ML Interest Tag: community-college

Ready, Set, Swim! Best Swim Lessons for All Ages

by LeTania Kirkland Smith

Living in L.A. means an impromptu dip in the pool or ocean is not just limited to the summer months. Luckily, the city has lots of swim schools to suit every type of swimmer, and some are even available year round. From Parent and Me to private lessons in your own pool, the options are plentiful. With our go-to list, you are sure to find lessons that best suit your little swimmer’s age, skill level, and personality so they can swim safely all year long.

photo: KidSwim

KidSwim

KidSwim specializes in developmental swimming lessons tailored to the needs of each child. They also welcome kids with special needs. Little swimmers will begin with basic water-safety skills, learn proper breathing techniques and then on to more advanced lessons to propel themselves through the water. KidSwim offers private lessons and parent and me classes at your own pool or at one of its six locations in Mar Vista, Hollywood, Miracle Mile, North Hollywood, Pasadena, and Reseda. KidSwim CEO, Lisa Cook also offers free water-safety seminars, which will help you get acquainted with the KidSwim style.

1-888-579-SWIM
Online: kidswim.org

photo: Waterway USA

Waterway USA

If you’re looking for year-round swim lessons, Waterway USA in Long Beach is one of the great, local options. Professional swimmer Stella Furmanov founded Waterway USA in 1995 after her infant son was injured in a drowning accident. Furmanov made it her mission to emphasize the importance of water safety from even the youngest age. Water safety and water fun are at the forefront of Waterway USA’s goals and every instructor is a swimming expert or water polo player. Waterway USA takes a developmental approach to their lessons in that certain goals are set for each age group and lessons begin from 2 months on. Lesson are held in an indoor, heated pool, which makes it possible for your little fishies to keep up their swimming game during any season. Group, private and semi-private lessons are available.

Online: waterwayswimschool.com

photo credit: Lenny Krayzelburg Swim Academy

Lenny Krayzelburg Swim Academy

The Lenny Krayzelburg Swim Academy was founded in 2005 by four-time Olympic Gold Medalist Lenny Krayzelburg. The center focuses on the “SwimRight Method,” which uses the swim-float-swim technique to help your wee water ones develop the skills and confidence to be safe in and around water. Kids learn to first flip to their back to float if they were to fall in the water or get in trouble during swimming. After learning these basics skills, swimmers can advance to more advanced lessons like learning the four competitive strokes: freestyle, backstroke, butte, fly, and breaststroke. Get your future Olympians started here!

5870 Olympic Blvd.
Mid-City
323-525-0323
Online: lennykswim.com

photo: Conrad C. via Yelp

Swim to Me

Conrad Cooper has developed quite the reputation for teaching tots and adults alike to swim. He has over 45 years of swimming experience and is also a skilled scuba and skin diver. Take lessons in his own heated, saltwater pool, complete with a lovely garden and piped music. It’s a truly unique LA experience. Want to have the lessons at your pool or friends? Cooper will come to you, just need a minimum of eight kids.

In the “Swim to Me” method, Cooper builds trust and gets right to work of teaching swimming and developing comfort in the water all while emphasizing the importance of water safety, floating, breath control and propulsion. Sessions consist of five, one-hour lessons and start at age 2 and go up from there.

Online: swimtome.com

photo: Kevin Parry via Swim to Bill

Swim to Bill

When Bill Marsh took his own two-year-old daughter to swim lessons with renowned teacher Tom Bradbury he was instantly inspired. Shortly thereafter, he became certified to teach and, in his words, allow kids to “discover” the wonder of swimming. Bill hosts classes in his heated (90-degrees) saline pool in his home in Studio City. Marsh emphasizes his respect for children while also taking a “no nonsense” approach. This doesn’t mean his classes are harsh but he gets right down to the “business of swimming” without any toys, games or manipulation. Classes are small with a limit of three swimmers per class and parents are encouraged to join their little swimmers on the final day. Marsh sets the goal of at least teaching kids to swim back and forth from parent to parent, how to get to the edge of the pool and how to swim to the stairs or walk with their hands to the stairs from the side of the pool. Sessions consist of nine, 30-minute lessons.

Online: swimtobill.com

photo credit: Rose Bowl Aquatics Center

Rose Bowl Aquatics Center

If it’s variety and lots of scheduling options you need, head up to the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena. This complex hosts classes for everyone from 6 months old on up to teaching anyone who may need a refresher in technique. There are two, and five-week sessions available. Babes can begin with “Rubber Ducky” classes that introduce them to the water and create a comfort level. From there, kids can learn to put their heads under the water, blow bubbles and then move on to preschool and school-age classes to develop swimming readiness skills, stroke proficiency and beyond. Be sure to hang out after class and watch the high dive and water polo teams work out. This opportunity makes the Rose Bowl a great place to get kids excited about all the possibilities for a life of swimming.

360 N. Arroyo Blvd
Padadena
626-564-0330
Online: rosebowlaquatics.com

photo: The Water Whisperer

The Water Whisperer

Founder Emily Cohen created her Water Whisperer technique after teaching her own kids to swim independently. With a lifelong background in the arts and years of experience in children’s education, Cohen has crafted a unique style of teaching that includes toys, fins, puppets and songs and encourages students to develop a personal swimming style. Lessons begin as young as 5-6 months and the Whisperer has a 95% success rate of teaching kids three and up to swim within ten lessons. Classes are available year-round in Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills. Custom schedules are also available.

22725 Ventura Blvd.
Woodland Hills
641-715-3900
Online: thewaterwhisperer.com

Los Angeles City College

While you may think LACC only offers community college classes, think again. LACC is a community resource, and providing affordable swimming lessons for the older set is one of the ways they serve the community. Private and semi-private lessons are available for kids seven and older and group lessons are offered to those 5 and up. There are also Family Swim lessons available on Saturdays for ages 5 and up as well. LACC has an expansive outdoor pool and is centrally located in East Hollywood just blocks from the Metro Red Line. LACC is also just blocks from Scoops Ice Cream, a great spot for potential post-swim treats.

855 N. Vermont Ave.
Hollywood
323-953-4000
Online: lacitycollege.edu

photo: Head Above Water

Head Above Water

One-on-one lessons are the ticket at Head Above Water (HAW), which offers lessons either in your own private pool or at one of their four pools in West LA, Studio City, and Toluca Lake. HAW offers beginner, intermediate and advanced classes to help kids gain a new skill set at each level and individual classes allow instructors to craft lessons based on each child’s specific needs (and/or fears) without distractions. If your littles are still getting comfortable, parent and me classes are also available. Adult classes are also available if you feel you need a refresher course. HAW offers instruction year round.

310-867-9282
Online: headabovewaterla.com

photo: YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles

YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles

Lest we forget, the YMCA is still here for the community. Along with gyms, and workout classes, many of the Los Angeles branches also provide swimming lesson. These include parent and me, preschool and kids 6-12. There are a variety of levels offered for everything from the completely inexperienced to experienced “sharks” looking to prep for swim team. In addition, joining the YMCA provides the family with tons of other amenities. Check out your local branch schedule today.

There are multiple locations all over the city, find the one closest to you on their website.

Online: ymcala.org

What are your tips for water safe water babies in your home? Share them with us in the comment section! Then, if you’re looking to go practice those new skills, check out our favorite community pools.

—LeTania Smith

RELATED STORIES:

Best Outdoor Swimming Holes

Best Family Beaches in Southern California

Resort Pools with Family Day Passes

 

 

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Wise Up & Head to Socrates Sculpture Park This Season

by Mimi O'Connor

The Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, Queens has long been a spot for cultural, natural and social enrichment for New Yorkers big and small. (Thirty years, to be exact.) But for the public park’s 30th anniversary, the institution is celebrating with a special, summer-long series of eight artist commissions, as well as tons of free, family-friendly programming both new and returning.

photo: Rich W. via Yelp

From the Ground Up
Once an industrial landfill and illegal dumping ground, Socrates Sculpture Park is now NYC’s preeminent sculpture park, as well as acting as a space for community engagement with culture and nature. To mark the three-decade milestone, the park is presenting the multi-work LANDMARK, with artist creations that physically and symbolically mark the land, while also reflecting on the park’s history and envisioning its future.

photo: Concave Room for Bees, Socrates Sculpture Park

The star of the show is the newly-commissioned earthwork, Concave Room for Bees, the title of which is not all that theoretical. A 70-foot-wide, circular earth bowl made from more than 400 cubic yards of fertile soil reaching six feet high, the work is planted with flowers, herbs and shrubs that attract pollinating creatures. Visitors can walk among the plantings, which of course will grow and evolve over the coming months; when the exhibition ends, the soil used to make the piece will be dispersed across the landscape, adding much-needed nutrient-rich topsoil to the park.

Other works in LANDMARK include Fugue in B♭, which consists of a colony of honey bees transplanted into the shell of a salvaged piano; as the bees go about doing their bee thing, they inadvertently create “music” by interacting with the piano strings. (A speaker is placed outside the closed-off area of the piece to help viewers hear the “symphony.”) Half Moon by Abilgail DeVille utilizes reclaimed materials to envision the wreckage of Henry Hudson’s ship of the same name, and recalls the Native American tribe that met the vessel, while Casey Tang’s Urban Forest Lab is a self-sustaining forest garden that will be planted with perennial vegetables. The collective ARTPORT_ will present an anthology of videos dedicated to the subject of climate change in a reclaimed shipping container, and greeting visitors will be Hank Willis Thomas’ From Cain’t See in the Mornin’ Til Cain’t See at Night (from Strange Fruit) a billboard from the park’s Broadway Billboard series.

Young fans of diggers will enjoy Cary Leibowitz’s Honk if U Love Socrates Sculpture Park, a Bobcat loader construction vehicle decorated with bumper stickers by park visitors, and anyone who wants to take a seta and rest will appreciate Open Seating, a series of open design chairs created by Jonathan Odom and painted by volunteers, staff and youth participant’s in the park’s extensive education programs.

Mark the Calendar!
As if checking out all this art on a gorgeous day wasn’t enough of a reason to visit, Socrates Sculpture Park will be hosting awesome kid- and family-friendly events all summer long! Check out our favorites here!

LIC Bike Parade
Sat., June 11

The annual LIC Bike Parade is a visual spectacle of decorated bicycles, human-powered floats made from recycled materials, and hand-painted parade banners. To help prepare for the occasion, Recycle-A-Bicycle will offer free mobile bike repair and a Kids Bike Swap; Bike New York will provide a Learn-to-Ride for kids class in nearby Rainey Park; Socrates artists will lead bike decorating workshops; and Free Style Arts Association will lead a collaborative large-scale sculpture project to create a human-powered parade float.

The parade will leave the main gate of Socrates at 2pm, travel southbound along Vernon Boulevard, and will culminate at a celebration in Queensbridge Park, where participants will commemorate the park’s 30th anniversary and the 100th birthday of urban renewal activist Jane Jacobs.

Jazz at Socrates
Thursdays; June 2, July 7, August 4
6:30 – 8 p.m.

For the first time, Socrates and The Jazz Foundation have teamed up to present a dynamic debut series of jazz in the park, featuring an eclectic range of live music by Queens-based musicians. The monthly series will culminate on August 4, Louis Armstrong’s 115th birthday. To mark the occasion, Queens-based Louis Armstrong House Museum will join in for a special tribute to the jazz legend. Following each concert, students from LaGuardia Community College will host “Tours of the Sky” with an on-site telescope.

photo: Socrates Sculpture Park

Summer Solstice Celebration
Tues., June 21

Another annual tradition at the park, this year’s Summer Solstice Celebration will feature vibrant afro-Brazilian drumming by Batala NYC, a performance and capoeira demonstrations for kids and adults by Capoeira Nago, and an eclectic selection of delicious Brazilian BBQ. Socrates teaching artists will lead art-making workshops to create musical instruments and cosmos-themed sculptures out of recycled materials, and students from LaGuardia Community College will offer “tours of the sky”. Other activities include face painting by Agostino Arts, a special Solstice ritual performed by Urban Shaman Mama Donna, and a sunset paddle offered by the LIC Community Boathouse.

Festival of Kites and Kayaks
Sat., July 9

Using recycled materials, children and their families draw inspiration from the park’s fantastic view of the Manhattan skyline to build expressive kites, and then fly them in the park. Teaching artists from Socrates and The Noguchi Museum will lead workshops for participants of all ages to produce and personalize handmade kites that explore ideas of flying, freedom, and community. Bring your cameras and sketchpads, too, because this year’s Festival of Kites will coincide with Manhattan Kayak Circumnavigation, as hundreds of kayaks paddling up the East River add a colorful backdrop to this already vibrant event.

photo: Meline V. via Yelp

Hip to Hip Theatre Company presents Shakespeare in the Park
Now in its 10th season, Hip to Hip returns to the park to present a tragedy one week and a comedy the next, performed in repertory by a professional troupe of actors. Audience members are encouraged to bring chairs, a blanket and have a picnic which taking in some Bard. 

Kids & The Classics — a children’s interactive workshop — is offered prior to each performance. Designed for children ages 4 to 14, this program offers children a chance to interact with the actors and theatrical text by previewing characters and situations, and by making comparisons to contemporary life through theater games. The children’s program is a 45-minute workshop that begins one hour before each performance.

photo: Socrates Sculpture Park

Saturday Sculpture Workshops
Saturdays; May 7 – September 24, Noon- 3 p.m.

These free workshops are tailored for kids and their families on a drop-in basis and typically integrate the themes and ideas of special events happening in the park. Head to the park’s education area, where children can work with a different artist each week, exploring innovative art mediums and a variety of subject matter. Click here to see the season’s full schedule.

Guerrilla Storytime
Saturdays; July & August,  2 – 4 p.m.

Meet at the park’s Mini Library to join Urban Librarians Unite for Guerrilla Storytime. These fun, pop-up readings with local librarians offer families open-air storytelling and sing-a-longs for children. Drop in any time to share your love of reading, as your favorite library programs move outside to the park. For more information, visit: urbanlibrariansunite.org.

Hop On the (Free!) Bus!
FYI, if the family is up for taking in all the many cultural institutions that Long Island city has to offer, you can catch a free ride with the LIC Art Bus. The bus, which stops at the entrances of Socrates Sculpture Park, The Noguchi Museum, SculptureCenter, and MoMA PS1, runs on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, from May 7 – September 11, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at approximately 45 minute intervals. Passengers are seated on a first come, first served basis. Each museum is open until 6 p.m., Socrates Sculpture Park closes at sunset.

Socrates Sculpture Park
32-01 Vernon Blvd.
Long Island city
Queens
718-956-1819
Online: socratessculpturepark.org

Have you visited Socrates Sculpture Park with the family? Chime in with a comment below! 

— Mimi O’Connor

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Green Scene: Environmentally-Conscious Fun for the Entire Family

by Ayren Jackson-Cannady

Contrary to what Kermit the Frog has to say, it is easy being green…especially around D.C. From huge family-friendly green festivals to awesome community gardening opportunities, it’s no sweat to get your environmentally-conscious crew out, learning about and experiencing the great outdoors and how to preserve it for years to come.

Photo: montgomerycountygreenfest.org

Montgomery County Green Fest
Come get to know how Montgomery County is being green! Hands-on demonstrations will show your little greenies how to save energy and reduce waste in their everyday lives. You might not even have to remind them to turn off the lights or water in your abode anymore…maybe. Transportation-fans will want to find out what fuels the energy-efficient Ride-On bus and Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission BioBus. Then, everyone can grab a sustainability-sourced lunch and enjoy the free music. Bring a reusable bottle to score discounts on drinks! Events will be held at both the Montgomery College Takoma Park/Silver Spring and Jesup Blair Local Park across the street, so check out the schedule beforehand to map out the most efficient day.

When: March 28, 2015, 11 am–4 pm
Cost: Free

Montgomery College Takoma Park/Silver Spring
7995 Georgia Ave. (Silver Spring, Md)
240-777-6507
Online: montgomerycountygreenfest.org

Photo: cityblossoms.org

City Blossoms Community Green Spaces
Whether the colors of your tots’ thumbs are green or not, drop by either (or both!) of the two D.C. community gardens that City Blossoms cultivates. City Blossoms is all about preparing the next gen in organic, sustainable gardening that thrives with the local environment and even helps their neighbors. Your gardener-in-training will help with garden maintenance and could even take home a small harvest, when available. They might even be inspired to start planting something on their own at home!

When: April – November (check days and times online)
Cost: Free

Girard Children’s Community Garden
15th and Girard Sts., NW (Columbia Heights)
(or)
Street Intergenerational Garden
1519 Marion St., NW (Shaw-Howard U)
443-854-1669
Online: cityblossoms.org

Photo: USACE HQ via Creative Commons

Howard County Green Fest: Living with Wildlife
Perfect for the animal-lovers in your herd, this year’s theme at the Howard County Green Fest is “Living with Wildlife.” Learn how Fido’s daily walk (and poo) affect the environment, how to attract butterflies to your garden, and what the buzz is all about with bees. For the caffeinated bunch, taste-test some fair-trade coffee. Later, spend an hour on an organized trail walk, or saunter among the booths to enter giveaways. In the Quad you’ll find an outdoor nature play space and green crafts for the kiddos.

When: April 18, 2015, 10 am–4 pm
Cost: Free

Howard Community College
10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy. (Columbia, Md)
443-518-1000
Online: howardcountymd.gov

Photo: greenfestivals.org

Family Fun Pavilion at Green Festival Expo D.C.
This Expo will have hundreds of exhibitors showcasing products to help you and your clan work and live green. But since navigating a crowd may not be your idea of a good time, scope out the expo map online first. Definitely plan to hang out at the Family Fun Pavilion where there will be puppet shows, interactive demonstrations, and music. Hint: the products for green kids and pets are right around the corner from the pavilion. When ready for a meal, head to the food court, which is stocked with delish gluten-free and vegan options.

When: June 5, 12pm–6pm; June 6–7, 10am–6pm
Cost: One-day, $15; Weekend $25 (discounts to be announced); Free for kids 18 years and under

D.C. Convention Center
801 Mt. Vernon Pl., NW (Mt. Vernon Sq.)
Online: greenfestivals.org/wdc

Photo: Haleyface via flickr

Derwood Recycling Center Tours
Do your tykes get excited when the recycling truck comes through the neighborhood? Do they ever wonder what happens to the paper and aluminum cans after that? Then head on over to the Derwood Recycling Center for a free tour to learn about reducing, reusing, and recycling. They’ll get to see the big sorting machine that knows plastic from metal, and find out what they can and cannot recycle at home. Guided and self-guided tours are available.

When: Groups of 10+ guided tour, Mondays–Thursdays, 10 am–2 pm; Self-guided tour, 7:30 am–5 pm
Cost: Free

16105 Frederick Rd. (Derwood, Md)
301-417-1433
Online: montgomerycountymd.gov

Are there any other green-themed activities that families around D.C. should know about? Tell us about them in the Comments section below. 

—Lisa Ng

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SNOMOMS Fall Clothing & Equipment Sale Nov 7

by Jacqui Boland

Please note that the SNOMOMS sale will be held at a new location.  We are happy to say that we have secured space in the Gymnasium of Edmonds Community College.  The floor space is more than double the size of our former location and we expect shopping to be much more enjoyable.  There is plenty of free parking on the schools’ campus for all.

SNOMOMS Fall Clothing & Equipment Sale
Saturday November 7th, 2009
Open to the public from 8:30AM-12PM
Location: Edmonds Community College ~ Gymnasium
200000 68th Ave W
Lynnwood, WA 98036
Payment: Cash & checks* only. (*local, non-business with ID upon request)

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