Asheville’s #1 Child & Family Photographer shares the best options for Swim Lessons in Asheville and a look at a beautiful Spring Portrait Session in Asheville, NC.
When my son was a baby, he visited his grandparents in Naples, FL regularly. His grandparents had a pool outside their back door and a pond beyond that. Like any anxious parent, my mind worried the entire time he was gone, that someone would forget to close the gate or lock the door and my toddler would wander out to the pool, unsupervised. As you can imagine, I was highly motivated to teach my son to swim as soon as possible. I had been a competitive swimmer and life guard (who taught swim lessons) in my youth, sooooo Noah was swimming independently by the time he turned 3! Realizing that we can’t all be swim instructors, I thought it would be helpful for the anxious parent reading this, if I put together a comprehensive list of the very best options for Swim Lessons in Asheville.
Swim Lessons in Asheville:
A. YMCA WNC – The Y is where we started with lessons when Noah turned one! We did mommy / baby swim lessons (this age / stage is more about getting littles comfortable with water, holding their breath, face in the water etc.) The Y has classes available for ages 6 months to 12 years, as well as adults. They teach private, group, and parent/child lessons.
B. Asheville JCC – I’ve been a member at the JCC for years and I can say that their swim instruction (which I’ve witnessed many times over the years) is both fun for little ones and effective! Their facility is also really nice! Note: beginning in 2024, lessons are only available to JCC members, so you’ll have to purchase a membership as well as the lessons.
C. Asheville Racquet Club – The club offers both indoor and outdoor pool options. At the Downtown location, they have a saltwater pool, hot tub, and steam room that are open year-round. Membership is required to register for Swim Lessons at the Club.
D. Shalene Swim School – Shalene has been teaching swim lessons in Asheville for years and is a much sought after option! It’s my understanding that she also teaches Survival Swim Lessons for the littlest ones (teaching a baby to roll over / float, get to the side of the pool if they were to fall in).
A million years ago (8-9ish), I used to live in the Montford neighborhood of Asheville! I had a sweet, energetic Chocolate Lab and we used to run alllllll around that neighborhood every single day! During that period of my life, I found lots of beautiful little pockets of spring flowers throughout the neighborhood that I regularly visit each year for Spring Family Photos with my clients!
The McMillan’s booked my Milestone Collection for sweet Linley when they moved to Asheville a little over a year ago! Milestone Photo Sessions (The Milestone Collection) are brief 30-45min Photoshoots in Asheville (shot outdoors on location or in studio if you prefer!) to document your child’s growth and development! These sessions are typically booked for babies at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months but as a parent and photographer, I can tell you that: day to day, you don’t really notice the subtle changes all that much but when you have these beautiful portraits to look back on, it’s really wild so see how much your child’s face & body changes every 3-4 months! With that being said, you can really book the Milestone Collection or your child of any age!
OR if your a parent who values beautiful photography but is also budget conscious, booking the Milestone Collection gives you four mini sessions for your child / family for the price of 3!!! Typically these sessions are shot within a year but if it takes a year and a half or so, I’m not gonna make it a thing!
Learn more about Milestone Collections here:
I had a little bit of an editing identity crisis with these! I typically edit in a “true to life” style with rich tones but for this little flower field / sunset set, I was really into these boho vibes….
