Earlier this year my girls (6&4yrs) started lessons at Goldfish Swim School. Getting lessons was super important to me as we spend significant time at the lake over the Summer and in the pool with friends, and my husband and I love to scuba dive so we want them to have confidence swimming and respect for water. This was our youngest's first experience with lessons, she loved the water but needed puddle jumpers and wasn't able to swim without them. We had done some lessons with my oldest daughter in years previous but we found that it was really hard to find someone well recommended and who we could have consistent lessons with. Note* we have many amazing local highly recommended ISR instructors, but ISR wasn't a good fit for our schedule at the time

So when the Goldfish Swim School in Madison opened and they reached out to me about partnering with them* I was ecstatic. A place that is open all year round, has a front office to help schedule, and lots of time/day options. Plus, had come highly recommended from friends who had experience with other locations around the US. I was so excited.

We've been doing lessons each week and my girls love it, the facility is gorgeous, the staff are super friendly, weeks that we missed due to sickness/travel were quickly rescheduled, hair washing day was no longer a fight (they have showers poolside), and best of all they are able to have their lessons at the same time. This is a huge perk because as a busy parent, this saved me time and energy. My top three things I love about Goldfish:

1. Let me just say this again, especially for those of you with 2+ kids, they can have simultaneous lessons-- huge time saver!

2. The small group (usually 3-4) lessons were tailored to the child's skill level.

3. Convenience. This is a great YEAR ROUND option, scheduling is made easy, and it's right in the heart of Madison.

This Summer I've really been able to enjoy seeing all their hard work in lessons come to life. Both my daughters are now swimming confidently without help from an adult or a floatation device. My oldest daughter is now in the PRO level and is learning new swim strokes, flip turns, and her confidence in the water is growing each day. My youngest is working on her GLIDER level and can swim BY HERSELF!!! and this mama is more at ease.

**Update** November 2023

Swim Force, here we come! My daughter completed and passed all her PRO level skills and was invited to join the Goldfish Swim School Swim Force. This is something that she has been working towards for a while now, and it's been amazing watching the encouragement and support of the Goldfish team as she mastered the necessary skills.

What is Swim Force?

Once a child has mastered their PRO swim levels, they will have the exciting opportunity to join our Goldfish Swim Force swim team! This is a fun, friendly team environment where students continue to work on their swim skills, while building character and confidence along the way. The in-water coaches train and encourage swimmers between the ages of 5 and 12 to master the four major swim strokes. These sessions are one hour, once a week, with a swim meet once per quarter. The recreational swim team is an opportunity to hone skills further and to get a feel for competitive swimming for those who are interested in moving into youth sports.

We LOVE Goldfish Swim School and I'm super excited to share her Swim Force experience as the weeks go on. Learn more about Goldfish Swim School HERE

*Goldfish Swim School has provided me with the experience of swim lessons. #GoldfishPartner, #GoldfishMadison, #GoldfishSwimSchool