Category: FOSS Program

New parents have no shortage of questions about what’s best for their children, and other parents and experts have no shortage of answers. When it comes to the question of when a baby should start swimming lessons, the answers are as diverse as you might expect, but in our professional ...

When you teach kids, you have a chance to see the world through their eyes. They notice and are curious about things that grownups dismiss or simply never think to ask about. Our teachers have heard a lot of questions over the years, and we go out of the way ...

In addition to group classes, FOSS offers more specific and individualized environments for learning through private and semi-private instruction. First, the facts: Private classes involve 1:1 instruction with a teacher, while semi-private offers 2:1 instruction (our typical group class will have a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio.) A semi-private class must ...

With fall classes back in session, parents everywhere are getting back in the habit of checking backpacks and reminding their kids to get their homework done. While you’re at it, don’t forget to do swim school homework too! Our teachers only get a short time with students each week, so ...

At Foss Swim School, we truly believe that every child can learn to swim. When it comes to swimming classes for special needs kids, we encourage parents to reach out to us before registering, so we can develop a plan together that offers the best chance of success and progress ...

As a rule, students do better in school when they have parents who are engaged. This is true of swim school as well – but the way to engage here is a little different than what you might do at elementary school. First and foremost, we want you in the ...

Does it ever seem like maybe your young child is having TOO much fun in swim class? While we certainly enjoy the giggles, laughter and smiles of the kids we teach, they are actually a very serious component of the teaching approach at Foss Swim School. The games we play ...

Teaching swimming classes for special needs kids can be uniquely rewarding. Just ask D’Ar Zirbes, a Site Director at Foss Swim School who has instructed numerous kids with a range of developmental and physical challenges. D’Ar said the most important thing a parent of a special needs child can do ...

There are countless ways to have fun and love water, and being a confident swimmer makes all of them safer and more enjoyable. The Foss Swim School program is built to teach swimmers mastery of four primary strokes, but of course those aren’t the only ways to swim. Why do ...

In the more than quarter century since Jon Foss started teaching swim classes, we have been continuously refining and improving our curriculum, but always following the same approach to teaching and the same concept of mastery through progression through the program. The FOSS Swim Path™️ is the latest evolution of ...

While you’re celebrating all of the teachers in your life this week, we want to also celebrate the amazing teachers who work here at Foss Swim School. Teaching kids to swim is about more than skills and technique – it’s about building relationships and trust and the art of making ...

Foss Swim School takes pride in operating like a school, using a structure and schedule that delivers the best possible learning environment for students. It’s why we schedule weekly classes in quarters instead of drop-in classes – quarters allow students and instructors to develop rapport and trust and give students ...

Just to be clear—we love swimming. We would swim every day if we could, and can point to plenty of evidence that—like any skill—the more frequently and consistently a student practices, the faster a student typically learns and masters that skill. Since swimming is a physical activity as well, kids ...

For many parents, a core reason to enroll in swim lessons is safety—helping their kids gain enough swimming skill to increase their chances of getting to safety and safely exiting the water in an emergency. At Foss Swim School we agree wholeheartedly. That’s why our program is designed to produce ...

Learning to swim is good for kids in a lot of ways – for safety, of course, for physical health, and even for cognitive development. But did you know that, as a structured activity, swim school and swim teams also can help kids succeed socially? Swimming can be competitive or ...