The Swim Basics program includes three stages for preschoolers: Stage 1 Water Acclimation, Stage 2 Water Movement and Stage 3 Water Stamina. The Swim Strokes program includes one stage for preschoolers: Stage 4 Stroke Introduction.

Classes for new swimmers

  • Ages: Three through five years
  • Class length: 30 minutes
  • Parent participation: A parent must be in the pool area for all lessons involving children age six years and younger
  • Seven-class session cost: $55 for members and $109 for non-members, your child must be a Y member to receive the discounted rate

Choosing a level

With Y Swim Lessons, it’s simple—just sign up for Preschool lessons and we’ll determine the appropriate stage for your child.

Register for Preschool lessons

Swim Basics

In this program, preschoolers learn personal water safety and achieve basic swimming competency by learning two benchmark skills—swim, float, swim and jump, push, turn, grab.

Preschoolers develop comfort with underwater exploration and learn to safely exit in the event of falling into a body of water. This class is for kids who aren’t yet comfortable going underwater voluntarily.

In this class, your child will:

  • Bob to submerge in the water
  • Front and back glide to the wall for five feet with help
  • Front and back float for 10 seconds with help
  • Roll from back to front and front to back with help
  • Jump, push, turn, grab with help
  • Swim, float, swim 10 feet with help
  • Exit the water

Preschoolers focus on body position and control, directional change, forward movement in the water and continue to practice how to safely exit in the event of falling into a body of water. This class is for kids who aren’t yet able to do a front and back float on their own.

In this class, your child will:

  • Submerge to look at an object on the bottom of the pool
  • Front and back glide to the wall for five feet
  • Front and back float for 10 seconds
  • Roll from back to front and front to back
  • Jump, push, turn, grab
  • Swim, float, swim five yards
  • Tread water near the wall for 10 seconds
  • Exit the water

Preschoolers learn how to swim to safety from a longer distance than in previous stages. The class also introduces rhythmic breathing and integrated arm/leg action. This class is for kids who aren’t yet able to swim 10-15 yards on their front and back.

In this class, your child will:

  • Retrieve an object in chest-deep water
  • Swim on their front and back for 10 yards
  • Roll from back to front and front to back
  • Jump, push, turn, grab 10 yards
  • Swim, float, swim 15 yards
  • Tread water for 30 seconds
  • Exit the water

Swim Strokes

Having mastered the fundamentals, preschoolers learn additional water safety skills and build stroke technique.

Preschoolers learn the front crawl, back crawl, breaststroke kick and butterfly kick. This class is for kids who aren’t yet able to swim 15 yards of front and back crawl.

In this class, your child will:

  • Swim the front crawl with rotary breathing for 15 yards
  • Breaststroke kick for 15 yards
  • Butterfly kick for 15 yards
  • Elementary backstroke for 15 yards
  • Dive from a sitting position
  • Tread water using a scissor and whip kick for one minute
  • Swim any combination of strokes for 25 yards