This post is sponsored by Big Blue Swim School and The Motherhood.
One thing that is really important to me is that my boys learn how to swim, so they’ve taken years of swim lessons. I’ve tried out at least a dozen different places, from park districts to swim schools to gym pools to highschools that hire student teachers, so I feel we have kind of tried it all and have discovered what works, and what doesn’t work, when it comes to swim lessons for my family. Recently we tried swim lessons at Big Blue Swim School and I was really happy with our experience there so I wanted to share about it because it checks so many of my boxes when it comes to what I want a swim school to have.
Big Blue Swim School operates four year-round swim schools in the Chicago suburbs: Niles, Hoffman Estates, Wilmette, and Buffalo Grove. We visited the Hoffman Estates location for our swim lesson and a tour of the facility. There are three main things that set Big Blue apart from other swim schools- their teachers, the flexibility they offer, and the quality of their facilities.
Big Blue Swim School is the only swim-lesson provider that exclusively hires and trains full-time teachers. They also have weekly training which I thought was a great idea because a more consistent and better-trained teacher will always give a better experience. What I liked most about their staff was how they all interacted with the students. It wasn’t just the swim teacher in the water with the child but I felt like the staff worked as a team to teach the children. Throughout the lesson the pool supervisor would come and offer tips to the child based on what he was seeing from the pool deck because it’s a different angle than their swim instructor sees. They also all seemed to encourage the kids and they would call out with words of encouragement when a child was doing a great job which I loved. Overall, the whole team seemed to enjoy their job and it showed through their interactions with each other and with the children.
As a mom, I think my favorite thing about Big Blue is how convenient scheduling is for busy families. They offer more lesson times than any other swim school and they have built their own proprietary software platform that allows families to choose a lesson time that works for all their kids with one click. This means families don’t have to make multiple trips to the pool just because siblings were unable to find a time where they could both swim. The software also allows families to log into their account from any device and track their kid’s progress, move their lesson times, schedule FREE make-up lessons, add additional lessons, and update personal information in just a few easy clicks.
Best of all, you aren’t locked in to a certain day and time which is great when children’s sports and activity schedules change with the seasons. This has been the biggest problem I’ve had with other swim lessons because it was so hard to move to a different schedule when baseball season turned to basketball season and what worked for the previous schedule did not for our new one. Big Blue Swim School really goes above and beyond to make things as convenient as possible for parents!
In addition to a great staff and convenient scheduling, Big Blue Swim School has nice facilities that are clean and family-friendly. They have spacious individual changing rooms which parents of multiple little children will appreciate. The floors are carpeted with a special fall-proof, anti-microbial carpet to keep kids from slipping on wet floors. They also have a viewing area where parents can sit in a comortable atmosphere and watch the lesson. Big Blue provides free WIFI for parents, plus toys and activities for siblings waiting with their parents.
The swimming pool area is nice as well. The pools are shallow and have an open design, allowing swimmers to get in and out with ease. Kids will enjoy the warm, 90-degree water that is gentle on their skin. Big Blue pools also have saline systems and ultra-violet filtration which provide a state-of-the-art defense against waterborne illnesses and harsh chemicals.
Overall, my kids and I loved our experience at Big Blue Swim School. If you are near one of their locations I encourage you to go in for a free trial lesson and check it out. There is no registration fee for swim lessons and, if you sign up now, Big Blue is offering six swim lessons for $60 when you sign up for weekly lessons – a discount of more than 50% on standard prices. You can learn more and sign up for your free trial lesson here.
Do your children take swim lessons?
That sounds like a great place to learn! My kids get lessons in school :)
Learning to swim is so important. It’s one skill that every kid should learn! This sounds like a great way for them to learn.
I think it is very important that kids learn how to swim. Where I live there’s a lot of swimming pools and I do not want to worry about my kiddo drowning.
We are not near Chicago but this school could help my brother and his kids who live in Chicago. They seem to be safe and have the whole system down so well and I will share this.
Swim school is super important. I so remember when all three of my children were in swim school, such fun moments!
I remember how hard it was to teach my son to swim! I will definitely have to suggest this to anyone who is looking for an easier way to teach their child to swim.
That looks like a great program. It’s so important to learn basic swimming and safety skills.
My husband can’t swim, so we gave both of our kids swim lessons. It seems like Big Blue is a great place to learn.
My son started swimming lessons when he was a baby! He loved it!
Swim lessons are so important. I love indoor swim instruction, so you can learn year-round.
My kids love their swimming lesson! Glad that it wasn’t difficult for them to learn swimming because it is an important skill to have.
I am glad to read that they have trained teachers. It is good to learn these type of skills from professionals as safety is the major concern.