About
La Petite Baleen Swim Schools offers infant swimming lessons, baby swim lessons, and formal swimming lessons that include activities such as underwater submersions, back floats, grasping the wall, and the use of goggles and fins. The program includes free infant swim lessons for eligible babies and uses songs and games to teach breath control, balance, and buoyancy, along with different holding techniques and swim positions in infant classes. Joint caregiver-baby classes keep the caregiver in the water with the child at all times, and fins are introduced at approximately 12 months of age.
• Ages: 0–17 years old
• Price: Free Infant Swim program available for 2–5-month-old infants; Free Infant Swim Lessons are subject to availability; annual membership fee will be applied at the time of registration; when a baby turns 6 months old they will be auto-enrolled into the swim program and begin paying the appropriate swim class tuition rate unless lessons are canceled before the promotion end date
La Petite Baleen Swim Schools uses its AQUATIC CLASSROOM® program with a child development-centered curriculum and a ribbon level system. The program’s motto is “Pace, Pattern, Compassion, and Fun!” and includes orderly progressions and sequential drills, a focus on pace and movement to keep children engaged, an emphasis on compassion, empathy, and reading body language, and a focus on making learning playful and exciting. The curriculum is focused on water safety awareness, and teaching life skills through swimming in their AQUATIC CLASSROOM® is one of the stated philosophies. John and Irene’s developmental aquatic program emphasizes a balance between love and discipline, and also emphasizes emotional skills such as listening, following directions, social interaction, teamwork, respect, overcoming obstacles, and facing fears.
Teachers at La Petite Baleen Swim Schools are described as highly trained, with knowledgeable Swim Formation staff, and are highly trained to read body language and open up the line of communication with their students. The program offers a 6:1 student-to-teacher ratio in infant swim lessons and has bilingual swim instructors who can teach in Spanish or English. Progress reports, phone conferences, and newsletters are used to educate and inform parents.
La Petite Baleen Swim Schools has been providing award-winning swimming lessons in the Bay Area since 1979 and has been teaching infants how to swim since its first baby swim class in 1979. La Petite Baleen began in the backyard pool of co-founders John Kolbisen and Irene Madrid’s Half Moon Bay home in 1979, and Irene Madrid wrote Wiggle-butts & Up-faces, published in 1989. La Petite Baleen’s team is dedicated to community building and invites families to visit its locations in Half Moon Bay, San Francisco, San Bruno, Redwood City, and Rohnert Park, California.
Families have shared that “the instruction was patient and kind, and the facilities were always clean and welcoming” and that they “couldn’t have asked for more,” according to Molly H. Another parent, Yadira D., stated that their daughter began swimming at La Petite Baleen Swim Schools at 2 months old and that it gave her a strong foundation in water safety and family bonding through caring, interactive instruction. Divya K. shared that their family will miss the instruction and community at La Petite Baleen Swim Schools and that the foundational skills their child built there will stay with her wherever she goes.
Last updated March 7, 2026.
• Ages: 0–17 years old
• Price: Free Infant Swim program available for 2–5-month-old infants; Free Infant Swim Lessons are subject to availability; annual membership fee will be applied at the time of registration; when a baby turns 6 months old they will be auto-enrolled into the swim program and begin paying the appropriate swim class tuition rate unless lessons are canceled before the promotion end date
La Petite Baleen Swim Schools uses its AQUATIC CLASSROOM® program with a child development-centered curriculum and a ribbon level system. The program’s motto is “Pace, Pattern, Compassion, and Fun!” and includes orderly progressions and sequential drills, a focus on pace and movement to keep children engaged, an emphasis on compassion, empathy, and reading body language, and a focus on making learning playful and exciting. The curriculum is focused on water safety awareness, and teaching life skills through swimming in their AQUATIC CLASSROOM® is one of the stated philosophies. John and Irene’s developmental aquatic program emphasizes a balance between love and discipline, and also emphasizes emotional skills such as listening, following directions, social interaction, teamwork, respect, overcoming obstacles, and facing fears.
Teachers at La Petite Baleen Swim Schools are described as highly trained, with knowledgeable Swim Formation staff, and are highly trained to read body language and open up the line of communication with their students. The program offers a 6:1 student-to-teacher ratio in infant swim lessons and has bilingual swim instructors who can teach in Spanish or English. Progress reports, phone conferences, and newsletters are used to educate and inform parents.
La Petite Baleen Swim Schools has been providing award-winning swimming lessons in the Bay Area since 1979 and has been teaching infants how to swim since its first baby swim class in 1979. La Petite Baleen began in the backyard pool of co-founders John Kolbisen and Irene Madrid’s Half Moon Bay home in 1979, and Irene Madrid wrote Wiggle-butts & Up-faces, published in 1989. La Petite Baleen’s team is dedicated to community building and invites families to visit its locations in Half Moon Bay, San Francisco, San Bruno, Redwood City, and Rohnert Park, California.
Families have shared that “the instruction was patient and kind, and the facilities were always clean and welcoming” and that they “couldn’t have asked for more,” according to Molly H. Another parent, Yadira D., stated that their daughter began swimming at La Petite Baleen Swim Schools at 2 months old and that it gave her a strong foundation in water safety and family bonding through caring, interactive instruction. Divya K. shared that their family will miss the instruction and community at La Petite Baleen Swim Schools and that the foundational skills their child built there will stay with her wherever she goes.
Last updated March 7, 2026.
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