Tag: swim school

Hundreds of families come through our doors each week at FOSS. And though many of our students are accompanied by their parents, we also see grandparents hanging out poolside and becoming actively involved in their swimmer’s journey, which we absolutely love! Foss Swim School has been teaching swimmers to swim ...

Many FOSS families join us and know us for our Learn To Swim program, focused first on safety and then on the fundamental skills that go into being a strong swimmer. Those who stick with us through graduation may also see that those who complete the program are getting instruction ...

By Jon Foss, co-founder and lead instructor, Foss Swim School If you are old enough to have kids, there’s a chance you were taught to tread water as a water safety skill. Parents who send their kids to Foss Swim School sometimes look at our curriculum and ask why treading ...

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 ...

If you are a first-time FOSS family, you may have heard about our Water Safety Day events: One week during both our Fall and Spring Quarters, we have all of our students review and practice key water safety activities, and review with families basic water safety tips. Our goal is ...

The toddler years are full of rapid physical and emotional changes—and also a prime time for learning to swim. Starting swim classes early gives kids a boost in safety, has been shown to help kids reach developmental milestones sooner, and gives parents the confidence to enjoy a whole range of ...

Jacob Vaas Shift Coordinator South Barrington, IL How long have you worked for FOSS? I started in January 2018 – a little over a year now! What is your favorite FOSS story? I was teaching a Little 2 who was swimming really well, and I liked to tell her she ...

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 ...

Allison Ryks Shift Coordinator Woodbury, MN How long have you worked for FOSS? Almost 3 years! What is your favorite part of working for FOSS? All of the joy! Laughter truly comes first in everything we do! What is your favorite level to teach and why? I don’t really have ...

When Rachel Garcia was about 4 years old, she had a near-drowning experience. “I was at a beach with my mom and her friends, and there was a dog that was running, and it pushed me into the water, and nobody noticed it happen,” she recalls. “I remember being under ...

Why is it so hot in the pool area? It’s one of the questions we hear often from parents and others sitting alongside our pools. The answer is somewhat more complicated than most people would expect, but the short answer is that the heat is necessary for us to deliver ...

Life happens. Kids get sick, important plans conflict with set schedules, and families go on vacation (to somewhere with water, we hope!) While swim class is important, students just can’t always make it. Fortunately, Foss Swim School has a unique way to help keep learning on track. We want our ...

There is a famous scene in the 1953 John Wayne movie “Hondo” where he encounters a six-year-old boy fishing. Upon learning the boy can’t swim, The Duke takes it upon himself to remedy the situation in the most direct way possible—throwing the boy into the water. Today we know throwing ...

When Jon and Susan Foss founded Foss Swim School in 1993, they started a program that was unlike any other in the U.S. at the time. In the years that followed, it was not yet clear that it would be a sustainable business as it grew to multiple locations. But ...

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 ...