Kids Swimming Lessons (Ages 4-12)

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

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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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

In our custom-designed Swim Studio, your child trains in high-tech Endless Pools that make learning faster, more precise, and more fun. We also use full-size pools to build endurance and deep-water confidence.

We keep classes small for maximum attention and practice time:

• 3:1 ratio – Preschool, School-Age, Intermediate, Advanced 1
• 4:1 ratio – School-Age Deep Water classes (UIC pools)
• 6:1 ratio – Blue Dolphins Swim Squad (Pre-Team)

• 30 minutes – Preschool (ages 4–5), School-Age Beginner 1 & 2, Deep Water Beginner 1
• 50 minutes – Intermediate, Advanced1 , Deep Water Intermediate, Blue Dolphins Swim Squad

Classes run in 4–5 week sessions focused on specific skills. At the end of each session, we provide a progress evaluation and either promote your child or reinforce key skills.

No—children participate independently, building confidence with our instructors’ support.

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.

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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.

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Membership & Fees

• Annual Membership Fee: $25 (non-refundable, covers insurance and safety). Renewed each year on your enrollment anniversary.

• Cancellation Fee: $25 if you withdraw during your first three months. No cancellation fee applies after three month.  For full details see “Disenrollment from Automatic Tuition Renewal” on our Policies and Procedures page.

Yes—25-minute and 50-minute private and semi-private lessons are available.  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 as with group lessons.

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.

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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!).

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Cancellation Policy

• If you withdraw within the first three sessions, a $25 cancellation fee applies.
• After three months, there is no cancellation fee.
• For full details, please see “Disenrollment from Automatic Tuition Renewal” on our Policies and Procedures page.

Parents rave about our program! Kids thrive in a fun, supportive environment, and parents see measurable progress. Check out our online reviews to hear from families like yours.
              

By default, all new students start in our entry-level classes—Preschool Beginner 1 (ages 4–5) or School-Age Beginner 1 (ages 6+).

Other programs often use different class names or focus areas, so it’s hard to match directly. At Chicago Blue Dolphins, we place a strong emphasis on foundations—facial immersion, floating, gliding, and stroke fundamentals. Even if your child has previous lessons, reviewing these basics ensures they’re ready to succeed in our program.

That said, if your child demonstrates the skills to skip ahead, we’re happy to place them further along. To do so, please schedule a 25-minute private skills assessment with one of our coaches. Call us at (773) 342-7250 or submit an online request below, and we’ll help you find the right fit.

We know families juggle busy schedules—here’s how to find the class time that works best for you. You can view the complete Kids Swim Class schedule below. Use the filter icon (☰) to sort by day, time, class name, or instructor for the options that best fit your family’s needs.

For tuition and membership details, see “What is the Cost for Group Classes” above.

Fill out the form below to request registration for your child. Have more than one swimmer? Simply refresh the page and submit an additional form.

A member of our team will contact you within 1 business day. 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