Toddler swimming in Berkeley?
I'm looking for a swim class recommendation for my son who is almost 2 years old. We have tried the YMCA and the class is very crowded and not as fun as the class he was doing in SF at La Petit Baleen so we are looking for something more like the classes offered there. We are in North Berkeley but willing to drive a little if necessary. Thanks!
Sep 12, 2016
Parent Replies
Tim Oliver swimming near the merritt college campus in oakland.....
We've done a number of swim classes in the area and it depends what you are looking for, your child's experience level, timing and price. I can't say that I'm familiar with the classes at La Petite Baleen so that would make my response less useful but I can tell you about our recent experience with our 4-year old.
We got a groupon for Aquatech and liked the intro class. It was just 2 kids per adult and the facility is clean and the instructors are all good. We wanted classes on the weekend and it was great but we saw that it would be a long time before our child felt comfortable in the water. We could have continued but the cost was too high for us without the groupon.
Over the summer, we had a great class at Roberts Pool in the Oakland hills and it was in the evenings M-Thurs for two weeks. It was great because he was able to really make progress each day as opposed to waiting for each Saturday and taking a step back.
Currently, we are taking a class in Emeryville and it has less instruction. It is a parent/child class (the others were with just the toddler in the pool) and it is definitely focuses on singing and free play. It's great for the parents to interact with the kids in the pool but again, real swimming seems a long way off.
I can't recommend Canyon Swim School in El Sobrante highly enough. They work with kids of all ages, their pool is *warm*, the teachers are trained and experienced adults, they have a method that works, each level builds on prior classes, classes are small (if I remember correctly there are 3 to 5 per class). Both my kids learned to swim there after tries at several closer places. It's about a 20 minute drive, at San Pablo Dam Road and Appian way, but *well worth it.* I believe they offer classes only in the summer though, maybe April - September. Good luck!
Hi, the Parents and Tots class at the El Cerrito Rec Center on Saturday mornings is fun. A series just started last week, so if you signed up now you could do most of the series.
Have you tried the Albany Aquatic Center? It's a bit of a pain to keep signing up for classes (we eventually switched to Aquatech in Alameda) but indoor pool and fun classes. Our LO started there at 10 months. Good luck!
Aquatech is the closest to petit baleen in terms of structure.