus on safety skills and learning how to swim, float and rest, and swim again in order to save themselves.

Skills to be worked on in Level 3:

• Developing a love and respect of water through safety education and practical experience
• Entering water by jumping in from side
• Beginning to learn diving from a seated position
• Treading water for 15 seconds
• Learning rotary breathing in freestyle
• Learning backstroke
• Pushing off in a streamline position
• Introduction to breaststroke kick

Stroke improvement and advanced techniques

Ages 6+ years

This curriculum is designed for swimmers who have a basic knowledge of freestyle and backstroke and are working to learn breaststroke and butterfly. Our goal is that swimmers graduate level 4/5 with the skills needed to join a competitive aquatics or swim team program. We prepare our swimmers to know the proper way to swim all 4 competitive strokes, as well as how to save themselves in an aquatic emergency. The stroke technique curriculum learned in level 4, 5, and our pre-clinic program are all the identical, so there is no need to leave a level 4/5 class at one facility in order to go to ta pre-clinic program at a different pool. The only difference is that the clinic program will add skills needed for competition including diving off of starting blocks and mastering flipturns.

Skills to be worked on in Level 4:

• Developing a love and respect of water through safety education and practical experience
• Introduction to streamlines
• Diving in from the side
• Treading water for 1 minute
• Mastering freestyle and backstroke technique
• Learning breaststroke timing
• Learning dolphin kick and butterfly timing
• Introduction to Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly turns

Stroke improvement and advanced techniques

Ages 6+ years

This curriculum is designed for swimmers who have a basic knowledge of freestyle and backstroke and are working to learn breaststroke and butterfly. Our goal is that swimmers graduate level 4/5 with the skills needed to join a competitive aquatics or swim team program. We prepare our swimmers to know the proper way to swim all 4 competitive strokes, as well as how to save themselves in an aquatic emergency.

The stroke technique curriculum learned in level 4, 5, and our pre-clinic program are all the identical, so there is no need to leave a level 4/5 class at one facility in order to go to ta pre-clinic program at a different pool. The only difference is that the clinic program will add skills needed for competition including diving off of starting blocks and mastering flipturns.

Skills to be worked on in Level 5:

All skills learned in level 4 plus:

• Mastering all strokes with a speed component
• Working to legalize all aspect of strokes for use in competitive program
• Mastering efficiency in all 4 strokes, to become smoother, faster, and more propulsive in all strokes