Calling all Orlando area parents! Goldfish Swim School has made their appearance here in Florida, and the amazing part is the owners chose Winter Park as the first official Florida location!  

I have had the privilege of having my 18 month old son participate in their swim lessons! Over the course of just one month we have had such an enjoyable visit each time! Check out this video for a tour of what the experiences is like! 

Mark your calendar! This event is a great opportunity to check out the facility and see all the features they offer!

Goldfish Swim School You can find more details about the grand opening on the event posted through Facebook. Click here

 

The Facts


Goldfish Swim School is a franchise and has over 65 locations open or in development around the country. They provide swim lessons and water safety instruction to infants and children ages 4 months- 12 years. Classes are offered by professional, trained and certified instructors in a safe, child-friendly and fun environment.

Click here to view the list of classes offered and to register!

The owners of this Winter Park location are also a husband and wife team (Jon and Gina Thomas) and they have two younger children. They relocated from Columbus, OH to the Winter Park area to startup the first Goldfish Swim School in Florida! (Yes, you read that right! We’re pretty lucky here in Orlando to have this facility available to us!) As a parent, it’s always intriguing to hear the back story and learn that they’re a family orientated business! 

Amazing Features 

Goldfish Swim School


  • Air conditioned viewing gallery for parents to relax, work, read, socialize (digitally and personally) and watch their kids swim
  • An indoor swimming pool heated to a tropical 90 degrees year-round (shiver-free environment) 
  • Year-round swim instruction for children 4 months to 12 years (Click Here for a list of classes)
  • Family swim time!
  • An environment that presents a tropical vibe, leaves you with that “happy feeling”
  • small group lessons 
  • variety of days times and length of classes 

Our 1st Swim Lesson Experience


Goldfish Swim School Goldfish Swim School

 

As my 18 month old son and I walked inside of the pool area we were greeted by two swim instructors already in the pool with an Elmo and Goldfish puppet and what child doesn’t like puppets, AND Elmo! Such a smart idea on their part! This was a wonderful way to get warmed up and comfortable with the water!

My son and I stepped into the pool with big smiles! Usually when you step into the water it takes a while to get use to it, and quite honestly that’s the worst part for little ones (and me!), but NOT at Goldfish Swim School! They offer a “shiver free” environment, even when you step out of the water! Tropical oasis that is! 🙂 As a parent I’m very thankful for this amenity because it’s one less thing I have to worry about with my little one shivering or refusing to get in the water because it’s “cold”. 

We participated in the mini 2 session (you can click here to check out the pricing and details). We were in a group setting and the instructors had smiles on the whole time, they were also so calm and engaging with the children. Here’s the best part throughout the whole lesson…Are you ready?!

​Each learned swim skill was taught to the tune of a familiar children’s song!

We started with a hello/welcome song and throughout the lesson other songs were introduced. Think about when your child hears a familiar tune, they usually get excited or feel more “at ease” in an unfamiliar environment! This is a genius idea and it also helped me as a parent to understand the skills taught and to hopefully remember them. Researchers say learning with songs incorporates a more suitable learning environment! At one point in the lesson we were singing “twinkle twinkle little star” while practicing the back float and a little girl was just singing her heart out to the familiar tune! It was too cute!

Here’s a short video that provides more insight on what the mini lessons are actually like! 

Highlights from the lesson:


  • songs and puppets were incorporated
  • safety swim skills were taught in a fun environment
  • shiver free environment
  • with support we learned the pulling paddle swim

With Support, we learned:

  • to hold onto the wall
  • how to climb out of the water
  • to kick and stroke with our arms (Little Johnny was doing the two scooper! haha!)
  • to back float
  • how to hold onto the edge and get out of the water
  • to walk on a floating device and jump off into the parents arms (Little Johnny’s favorite!)

 

What’s all the “hype” about little ones taking swim lessons at a young age? 


I’m specifically going to target this questions towards living in Florida, but quite honestly this refers to anywhere! We live in a state where “water” is easily accessible all year long. When starting at a young age with learning to enjoy water and develop proper safety skills, it reduces the chances of developing “a fear of water”. When children are comfortable with water, then they are more prepared to prevent the unimaginable…drowning. We all know water is everywhere, so teaching children how to be safe in water lowers the risk of accidents. Plus, the goal isn’t for children to grow up “fearing” water, but to enjoy the fun activities it presents and learn how to be safe in it.

5 Reasons Why Your Child Should Learn to Swim Now

As a parent I am so thankful for a wonderful opportunity within the Orlando area for my little one! I can definitely see my son developing a life-long love of swimming with the help of Goldfish Swim School

Make sure to visit their social media accounts and show some love by following them for updates! 🙂

Facebook   |   Instagram   |   Twitter

See you in the pool! 

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