We live in northwest Minneapolis, but are willing to travel. If you've had good swimming lesson experiences, will you share? We want to sign up the 6 and 4 year old. We did Foss last summer but might want to do something a bit cheaper this time around.
Look no further than your own neighborhood. Jim Lupient Waterpark. Not sure if you are around during the day but they go 6-7 consecutively so that they can really build on what they are learning. We thought it worked better for our 3-year olds than the one a week trying to convince them to get into a cold Y pool.
We went with the Family Swim School, in Eagan and Lakeville, which is probably too far for you to drive. And it's similar in cost and method to Foss. However, I found the extra expense to be worth it to have more mature, experienced teachers, warmer water and smaller class sizes. Both of my boys turned into good swimmers. My 16-year-old has his lifesaving certificate and my 13-year-old just completed the swimming portion of middle school gym. The only kid in his class who could swim better than him is on the swim team. That said, both the YMCA and Community Ed programs through your school district offer more reasonably priced swimming lessons. FYI, our YMCA has experienced, adult swimming teachers, but the Community Ed programs usually employ high school and sometimes college age teachers (if that matters to you). A lot of people in our area have had good results with YMCA swimming lessons. Nothing against the Community Ed programs, especially since that is how my older son got his water safety aid and lifesaving certificates, but just so you know what to expect and can make an informed decision.
My recommendation is Foss but you could try the YMCA? We used our community center and it didn't go so great which is why we switched to Foss. Just better instructors who knew how to handle young kids rather than a high school student.
Foss is a bit expensive, but it's worth in, in my opinion. We tried a community ed class, but it did not work well. All 3 of my kids went to Foss, and they all swim like little fish! I've heard some people having a decent experience with the Y, but I think you'll see more improvement more quickly if you stick with Foss. Good luck!
