Parent Tot classes are all about water discovery and exploration for our youngest of swimmers with an adult. Infants and toddlers, along with their parent/grandparent/guardian, will be introduced to the aquatic environment as they explore body positions, blowing bubbles, and fundamental safety and aquatic skills.  With the assistance of their adult, the infants and toddlers will learn how to blow bubbles, enter and exit the water safely, practice front and back floats and rolling between the two, as well as front and back tow, wall grab and monkey crawl.

Ages 6 months to 36 months

Parent/Guardian MUST get in the water with the participant

Skills: Blow bubbles, front tow, water exit, water entry, roll, back float, front float, back tow, wall grab, monkey crawl

Please fill out this form for a private lessons request or call Erica at 906-379-3256 to get signed up and scheduled before making your payment.

You’ll receive seven thirty-minute lessons with a YMCA swim lesson instructor, individualized to meet your goals.  Private lessons can be scheduled year-round, and our flexible scheduling plan allows you to schedule lessons to fit with your busy schedule.  Private lessons are ideal for participants who would prefer more specialized instruction, participants with special needs, advanced swimmers, and adults.

Please fill out this form for a semi-private lessons request or call Erica at 906-379-3256 to get signed up and scheduled before making your payment.

Ideal for siblings, friends, relatives, etc.  (Please note, the YMCA does not pair you with another person, you must register with them).  We do suggest that swimmers in semi-private lessons are similar in age and swimming ability to maximize the amount of hands-on instruction per swimmer. However, we can accommodate special requests.

Please fill out this form for a single private lesson request or call Erica at 906-379-3256 to get signed up and scheduled before making your payment.

One lesson at a time rather than a full 7 lesson session. Lessons are 30 min long.

Stage 1 is ideal for those who have little to no experience in the water. Students develop comfort with underwater exploration and learn to safely exit in the event of falling into a body of water. This stage lays the foundation that allows for a student’s future progress in swimming.

Skills taught in Stage 1 are submerge, front glide, back glide, water exit, back float, front float, roll, jump push turn grab, swim float swim, jump roll float.

Benchmark Skills

• Swim, float, swim – sequencing front glide (with face in the water), roll, back float, roll, front glide, and exit
• Jump, push, turn, grab – basic self-rescue in returning the edge of the pool
• Jump, roll, float – sequences jump, roll, and back float for basic self rescue when a water edge is not available.

No parents are allowed in the water during Stage 1 lessons.

Stage 2 Water Movement is ideal for those who are comfortable putting their face in the water, can float with minimal assistance, and jump into the pool. Stage 2 focuses on body position and control, directional change, integrated arm and leg movement, and forward movement in the water on front and back while also continuing to practice how to safely exit in the event of falling into a body of water.

Skills taught in Stage 2 are submerge, front glide, back glide, water exit, back float, front float, roll, jump push turn grab, swim float swim, treading, jump roll float.

Benchmark Skills

• Swim, float, swim – sequencing front glide (with face in the water), roll, back float, roll, front glide, and exit
• Jump, push, turn, grab – basic self-rescue in returning the edge of the pool
• Jump, roll, float – sequences jump, roll, and back float for basic self rescue when a water edge is not available.
• Treading

No parents are allowed in the water during Stage 2 lessons.

Stage 3 Water Stamina is for swimmers who go underwater comfortably without goggles, float without assistance and jump into the pool, submerge and return to the wall without assistance

Stage 3 focuses on building swimming endurance while reinforcing water safety through rolling from their front into a back float and treading water Swim, float, swim one length of the pool unassisted, tread for 1 minute, and jump in swim 10 yds and turn around and swim back to the wall are the benchmark skills for Stage 3.

Skills: Submerge and retrieve object from chest deep water, swim on front 10-15yd., water exit, jump swim turn swim grab, swim on back 10-15yd., roll, tread water, swim float swim

Stage 4 is for the intermediate swimmer who can swim the length of the pool on their front or back without assistance or touching the bottom. Students should be comfortable with their face in the water while swimming, with or without googles.

Stage 4 introduces basic stroke technique in front crawl and back crawl, and reinforces water safety through treading water endurance and elementary backstroke. Stage 4 also introduces the kicking component of breaststroke and butterfly while working on endurance.

Skills: Swimming endurance on front and back, front crawl with rotary breathing, back crawl, sitting dive, tread water 1 min, breaststroke kick, butterfly kick, Resting stroke-elementary backstroke.

Stage 5 Stroke Development is for our most advance swimmers. Swimmers must be able to swim the length of the pool on their front with rotary breathing, on their back, and tread water for at least 1 minute.

Stage 5 helps students develop their strokes. They will work on fine tuning and strengthening their freestyle and backstroke. And they will begin to learn the breaststroke and butterfly strokes as well as a new resting stroke – side stroke. It is also good for those who are interested in joining a swim team soon.

Skills: Endurance swimming 25’s and 50’s, freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, side stroke, treading water, knelling dive

This class helps 30 month olds to 47 month olds (2.5 – 3 year olds) transition from Parent Tot classes into the independent regular Stage 1 class. We recognized that some toddlers need a little extra time to make this transition and this class will allow you to work with your toddler and an instructor on the same skills they will learn in Stage 1 with you in the water with them. The goal of the class is to gradually have the instructor do more and more reps with the toddler and less and less with the parent. This will prepare them for graduating into the regular Stage 1 class.

An adult is required to get in the water with the toddler each week.

Benchmark Skills for the Toddler:

Child’s ability to listen and follow instructor directions

Child’s ability to work with the instructor, without the parent in the water, by the end of the session.