Swim Lessons
Swim lessons include all levels of the American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim Program. Lessons are taught by American Red Cross certified water safety instructors. Learn-to-Swim teaches aquatic and safety skills in a logical progression. The objective is to teach people of all ages to swim and to be safe in, on, and around the water and give students a positive learning experience.
Private lessons may be taken at any skill level. These lessons aretaught at a one participant to one instructor ratio for 25 minutes. Lessons do not need to be completed by session end date. Lessons will not start before the start date of each session. Requests submitted after ending date will be honored during the next private lesson session. After you register an instructor will call you to line up a lesson time. Please submit a current phone number and allow 5-10 business days to schedule lessons.
Guests should bring their own towels for the pool and/or shower as one will not be provided.
Call the Welcome Desk at 319-352-8311 with questions about lessons.
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Swim Lesson Levels
Parents and children learn together to increase a child’s comfort level in the water and build a foundation of basic skills, such as arm and leg movements and breath control. The two levels are fun-filled and help introduce water safety concepts, encouraging a healthy recreational habit that your entire family can enjoy.
Parent/Infant
Provides experiences and activities for children to:
- Learn to ask for permission before entering the water.
- Learn how to enter and exit the water in a safe manner.
- Feel comfortable in the water.
- Explore submerging to the mouth, nose and eyes and fully submerging.
- Explore buoyancy on the front and back position.
- Change body position in the water.
- Learn how to play safely.
- Experience wearing a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
- Plus age-appropriate water safety topics.
Parent/Toddler
Builds upon the skills learned in Parent/Infant and provides experiences and activities for children to:
- Establish expectation for adult supervision.
- Learn more ways to enter and exit the water in a safe manner.
- Explore submerging in a rhythmic pattern.
- Glide on the front and back with assistance.
- Perform combined stroke on front and back with assistance.
- Change body position in the water.
- Experience wearing a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket in the water.
- Plus age-appropriate water safety topics.
Throughout the three levels, preschool-age children are taught basic aquatic safety and swimming skills, all the while increasing their comfort level in and around the water. Skills are age-appropriate, helping children achieve success on a regular basis and enjoy social interactions with other children. As in all Swimming and Water Safety courses, your child will always know that it’s safety first.
Preschool Level A — Orients children to the aquatic environment and helps them gain basic aquatic skills.
Minimum age: 4 years old up to 5 years old
- Enter water using ramp, steps or side
- Exit water using ladder, steps or side
- Blow bubbles through mouth and nose
- Submerge mouth, nose and eyes
- Open eyes under water and retrieve submerged objects
- Front glide and recover to a vertical position
- Back glide and recover to a vertical position
- Back float
- Roll from front to back and back to front
- Tread with arm and hand actions
- Alternating and simultaneous arm and leg actions on front
- Alternating and simultaneous arm and leg actions on back
- Combined arm and leg actions on front and back
- Plus age-appropriate water safety topics
Preschool Level B — Helps children gain greater independence in their skills and develop more comfort in and around water.
Recommended ages: 4 and 5 year olds
- Enter water by stepping in from a deck or low height
- Exit water using ladder, steps or side
- Bobbing
- Open eyes under water and retrieve submerged objects
- Front float
- Back glide and float and recover to a vertical position
- Roll from front to back and back to front
- Tread water using arm and leg actions
- Combined arm and leg actions on front and back
- Finning arm action on back
- Plus age-appropriate water safety topics
Preschool Level C — Helps children start to gain basic swimming propulsive skills to be comfortable in and around water.
Recommended ages: 5 & 6 year olds
- Enter water by jumping in
- Fully submerge and hold breath
- Bobbing
- Rotary breathing
- Front, jellyfish and tuck floats
- Front and back float or glide and recover to a vertical position
- Change direction of travel while swimming on front or back
- Tread water using arm and leg actions
- Combined arm and leg actions on front and back
- Finning arm action on back
- Plus age-appropriate water safety topics
Designed to help participants achieve maximum success, Learn-to-Swim courses are based on a logical, six-level progression that helps swimmers of varying ages and abilities develop their water safety, survival and swim skills.
Level 1—Introduction to Water Skills
Helps participants feel comfortable in the water.
Minimum age: 6 (must be 6 years old at the start of class, no exceptions)
- Enter water using ramp, steps or side
- Exit water using ladder, steps or side
- Blow bubbles through mouth and nose
- Bobbing
- Open eyes under water and retrieve submerged objects
- Front and back glides and recover to a vertical position
- Back float
- Roll from front to back and back to front
- Tread water using arm and hand actions
- Alternating and simultaneous arm and leg actions on front
- Alternating and simultaneous arm and leg actions on back
- Combined arm and leg actions on front and back
- Plus age-appropriate water safety topics
Level 2—Fundamental Aquatic Skills
Gives participants success with fundamental skills.
- Enter water by stepping or jumping from the side
- Exit water using ladder, steps or side
- Fully submerge and hold breath
- Bobbing
- Open eyes under water and retrieve submerged objects
- Rotary breathing
- Front, jellyfish and tuck floats
- Back glide and recover to a vertical position
- Front glide and recover to vertical position
- Roll from front to back and back to front
- Tread water using arm and leg actions
- Change direction of travel while swimming on front or back
- Combined arm and leg actions on front and back
- Finning arm action
- Plus age-appropriate water safety topics
Level 3—Stroke Development
Builds on the skills in Level 2 through additional guided practice in deeper water.
- Enter water by jumping from the side, fully submerge then recover to the surface and return to the side
- Headfirst entries from the side in sitting and kneeling positions
- Bobbing while moving toward safety
- Rotary breathing
- Back float
- Survival float
- Change from vertical to horizontal position on front and back
- Tread water
- Flutter and dolphin kicks on front
- Scissors and breaststroke kicks
- Front crawl and elementary backstroke
- Plus age-appropriate water safety topics
Level 4—Stroke Improvement
Develops confidence in the skills learned and improves other aquatic skills.
- Headfirst entries from the side in compact and stride positions
- Swim under water
- Feet first surface dive
- Survival swimming
- Open turns on front and back
- Tread water using 2 different kicks
- Front and back crawl, elementary backstroke, breaststroke, sidestroke and butterfly
- Flutter and dolphin kicks on back
- Plus age-appropriate water safety topics
Level 5—Stroke Refinement
Provides further coordination and refinement of strokes.
- Shallow-angle dive from the side then glide and begin a front stroke
- Tuck and pike surface dives, submerge completely
- Front flip turn and backstroke flip turn while swimming
- Front and back crawl, elementary backstroke, breaststroke, sidestroke and butterfly
- Sculling
- Plus age-appropriate water safety topics
Level 6—Swimming and Skill Proficiency
Refines the strokes so participants swim them with ease, efficiency, power, and smoothness over greater distances. Level 6 is designed with “menu” options that focus on preparing participants for more advanced courses, including the Water Safety Instructor course or other aquatic activities, such as competitive swimming or diving. Each option also includes applicable water safety topics. The level 6 class will be taught in the summer and will be held at the Waverly Outdoor Pool.
Arranged private adult swim lessons are available in October, November, January, February, March, and April.
Cost: $70 for 4 25-minute lessons