Swimming Lessons
We offer American Red Cross Swimming Lessons, taught by Water Safety Instructors certified through the American Red Cross. Swimming lessons are eight sessions long and run Monday - Thursday over a two-week span. We also offer Tuesday/Thursday evening classes, but space is limited. Fridays are used as a make-up day when the schedule allows.
2026 Swimming Lesson Information - COMING SOON!
Click here for information and to register!
Class Cancellations
To find out if a class is cancelled, please download the Statusfy app on your smartphone or check the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department's Facebook Page.
In the event of a cancellation, makeup dates are built into some swimming lesson sessions. The Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department does not issue credits or refunds for any classes that are unable to be made up.
Class information and Skills
Below is a chart with each swimming lesson level and the skills they will cover. If you are unsure of your child's level, please contact us at (608) 837-3449 or rec@cityofsunprairie.com.
Level | Ratio | Prerequisites | Skills Taught |
| Diaper Diver (Parent/Child Level 1) | 1 to 10 | Ages 6 months to 2 years | Parents and children learn basic skills. Parents learn how to safely work with their child in the water, including how to appropriately support and hold their child in the water and how to prepare and encourage their child to participate fully and try the skills. Children receive an introduction to basic skills that lay a foundation for learning to swim. Water safety topics are also discussed. |
| Tadpoles (Parent/Child Level 2) | 1 to 10 | Ages 2-3 years | The skills introduced in this course are built upon those learned in Diaper Diver. Participants will begin underwater exploration, buoyancy skills, water safety and more. |
| Whales (Preschool Level 1) | 1 to 6 | Ages 4-5 years | Children will learn basic aquatic skills such as entering and exiting the water safely, blowing bubbles and submerging faces, front and back buoyancy skills, water safety skills and more. |
| Dolphins (Preschool Level 2) | 1 to 6 | Ages 4-5 years; Successful completion of Whales (Preschool Level 1) skills | Children will build on the skills in the Preschool Level 1 class and begin to perform skills at a more advanced level. Children will begin to learn independent aquatic locomotive skills such as alternating arm and leg actions. |
| Piranhas (Preschool Level 1) | 1 to 6 | Ages 4-5 years; Successful completion of Dolphins (Preschool Level 2) skills | Children will continue to build their independent aquatic locomotive skills. They will improve their coordination and control of combined arm and leg actions and alternating arms and leg actions. Children will learn to successfully tread water. |
| Level 1: Introduction to Water Skills | 1 to 8 | Ages 6 and up | Participants will be oriented to the aquatic environment and learn elementary skills that can be built on as they progress through the Learn-to-Swim program. Skills will include: front and back float, kicking on back and front, submerging face for 3 seconds and an introduction to the front and elementary backstroke. |
| Level 2: Fundamental Aquatic Skills | 1 to 8 | Ages 6 and up; Successful completion of Level 1 skills | Participants will build on fundamental aquatic locomotion, safety, and rescue skills learned in Level 1. Skills will include: front/back float, kicking on the front and back and retrieving objects from the bottom of the pool. |
| Level 3: Stroke Development | 1 to 8 | Ages 6 and up; Successful completion of Level 2 skills | Participants will continue to build on their skills from the previous two levels. Skills include: Introduction to the front crawl and elementary backstroke, diving from a sitting position, and scissor and dolphin kicks. |
| Level 4: Stroke Improvement | 1 to 10 | Ages 6 and up; Successful completion of Level 3 skills | Participants will develop strength and confidence in the front crawl, and back crawl. Participants will learn the breaststroke, butterfly, sidestroke and open turns. |
| Level 5: Stroke Refinement | 1 to 10 | Ages 6 and up; Successful completion of Level 4 skills | Participants will refine their performance of all strokes and increase their distances. Flip turns on the front and back are introduced. Surface dives, survival floating, treading water and swimming underwater are also worked on. |
| Level 6: Personal Water Safety, Fitness Swimming & Fundamentals of Diving | 1 to 10 | Ages 6 and up; Successful completion of Level 5 skills | Participants will refine their strokes and turns and build endurance. Participants will improve their diving skills and learn fundamentals of springboard diving, explore the incorporation of equipment into fitness swimming workouts, land earn advanced water safety topics. |
| Older Youth Lessons | 1 to 6 | Ages 9 - 14 | This class is designed for older youth with little to no swimming experience. Basic water orientation and skills from Learn to Swim Levels 1 and 2 will be worked on. |
| Teen/Adult Lessons | 1 to 8 | Ages 15 and up | This class is designed for teens and adults with little or no swimming experience. Participants will learn basic water orientation skills with an individualized focus. |
| Adaptive Lessons | 1 to 4 | Ages 4 and up | Participants will enhance their swim skills among individuals with disabilities and other special needs. The Water Safety Instructor will construct and adapt an aquatic program specifically for each individual’s needs. |
Contact Us
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Chad Shelton
Recreation Director
Westside Community Building
2598 W Main Street, 2nd Floor
Sun Prairie, WI 53590Phone: 608-837-3449
Fax: 608-825-0716Hours
Monday through Friday
8:00AM to 4:30PM