
From water safety → real swimming → confident performance
When you choose Chicago Blue Dolphins, you’re choosing a program designed to help your child not just learn to swim—but learn how to swim well.
We combine:
- Small-group coaching
- Real-time visual feedback
- A clear, step-by-step progression
So your child builds confidence, skill, and independence in the water—at every stage.
Our next group class session begins on Monday, June 29, 2026.
New to Swimming?
Start with Preschool 1 or School-Age 1 if your child has little or no swimming experience.
Enroll in Level 1 Online
Had Some Lessons?
Schedule a skills assessment to evaluate your child’s skills and place them in the right class.
Schedule a Skills Assessment
Want Private Coaching?
Choose private or semi-private lessons for a more personalized learning path.
Book Private Lessons
Still not sure? Call us at (773) 342-7250 or complete our registration form, and we’ll help you choose.
Ask Us to Help You Choose
How Our Program Works (Why Kids Learn Faster Here)
Most swim programs rely on repetition and time. We use a more precise approach.
1. Precision Learning Environment
Our Swim Studio uses Endless Pools, underwater mirrors, and video feedback so kids can:
- See what they’re doing
- Understand how to fix it
- Improve faster with fewer repetitions
2. Small-Group Coaching
We keep classes intentionally small (3:1–4:1), so each swimmer gets:
- Constant feedback
- Individual correction
- More opportunities to practice correctly
3. Skill-First Progression
We don’t rush kids forward.
We build real skills—so your child can:
- Swim safely and confidently in shallow or deep water
- Pass swim tests with confidence
- Transition successfully to swim team (if they choose)
Not Sure Where Your Child Fits?
We break our swimming program into three major phases. Depending on your swimmer’s comfort and background, they will fit best into one of the three phases:
- New or nervous swimmers → Learn-to-Swim Phase
- Can swim, but need endurance → Endurance Building Phase
- Caught the “swim bug” or thinking about swim team → Stroke Mastery Phase
If your child has had lessons before and you aren’t sure where they fit, we recommend scheduling a private skills assessment. One of our instructors will evaluate your child’s current skills and recommend the best starting point.
If your child is new to swimming, you can also simply start in one of our beginner-level classes.
Learn More About Our Program
If you’re ready to get started, continue to the next section to choose the registration option that best fits your child’s needs.
If you’d like to learn more first, use the links below to explore our lessons, teaching approach, and program structure.
Ready to Get Started?
There are four ways to get started depending on your child’s age, swimming experience, and comfort level in the water.
1. Register Online for Beginner Classes
If your child is new to swimming or you’d like them to start from the beginning, you can register online for available spaces in our introductory beginner classes.
Most children beginning in Preschool Beginner 1 or School-Age Beginner 1 have little or no prior swimming experience.
Our next group class session begins on Monday, June 29, 2026.
Beginner group classes are $169/month with weekly classes and ongoing enrollment. A separate $25 annual membership/safety fee will be added after registration.
Ages 4–5
Children ages 4 and 5 typically begin in Preschool Beginner 1.
Ages 6 and Up
Children ages 6 and older typically begin in in School-Age Beginner 1.
Click the (+) below to view current beginner class options. Classes with available space will display a Sign Up button.
If your preferred class is currently full, call our office at (773) 342-7250 or email info@chicagobluedolphins.com to join the priority waitlist.
Preschool 1 Class Options
You can use the filter icon (☰) to sort by day, time, class name, or instructor to find the option that best fits your family’s schedule.
School-Age 1 Class Options
You can use the filter icon (☰) to sort by day, time, class name, or instructor to find the option that best fits your family’s schedule.
Online registration is currently available for Preschool Beginner 1 and School-Age Beginner 1 because these classes are specifically designed for brand-new swimmers. If your child has prior swimming experience or you are unsure where they fit, we recommend scheduling a skills assessment below.
2. Schedule a Skills Assessment
If your child has taken lessons before, can already swim a little, or you’re unsure where they fit in our progression, a private skills assessment is the best place to start.
During the assessment, one of our instructors will evaluate your child’s comfort level, breathing, floating, strokes, endurance, and deep-water confidence. We’ll then recommend the class or lesson format that best fits your child’s current abilities and goals.
Skills assessments are 25-minute private lessons and cost $62.
Prefer help registering? Call our office at (773) 342-7250.
To Register Online:
- Click “Expand ↓” next to Private Skills Assessment
- Choose the number of swimmers (note: if you select two or three swimmers, you need to provide them)
- Select your coach preference
- Choose an available day and time
3. Schedule Private or Semi-Private Lessons
Private and semi-private lessons offer greater scheduling flexibility, individualized instruction, and the ability to progress at your child’s own pace.
These lessons are ideal for:
- nervous swimmers,
- children who benefit from more individual attention,
- families with scheduling constraints,
- or swimmers working toward specific goals.
We offer:
- 25-minute and 50-minute lessons
- private, semi-private, and small-group options
- weekday, evening, and weekend availability
Prefer help registering? Call our office at (773) 342-7250.
To Register Online:
- Click “Expand ↓” next to Private Kids Lesson
- Choose the lesson length and number of swimmers (note: if you select two or three swimmers, you need to provide them)
- Select your coach preference
- Choose an available day and time
4. Ask Us to Help You Choose
Not sure which option is best for your child? We’re happy to help.
Fill out the form below, and a member of our team will contact you to discuss your child’s age, experience level, goals, and scheduling needs so we can recommend the best next step.
We’ll also send you a few helpful emails from info@chicagobluedolphins.com explaining how our lessons work, what to expect, and how to choose the best option for your child.
Prefer to speak with someone directly? Call us at (773) 342-7250 during office hours:
Mon–Fri: 9 am – 7 pm
Sat–Sun: 9 am – 5 pm
Our 3-Phase Progression
Phase 1: Learn-to-Swim
Goal: Safety, comfort, and independent swimming in deep water
This phase builds the foundation every swimmer needs.
Your child will learn to:
- Float, breathe, and relax in the water
- Swim on both front and back
- Move independently without touching the bottom
- Handle real deep-water situations with confidence
By the end of this phase, your child is safe, confident, and capable in the water.
ENTRY-LEVEL (Ages 4 and 5): Preschool Beginner 1 & 2
Preschool Beginner 1 and 2 are our entry-level classes for four and five year-old’s. We do not assume any swimming background or experience when your child enters into the Preschool Beginner 1 class. Because the children are younger and smaller, we break our introductory material across classes. The skills learned in each of the classes are listed below.
Preschool Beginner 1 (Ages 4–5)
Our entry class introduces the basics of water comfort and safety. Kids will:
- Relax in the water and feel supported
- Learn aquatic breathing (“bubbling”)
- Float, glide, and kick independently on front and back
- Swim short distances with elementary strokes
- Roll to the back for air or to call for help without losing position
Preschool Beginner 2 (Ages 4–5)
This next step builds endurance and confidence. Kids will:
- Refine breathing, combining nose and mouth techniques
- Swim elementary strokes on back for longer distances, even against resistance
- Swim elementary strokes on front with integrated roll-to-breathe
- Perform a “safety swim”: push off, swim 5 yards, change direction, swim back, and grab the wall without touching the bottom
👉 After Preschool Beginner 2, your child moves on to School-Age Beginner 2
ENTRY-LEVEL (Ages 6 and Up): School-Age Beginner 1
School-Age Beginner 1 (Ages 6+)
Our entry class for older beginners assumes no prior swim experience. Because kids in this age group are bigger, more coordinated, and able to focus longer, they cover in one class what younger preschoolers learn across two.
Your child will:
- Build comfort and relaxation in the water
- Learn aquatic breathing, combining nose and mouth techniques
- Float, glide, and kick independently on front and back
- Roll to the back for air without losing position
- Swim elementary strokes on back for longer distances, even against resistance
- Swim elementary strokes on front with integrated roll-to-breathe
- Perform a “safety swim”: push off, swim 5 yards, change direction, return, and grab the wall without touching bottom
👉 After this class, your child progresses to School-Age Beginner 2.
School-Age Beginner 2
School-Age Beginner 2
This class brings together graduates of Preschool Beginner 2 and School-Age Beginner 1. By this stage, differences in coordination and skill have evened out, making it the perfect time to introduce freestyle and backstroke—the strokes kids most often use for fun, safety, and swim tests.
Your child will:
- Float on front and back for longer periods with greater control
- Practice advanced floatation drills to increase water comfort
- Learn a simplified backstroke: long body lines, side balance, rotation, arm and leg motion
- Learn a simplified freestyle: streamlined posture, rotation, coordinated arm/leg motion, and basic roll-to-breathe on both sides
👉 After this class, we recommend finishing the Learn-to-Swim phase with Deep Water Beginner 1 & 2. If scheduling doesn’t allow, your child can temporarily move forward into Intermediate 1 before returning to the deep-water classes.
School-Age Deep Water Beginner 1
School-Age Deep Water Beginner 1
This class takes place in a pool with a deep end—an essential step for making sure kids can apply their skills where they can’t touch the bottom. We refine strokes learned in Beginner 2 while adding the confidence and safety that come with true deep-water ability.
Your child will:
- Start and stop swims without touching the bottom
- Swim 12½ yards of simplified freestyle and backstroke
- Jump into the deep end, resurface, and exit without using a ladder
- Tread water, back float, and survival float for at least 15 seconds before returning to the wall
👉 After completing this class, your child will move on to Deep Water Beginner 2 to finish the Learn-to-Swim phase.
School-Age Deep Water Beginner 2
School-Age Deep Water Beginner 2
In this class, kids take the building blocks from Deep Water Beginner 1 and apply them in real-life safety scenarios. The goal is to build confidence, resourcefulness, and comfort in water of any depth.
Your child will:
-
Extend treading, back floats, and survival floats to at least 30 seconds
-
Practice safety sequences combining entries, swims, floats/treads, changes of direction, and exits
-
Swim confidently across the deep end using front and back strokes
-
Learn simple surface dives to retrieve objects from the bottom
👉 Completion of this class marks the end of the Learn-to-Swim phase. At this point, your child will be confident, safe, and capable in the water—ready to progress to endurance and stroke development.
Phase 2: Endurance Building
Goal: Swim 50+ yards with rhythm, breathing, and control
Once kids can swim, the next step is learning to swim farther and stronger.
In this phase, your child will:
- Build freestyle and backstroke endurance
- Learn rhythmic, comfortable breathing
- Develop efficiency and stroke timing
- Gain confidence swimming full pool lengths
We also introduce:
- Breaststroke and butterfly fundamentals
- Dives and turns
- Extended deep-water skills
By the end of this phase, your child can swim with confidence, rhythm, and stamina
Intermediate 1
Intermediate 1
This class builds the endurance and rhythm needed for freestyle and backstroke. Kids work toward smooth, efficient strokes and learn to breathe comfortably on both sides.
Your child will:
- Swim at least 20 strokes of freestyle with rhythmic breathing (both sides)
- Swim at least 20 strokes of backstroke with balance, straight-arm recovery, and proper rotation/timing
👉 After this class, your child will advance to Intermediate 2, where we extend distances and introduce breaststroke and butterfly.
Intermediate 2
Intermediate 2
This class strengthens freestyle and backstroke while introducing the foundations of breaststroke and butterfly. By the end, kids are ready to swim full lengths confidently in deep water.
Your child will:
- Swim at least 30 strokes of freestyle with rhythmic, bilateral breathing and efficient timing
- Swim at least 30 strokes of backstroke with rhythm, flow, and rotation
- Learn the breaststroke kick and coordinate breathing with motion
- Learn butterfly’s dolphin undulation and integrate breathing
👉 After this class, we recommend completing the Deep Water Intermediate 1 & 2 classes to finish the Endurance Building phase. If schedules don’t align, your child can begin Advanced 1 (Stroke Mastery) and return to deep-water classes when possible.
School-Age Deep Water Intermediate 1
School-Age Deep Water Intermediate 1
This class takes stroke work into a full-size pool, where kids build endurance, add diving and turns, and extend their deep-water skills.
Your child will:
- Tread water, survival float, and back float for 45 seconds
- Improve flutter kick by vertical kicking for 15 seconds without arm support
- Swim a 25-yard freestyle with bilateral breathing, balance, and timing
- Swim a 25-yard backstroke with flow, rotation, and control
- Perform streamlined push-offs to start lengths of freestyle and backstroke
- Dive into the deep end (kneeling position)
- Learn open turns and practice swimming through mid-pool → wall → turn → back to mid-pool
👉 After this class, your child progresses to Deep Water Intermediate 2 to complete the Endurance Building phase.
School-Age Deep Water Intermediate 2
School-Age Deep Water Intermediate 2
This class completes the Endurance Building phase. Kids strengthen their strokes, extend their water safety skills, and prove they can swim with confidence for full lengths of the pool.
Your child will:
- Tread water, survival float, and back float for 60 seconds
- Perform vertical flutter kicking for 20 seconds in more challenging positions
- Swim 50 yards of freestyle with bilateral breathing, strong balance, and accurate timing using an open turn
- Swim 50 yards of backstroke with rotation, flow, and open turns
- Dive into the deep end with a standing stride dive
👉 Completion of this class means your child has finished the Endurance Building phase and is ready to expand to 100 yards of swimming or more. The next step is Advanced 1 (Stroke Mastery) to begin learning all four competitive strokes and racing skills.
Phase 3: Stroke Mastery
Goal: Learn all four strokes and prepare for swim team or advanced swimming
This phase is for kids who love the water and want to go further.
We focus on:
- Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly
- Racing skills (dives, turns, transitions)
- Stroke efficiency and speed control
- Group swimming skills and practice habits
We follow two principles:
- Form first (technique before speed)
- Keep it fun (engaged swimmers improve faster)
By the end, your child is ready for swim team—or simply swimming at a high level for life
Advanced 1
Advanced 1
In this class, we return to the Swim Studio to refine all four strokes, with special focus on breaststroke and butterfly. Using underwater video, kids quickly see and correct their form while also learning to adjust speed and tempo for greater control.
Your child will:
- Swim up to 60 strokes of freestyle (~75 yards) with bilateral breathing, stronger arms/kick, and tempo changes
- Swim up to 60 strokes of backstroke (~75 yards) with balance, smooth timing, and tempo control
- Learn competition-ready versions of breaststroke and butterfly with longer, smoother strokes
- Swim 12 strokes of breaststroke (~25 yards) with proper timing and extension
- Swim 6 strokes of butterfly (~12½ yards) with integrated rhythm and breathing
👉 After Advanced 1, your child moves into Advanced 2 (Pre-Team), the final step before joining a swim team.
Advanced 2 (Pre-Team)
Blue Dolphins Swim Squad (Pre-Team)
This final class prepares kids to join a swim team. Held in a full-size pool with backstroke flags and starting blocks, swimmers practice racing skills, group practice habits, and build the endurance to swim longer distances without stopping.
Your child will:
- Swim 100 yards of freestyle with bilateral breathing, strong arms/kick, and tempo control
- Swim 100 yards of backstroke with balance, smooth timing, and speed changes
- Swim 50 yards of breaststroke with proper timing and extension
- Swim 25 yards of butterfly with rhythm, undulation, and breathing
- Execute flip turns for all strokes and IM transitions
- Perform racing starts: forward start and backstroke start from the blocks
- Tread water for 2 minutes, including multiple kicks and vertical kicking sets
- Learn group swimming skills: circle swimming, reading the pace clock, spacing, and counting repeats
👉 Upon completion, your child will be a strong, efficient swimmer—ready to thrive on a swim team.
How Our Group Classes Work
- Ages: 4–12 years
- Class Length:
- 30 minutes (Beginner levels)
- 50 minutes (Intermediate & Advanced)
- Class Size:
- 3:1 ratio (most classes)
- 4:1 ratio (deep water)
- 6:1 ratio (pre-team)
- Parent Role:
- Kids participate independently
We structure classes in focused 4–5 week progressions, with regular evaluations to ensure your child is always moving forward.
Group Class Tuition & Enrollment
- Beginner classes: $169/month
- Intermediate & Advanced: $253/month
- Weekly classes, year-round
- Cancel anytime
👉 For best results, we recommend a minimum 3-month commitment
👉 Want faster progress? Add additional weekly classes and receive a 7% discount.
Full Group Class Pricing Information
Our group classes run year-round with open enrollment—no set end date. You may stay enrolled as long as you’d like. For best results, we recommend a minimum three-month commitment. You can withdraw at any time; we will apply a $25 cancellation fee if ending within the first 3 months.
Tuition & Billing
- Tuition is billed automatically each month.
- Enrollment may be discontinued at any time.
- Any unused credits can be (a) kept on your account, (b) transferred to another swimmer, or (c) applied to other services
| Class |
Cost Per Month |
| Preschool 1 & 2, School-Age Beginner 1 & 2, Deep Water Beginner 1 & 2 |
$169.00 |
| Intermediate 1 & 2, Advanced1 , Deep Water Intermediate 1 & 2 |
$253.00 |
| Blue Dolphins Swim Squad |
$253.00 |
💡 Faster progress option: Add extra weekly classes and receive a 7% discount on each additional class.
Membership & Fees
Registration & Billing Process
Registration & Billing
- When you register, your credit card will be charged for the first month of tuition.
- You’ll then be placed on automatic monthly payments on that same date going forward.
- Auto-pay continues until your child moves into a class with a different tuition or you choose to discontinue enrollment.
Membership Fee
- A non-refundable $25 annual membership fee is charged at registration to cover insurance and safety costs.
- This fee is renewed on each enrollment anniversary if you continue with us (and we hope you do!).
Cancellation Policy
Private and Semi-Private Lessons
Many families like the flexibility and the individual attention that private and semi-private lessons yield. We offer 25-minute and 50-minute private and semi-private lessons to kids ages four and up. We offer 25-minute skills assessment lessons to determine where your child will fit into our sequence or if group or private lessons is more appropriate.
Lesson Type
|
25 Minute Single |
25 Minute Five Pack |
50 Minute Single |
50 Minute Five Pack |
| Skills Assessment |
$62.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| Private |
$92.00 |
$437.00 |
$179.00 |
$850.25 |
| Two Swimmers (Per Person) |
$62.00 |
$294.50 |
$123.00 |
$584.25 |
| Three Swimmers (Per Person) |
$46.00 |
$218.50 |
$92.00 |
$437.00 |
Purchase a 5-pack and save 5%. The $25 annual membership fee applies to private lessons as with group lessons.
Our Pools & Learning Environment
Your child learns in two environments:
Swim Studio (Endless Pools)
- Controlled environment for skill development
- Mirrors + video feedback
- Immediate correction and faster learning
Full-Size Pools
- Deep-water confidence
- Endurance and distance swimming
- Dives, turns, and real-world application
👉 Using a combination of pools is what allows kids to learn faster and perform better
Group Class Schedule
We offer group classes 6 days per week with a variety of time options. Contact the office at (773) 342-7250 or email our informational account for space availability.
View this Week's Class Schedule
You can filter by class, day, time, and instructor to find what works best for your family.
Help Me Choose the Right Option