Frequently Asked Questions

Enrollment for classes will be available in Spring 2024.

Currently each private 1:1 lesson is 20 minutes long. Twenty minutes is an average amount of time a child’s attention span will allow the most focused learning on new or challenging skills. I schedule lessons back-to-back, so will use the last minute of each class to lean over the pool edge and share with parents how their child is doing or what they can work on at home.

Please email me at goswimwithheidi@gmail.com if you notice the schedule is completely booked. I will add you immediately to my waitlist and reach out to you with other options.

I currently only teach from my home pool at this time. The address will be directly emailed to you once you are scheduled in my calendar. I live over by the college in Moorpark.

I teach infants to adults! Infant age to 2 years old is a great time for water introduction and SO many safety skills can be incorporated around a pool edge that can translate during off season, at the beach, rivers, lakes, or even the bathtub. I also recommend a child start lessons as soon as they can walk, as this is the age when they will most likely want to walk themselves right into a pool, unknowing of the dangers below. Developmentally 2.5 - 4 years old is where we will see quicker growth and understanding of concepts in the water, as their motor control, coordination, and muscle strength can be applied to a greater degree.

I usually send out an email in March to my past year’s swim families and anyone who has requested to join my email list. In the March email I will announce dates of enrollment and potential summer schedule. On the designated “sign up date” my calendar will become open and you will click BOOK NOW to reserve your swim lesson slots. ALL SIGN UPS ARE ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS ONCE THE DESIGNATED DATE ARRIVES. Enrollment on the designated date is highly recommended as slots fill very quickly. If you are a late comer to my schedule, don’t worry! I always have a running waitlist and somehow additional slots seem to open up.

Please bring your signed liability waiver (attached below), a swimsuit, towel, and goggles if your child likes goggles. Apply sunscreen minimally if possible! The build up of chemicals accrues over time and creates imbalances in the pool. If your child is not potty trained please bring a disposable swim diaper AND a swim diaper cover if possible. If there is a poop accident in the pool without these diaper covers, I need to cancel the remainder of the day to sanitize things and makes for a rough day.

This year lessons will be $110.00 for a 3-day session. If you are looking for a single swim lesson as a refresher class, for stroke technique, or for whatever reason, it will be $40.00 per 20 minute single slot. I take every minute of my lessons very seriously and am not interested in wasting anyone's time or money, so a single lesson is slightly more per 20 minutes, as I will be even more efficient with those minutes of instruction because we haven’t had the 3 days of instruction build up to go off of like a 3-day session provides. Please pay for your lessons AT THE TIME OF SERVICE. Pre-paying is not recommended, and is not necessary to hold your slot time. I accept PayPal, Apple Pay, cash or check on the day of your child’s lessons

I only teach private lessons for several reasons. A twenty minute time slot is short and I like to maximize instruction and your child’s focused attention as much as possible during this time. I also specialize and get many students with hesitations and fear of water or depth and the one on one instruction creates a safe, more controlled space for the child to explore and understand the actual concept of water, breathing technique, depth perception (sinking and floating) all without the judgment or pressure of peers or energy that may not match their own on a given day. I am always open to semi-private lessons. If children are at a similar level and looking to gain more stroke technique, please reach out or ask me directly for a semi-private style lesson!

It is natural and common for me to work with children who are very emotional. Taking on swim lessons takes courage and commitment for anyone, any age, and sometimes parents are ready before the child. I have a very genuine empathetic approach to my lessons who are very upset and crying. I strongly suggest parents tip toe around the house corner, or mention they need to “get something from the car real fast” so the child doesn’t reach for their parent and try to climb out of the water. This will allow your child to see me, hear me, and learn to trust me in their vulnerable situation. Some swimmers with a lot of fear to overcome take 2 lessons to develop this trust. If you know your child will fall into this category I highly recommend signing up for multiple 3-day sessions so we can use the first 3 days to build rapport and assign some homework to build some amazing confidence at home, in the bath or shower, or in a local hot tub. You’ll be amazed at what 3 consistent days can accomplish for your little one.

Yes! I am confident a warm comfortable pool will impact how your child learns, especially if they are young. I usually heat the pool to 85 give or take, unless its an extremely warm day outside it might be a few degrees cooler. When a chlorinated pool is heated, this requires more chlorine (an unfortunate pay off of the comfortable water), so rinsing your child off real fast is a great option as I have a solar heated pool deck shower for anyone to use 🙂

I strongly recommend starting lessons off WITHOUT goggles, to learn the most natural way possible without feeling the need for ‘gear’ to be successful. However, I like implementing goggles for a few reasons and will try introducing them to most kids. I do have a chlorinated pool, and some sensitive eyes do need the goggle protection even after a few minutes of swimming. All my swim lessons will try swimming with and without goggles at some point, the last thing we want is the goggles to be a crutch of some sort. Children who are reliant on goggles tend to believe they can not swim without their goggles and I like to squash that misconception pretty fast to ensure water safety, no matter what situation they might find themselves in someday. I do have goggles to borrow if you don’t have any!

As a mom I completely understand with kids this means unexpected situations will arise! So if your child is coughing, ill, shows signs of COVID-19, or if any other unusual problem arises, I get it, cancel your lesson for the better interest of your family and my health. This is another reason I prefer payment at time of service, I will not charge you for your missed lesson and you will not need to ask for a refund. However, please keep in mind there is a waitlist every summer of many other families with children hoping to learn and be water safe just as badly as anyone else and if you cancel at the last minute it will be hard for me to offer your canceled slot to them without decent notice. Please be considerate of your cancellations and my very limited schedule. I can not guarantee a make up lesson to anyone but will always reach out if an opportunity arises.