It’s hard to believe that we are just weeks away from Memorial Day weekend – one of the most anticipated days of the year for a child (and some adults too.) The day the pool opens.
If you are anything like me, this day brings on a mixture of emotions. One, excitement that summer is about to begin. Two, a small amount of sadness that another year has come and gone. And three, a little anxiety because the kids are about to start asking me almost every day if we can go to the pool and not all of my kids can swim. This year, we are doing something before the pool opens to get prepared for the months ahead. We are taking swim lessons at Goldfish Swim School.
One out of my four children is still learning to swim and has a long ways to go. Without his floaties, he would sink like a rock. The three that can swim are out of practice because (outside of the occasional overnight at a hotel) they haven’t been in the water for quite some time – months to be exact. Usually, we take swim lessons during the summer months. This year, we are starting now – before the pool opens and I am thrilled about it.
I am not the only one thrilled – so are they. The three younger ones are all taking lessons and had their first lesson earlier this week. This was our first experience at Goldfish Swim School and it went swimmingly from start to finish.
When we walked in, we were greeted by a friendly staff member who helped us to get started. She went over the paperwork, explained the sign-in process for future lessons and showed us the brightly-colored, kid-friendly facility. She explained how during the lessons, the kids go into the room with the pool and the parents watch from a large glass window that looks into the entire pool area. She handed me cute t-shirts for each of the kids, a couple of bags filled with information and some passes for the Family Swim time (which we are all very excited about.) The kids were shown the pool and told which lanes they would be in for their lessons. At Goldfish Swim School, there is one life-guard certified swim instructor for every four children. As we were talking, the kids were growing more and more excited.
They couldn’t wait to jump in.
When registering for the lessons, I was asked about their swim abilities and they were put into classes according to their levels.
Goldfish Swim School offers something for swimmers of all levels with classes for children ranging in age from 4 months to 12 years. They offer Mini/Infant Classes, Junior/Toddler Classes, Beginner Classes, Glider/Star/Pro Advanced Classes and even have a Swim Team for those little swimmers who have graduated from the Pro level.
With their Perpetual Lessons model, children continue to swim year-round as opposed to seasonally. Instead of taking lessons for a couple of months and then losing those skills, they will continue to progress as the year goes on. Once they master the skills in their current level, they move up to the next level.
During the last five minutes of the lesson, the parents come to the pool deck to see what was learned that day. It was so much fun to watch and the kids had a great time showing off their new skills. The instructor let me know what they were working on and what they still needed to learn before moving on to the next level.
The kids left enthusiastic about what they had learned and eager to come back next week. We have 43 days until the pool opens and when it does – we’ll be ready.
Goldfish Swim School has a location in Carmel and one in Fishers.
Carmel location:Â 271 Merchants Square Drive, Suite A-110
Fishers location:Â 11581 Geist Pavilion Drive, Suite 114
For more information on swim lessons and family swim times at both facilities, please visit their website or call 317-810-3790.
