About
La Petite Baleen Swim Schools offers swimming lessons using a child development-centered curriculum and an Aquatic Classroom® program. The program includes year-round swim lessons, a ribbon level system, and free swim lessons for babies 2–5 months. Lessons use orderly progressions and sequential drills, along with homework suggestions for families to supplement lessons.
• Schedule: Year-round swim lessons; on average, it takes about 3–5 years to complete all 5 levels at LPB.
La Petite Baleen Swim Schools has been providing award-winning swimming lessons in the Bay Area since 1979. The program began in the backyard pool of co-founders John Kolbisen and Irene Madrid’s Half Moon Bay home in 1979. Teaching life skills through swimming in their AQUATIC CLASSROOM® is one of their stated philosophies, and their motto is “Pace, Pattern, Compassion, and Fun!” Teachers are described as highly trained to read body language and open up the line of communication with their students. The curriculum includes a focus on water safety awareness and emphasizes emotional skills such as listening to and following directions, social interaction and teamwork, respect for oneself and others, and overcoming obstacles and facing fears. The organization also emphasizes community building and offers a developmental aquatic program that balances love and discipline.
Parent feedback includes comments about patient and kind instruction, clean and welcoming facilities, and strong foundations in water safety and family bonding through caring, interactive instruction. Other parents describe missing the instruction and community at La Petite Baleen Swim Schools and note that the foundational skills their children built there will stay with them.
Last updated May 15, 2026.
• Schedule: Year-round swim lessons; on average, it takes about 3–5 years to complete all 5 levels at LPB.
La Petite Baleen Swim Schools has been providing award-winning swimming lessons in the Bay Area since 1979. The program began in the backyard pool of co-founders John Kolbisen and Irene Madrid’s Half Moon Bay home in 1979. Teaching life skills through swimming in their AQUATIC CLASSROOM® is one of their stated philosophies, and their motto is “Pace, Pattern, Compassion, and Fun!” Teachers are described as highly trained to read body language and open up the line of communication with their students. The curriculum includes a focus on water safety awareness and emphasizes emotional skills such as listening to and following directions, social interaction and teamwork, respect for oneself and others, and overcoming obstacles and facing fears. The organization also emphasizes community building and offers a developmental aquatic program that balances love and discipline.
Parent feedback includes comments about patient and kind instruction, clean and welcoming facilities, and strong foundations in water safety and family bonding through caring, interactive instruction. Other parents describe missing the instruction and community at La Petite Baleen Swim Schools and note that the foundational skills their children built there will stay with them.
Last updated May 15, 2026.
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