Thank you to Goldfish Swim School for their partnership. While I received complimentary swim lessons to facilitate this post, all opinions are 100% my own.
I’ve said it before, but truly, in the 4 months since E has started swim lessons, I’ve been blown away by the progress she has been making in the pool at Goldfish Swim School. She will be swimming independently before we know it!
This month, it was progress report week! Four times a year, a progress report detailing all of the skills your child has been working on in their swim class is sent home. Their teacher marks off whether they have mastered a skill or are still working on it.
Our little fish is “really good at dips”. Meaning we can dunk her head all the way under the water! When we started, she wouldn’t get her face anywhere near the water. Now, she will willingly put her face into the water on her own! She is a year and a half old and there are babies half her age in her class that are going under water, too. I don’t think I would have known to practice going under water at such an early age if it weren’t for swim lessons.
Many people have asked me when is a good age to start and I would say, the sooner the better! Babies as young as 4 months can be enrolled in lessons. You can really tell the difference between little ones who have been doing lessons for a while and those who are just starting. The younger they start, the more comfortable they become in the water.
At Goldfish, kids under age 3 (35 months) are in the mini classes and always swim with a parent. The same skills are practiced for the whole class, but the expectations and progress for different skills are divided by age on the progress report.
Seeing the progress report as a parent is so helpful to see what the teacher thinks they could work on and also gives you a good list of all the skills your kids are learning. Especially if you have older kids and aren’t actively involved in the lessons.
The progress I’ve seen for our girl includes: going under water, jumping into the pool, climbing out of the pool (with little assistance), kicking, pulling, doesn’t mind being splashed, or having water poured over her head. Before lessons, she enjoyed being in the water, but always seemed so timid. Now, she just loves it!
Goldfish makes learning and swimming just so much fun. The techniques they use and the friendly teachers make all the difference!
If you’ve been thinking about getting your kids into lessons…do it! Learning to swim is more than just fun, it can be a life saving skill and that is priceless. Visit Goldfish to find a location near you.
Visit here for my tips to make swim lessons easier!
