Swim Lessons available seasonally in the Greater Portland and Vancouver area

Your child will be swimming in 6 weeks or less!

Certified ISR lessons to teach your child how to be an aquatic problem solver and how to save their own life!

One-on-One Survival Swim Instruction

Every child is unique. Our individualized, private ISR lessons are tailored to your child's unique needs, pace, and personality. We provide focused attention on your child, helping them learn self-rescue skills step-by-step while building confidence as they go!

Refreshers for Returning Swimmers

Children grow and develop rapidly during early childhood, and their swim skills need to adjust as they grow. Refresher lessons are shorter sessions, designed for students who have already completed ISR lessons and need to keep their skills fresh. These classes reinforce their survival skills, adjust for growth and changes in their proportions, and keep your little one confident and capable in the water year after year.

Maintenance Lessons for Practice

Maintenance lessons provide continued practice for children following their initial ISR lessons. Regularly scheduled weekly or even monthly lessons help keep your child's skills fresh while supporting long-term confidence and safety. Contact us to see what maintenance schedule makes sense for your little one!

Individualized Private Lessons

I will provide instruction to your child that emphasizes developmentally appropriate skill training and ongoing program evaluations including but not limited to health issues along with parent education.

Typically children aged 6 month to 1 year old will learn to hold their breath, find the surface of the water, roll onto their back and float unassisted, they will learn to hold that position until someone can save them.

Children over one year will learn to hold their breath, find the surface of the water, swim with their head down and eyes open, roll onto their back and float, rest and breathe and roll back over to resume swimming until they reach safety (pool wall, land, stairs, etc.) or can be rescued by an adult.

Refresher Lessons

Refresher lessons will be needed at least once per year and are approximately 2-3 weeks in duration. This will reinforce the skills learned as their bodies grow and change, building on prior skills and developing stronger self rescue abilities.

I will provide instruction to your child that emphasizes developmentally appropriate skill training and ongoing program evaluations including but not limited to health issues along with parent education.

Maintenance Lessons

Maintenance lessons are held periodically to refresh and maintain skills, sometimes for a refresher before a vacation or just for fun to keep skills sharp.

FAQs
Is it the baby fat that makes them float?
Actually, the primary factor in a baby’s ability to float is the ability to take air into the lungs. To maintain this access to air, the child must adjust his/her posture. The difference in positioning for an adult can be inches. For a baby, this adjustment is reduced to centimeters. If a child’s body posture is just a few centimeters off, it can make the difference between the face being submerged or the child having access to air.
How do the kids react during the first few lessons?
Children often fuss during the first few lessons because they are in a new environment and around new people. As your child becomes more confident in his/her ability in the water, the fussing will decrease. It is not unlike the first time you tried a new exercise class or were asked to perform a task at work that you’d never done before: the first time you try a new task it is always challenging, until you get the hang of it. It is the same for your young child. Your child is learning to perform a skill that he/she’s never done before.
Why does it take an average of 6 weeks for my child to learn this?
The 6-week average is an estimate that is based on the average time in which it takes most children to learn these survival skills. Every child is unique and ISR’s Self- Rescue program is specifically designed based on your child’s individual strengths and needs. It is important to realize that this is an average which means that some children will actually finish more quickly while others will need more practice. ISR is dedicated to safety and, therefore, we want to provide your child with the time and best opportunity to become proficient in his/her survival skills. We will always honor your child’s needs.
How is it that babies can learn to respond to the danger of water when they fall in?
A baby does not need to perceive danger or be afraid to respond appropriately to being underwater. If a baby has learned to roll over and float when he needs air, he doesn't need to perceive danger in order to respond in this manner. He needs skill, practice and confidence to calmly deal with the situation.

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