Mermaid differs from ISR in a few ways. ISR methods may submerge a very beginner student repeatedly to get him/her to rotate onto his back to breath and float alone as a method of survival. Their lessons are typically 10 minutes long and occur daily over the course of many weeks. Mermaid Swim School (MMSS) focuses on developing a foundation of learn-to-swim skills that occur in a voluntary progression, ultimately being able to swim back to the side of the pool and get out independently, if he/she jumps or falls in. MMSS strongly considers the emotional well-being of your child, enhancing their experience with a loving, fun, and positively reinforced environment so they develop a positive long-lasting relationship with the water. We offer flexible scheduling and a variety of lesson lengths tailored the student’s individual needs.

During the first lessons for children under the age of five, the instructor focuses on getting your child comfortable in the water and also building trust. As the lessons progress, the focus will be on the child’s ability to get back to pool edge if they have jumped or fallen in.

The amount of time it takes to accomplish this depends on past experience in the water, comfort level when starting lessons, consistency of lessons, and amount of practice in between lessons. Typically, there is significant improvement within the first eight lessons and parents are quite satisfied.

 Infants, toddlers and children who are resistant of the water will likely benefit from continual lessons. Others who continue with lessons do so because want to continue to advance their skills and are enjoying them!

If you do not have a pool at your home, we can come to any pool within our areas served. We suggest asking friends or family if you may borrow their home or subdivision pool, or better yet, ask them to join and have group lessons! We can also teach lessons at any local beach and many community pools.

You should reserve classes as soon as you decide that you would like to have them. During our busy season, we often book 3-4 months in advance, especially for highly requested times slots such as mid-morning and after school/work hours. We will accommodate last minute requests as best as possible.

Mermaid Swim School is happy to accommodate travelers for short trips. We recommend getting as many lessons as possible during your stay. If we can not schedule eight lessons then we will prorate the cost.

We do not typically offer trial lessons because one lesson is not indicative of the progress that can be made over the course of eight lessons. Swimming lessons are commonly the first experience a child has taking direction from someone other than their parents, so the first lesson is spent getting acquainted and building trust, as well as assessing the student’s ability.

If you need to postpone due to travel, child’s progression, illness, etc. then Mermaid can offer the following options:

1. Switch instructors: If you believe a different instructor may be a better fit then we are happy to accommodate.

2. Lesson credit:  If your schedule changes or you want to hold off for a couple of months, Mermaid offers placing the unused lessons on your account until you are ready.

3. Partial refund: Mermaid will offer a refund for any lessons they were not able to complete. 

Also, click HERE to read our full terms & conditions and cancellation policy.

We suggest 40-minute lessons for the following: group classes, children who are timid of the water, children with very active attention spans, private coaching, and adult lessons.