SwimSmart School

No. Ideally the water chemistry is good enough that the water is not harmful to the eyes. If a child becomes habituated to goggles, if the child falls into the water and is most likely no wearing goggles, the child will be swimming blind with their eyes close. It is important to try to have all children be able to open their eyes in the water. If goggles are needed, they are provided by the instructor.

There are several reasons that parents are asked to be in the pool with young children or fearful swimmers. 1. You provide comfort during the initial few days of lessons. Your child may cry but your comfort will provide added security to your child while they are being placed with a stranger in a new environment. Your child will have a happier experience if you are in the pool providing praise, high fives, and hugs. 2. No young child should be in a body of water without a caregiver also in the water with them. Early on safety protocols are established requiring the child to be given permission by the teacher or parent to either swim from the steps or to jump from the side. Without setting up this safety protocol, young children will often think that the caregiver is focused on them and will enter the water unannounced and unnoticed. Many drownings take place in water where adults are present, but the child enters without their knowledge. 3.You learn skills to help continue to teach your child when swimming outside of lessons. You are encouraged to swim outside of lessons using the new skills your child is learning Without getting into the pool, most parents are not confident in knowing how to work with their child and inadvertently impede progress. Many similar programs discourage swimming with your child until the skills are fully learned.

If safety is the main goal due to water exposure and risk, babies are taught a survival back float. The learn that if they enter the water without being held, they roll to their back and float until they are picked up by their parent or caregiver. These skills generally take 4 weeks to master but may take longer. If safety is not a priority due to lower risk, then babies can be taught to swim. The kicking reflex is usually very strong at this age, and they can swim back and forth between parents. They are introduced to the back float as well. They do not learn to roll and float. This is generally a 4-week session program.

This age is taught the swim/float/swim technique. They will learn to swim in a true swimming posture with face in the water, using a flutter kick, and roll to a back float to get their breath. They are taught safety protocols as well including swimming to steps and walls, safe jumping into a pool once they are rolling to float, how to climb to safety, and not entering water without permission. Pool toys are used to help provide a more enjoyable lesson experience while accomplishing the above goals.

Once a child is developmentally ready for strokes, the beginning basics of freestyle and backstroke can be taught. Since backyard pools are used, it is imperative that the children practice these skills in a larger community pool. If the pool is too small, there are limits to developing strong technique.

Some children do cry during the first few lessons for several reasons: Preverbal children have limited ways to express themselves and when placed in new situations or with strangers may cry. Some children cry to attempt to control their environment. Sometimes a child is not having a good day or just not feeling well and will cry to express these emotions. Crying is minimized over the course of the first week. This is done with the intensive style format and establishing a routine, trust, and SKILL! Toys are also used to try to engage the child in the lessons and are used as teaching tools. Lastly, with a parent in the pool, you are there to comfort your child, give praise, high fives, and hugs as needed. It is rare for a preverbal child to cry longer than the first week.

The four day per week intensive style lessons helped build much faster than traditional weekly or bi-weekly lessons. The daily repetition gives children the building blocks to rapidly progress from non-swimmers to independent swimmers in a short amount of time. Lessons that use the traditional weekly, 30–45-minute lesson, progressive lesson format, are not typically results driven but provide skill over a much longer period. The intensive style lessons provide the skills to for your child to become an independent swimmer much sooner. Lessons for children 5 years-old and under are 10 minutes per lesson. Lessons for children 6 years-old and over are 15 minutes at the discretion of the instructor and as time allows. The lessons are short in duration due to several factors. 1. Your child will be swimming during their entire lesson; attention spans tend to wane after 10-15 minutes based on age and longer lessons require significant amount of redirection. 2. Swimming is a very physical activity, and most children will be fatigued after 10-15 minutes. 3. Daily short lessons build skills rapidly without causing the child to become bored and disengaged.

Siblings each get their own lesson and every endeavor is made to schedule them back to back so for your convenience.

Generally, around 6 months old. The baby should be sitting independently which helps provide core strength to be able to roll to a float. Your water risk factors should be considered when determining when to start swim lessons for your child. See the FAQ on what babies learn in lessons and the options available.

Yes, it is never too late to learn to swim or to improve your technique. Lessons have been taught to complete non-swimmers and to those wanting to improve their strokes for triathlons and general swimming. Adult lessons are scheduled directly with Miss Carla and can be arranged for late evenings and weekends. Call or text 904-501-5593 to schedule.

The 2024 swim season will be from the beginning of April through July. August and September bookings may be possible depending on instructor and pool availability.

No, lessons are offered at area private residence pools by host families. If you are interested in becoming a host family and want to find out more, please call or text 904-501-5593 for more information about benefits and requirements.

Yes, pools are heated from April-May. June pools sometimes are heated depending on location and need.

Lessons are priced by the session or by the week. See the information on the Lesson Rates Page for rate information. For weekly lessons, It is impossible to tell how many weeks a child will need to gain the specific skills needed to reach specific goals that you have as a parent or that will provide them the ability to swim independently. That varies based on age, prior lesson and/or water experience, personality of the child, athleticism, and how frequently they swim outside of the lessons and practice their skills. The session is a must for non-swimmers unless there are extenuating circumstances discussed in advance of booking. This provides basic skills of breath control, buoyancy, movement, back floating, and safety protocols. The child may or may not be stable at this time and may need additional lessons. Some children take additional weeks or sessions to for their skills to become more fluent. If you sign up for additional weeks after attending a full session, the weekly rate becomes the prorated session rate and not the weekly rate. The weekly lessons are primarily for students with prior skills and are able to breath independently or with minimal assistance. They are great for yearly refreshers or to start stroke development.

Private residence pools are provided by host families. The current locations for those pools are in Prosper, McKinney, and North Celina. Frisco pools may become available. If you want to become a host family please contact us to get more information about hosting benefits and requirements. Lessons are not taught at individual pools.

Makeup lessons for weather or instructor cancellations are done on Fridays and possibly Saturdays. Unless the missed lesson is cleared in advance, makeup lessons are not offered. Courtesy makeup lessons are offered on occasion and may be offered during the week or on Saturdays as the schedule permits.

Miss Carla is fully vaccinated including boosters. She will continue to get boosters as needed due to taking autoimmune suppressant drugs that keep me healthy. Masking is not possible while in the pool due to the nature of lessons. Fortunately, the outdoor pool environment is less of a risk for spreading COVID. If you or any family member is showing symptoms, please do not bring your child to lessons. If you or any family member tests positive for COVID or you have had significant contact with someone that is COVID positive, please notify Miss Carla as soon as possible prior to bringing your child to lessons. If your child is sick, DO NOT bring them to lessons. Contact me as soon as possible to let me know and a makeup lesson will be provide if there is availability at a later date. Makeup lessons are not guaranteed for illness.

Deposits are non-refundable.