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418 Carlton Avenue, Cloquet, MN 55720Monday to Thursday: 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. · Saturday: 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. · Friday and Sunday: ClosedMonday to Thursday: 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.Woman owned(218) 555-0106
Minnow Swim School
Book a placement visit
Book a placement visit
CallBook a placement visit

Swim lessons in Cloquet, Minnesota

A warm pool when it is cold outside

Minnow is a small swim school in a former gym, with one warm pool and five instructors. We teach ages 3 to 12 in five levels, and every swimmer starts with a short placement visit in the water.

Book a placement visitSee the five levels
  • Ages 3 to 12
  • Five levels, five cap colors
  • A warm lobby with a window onto the pool
A teaching pool seen from the shallow end, the still water running toward the deeper end under tall windows, with no one in it

Five levels

Five levels, five cap colors

Each level has a cap color, an age range and a short list of what swimmers practice. A placement visit tells us where to start, and the instructor decides when a swimmer moves up.

  1. 01

    Bubbles and steps

    Yellow cap, ages 3 to 5
    Skills

    • Walking in by the steps, holding the rail

    • Blowing bubbles at the surface

    • Letting the face get a little wetter each class

    • Moving along the wall with the instructor's hands close

    Moving up

    When the walk in and the bubbles are calm, the instructor suggests Floats.

  2. 02

    Floats

    Orange cap, ages 4 to 6
    Skills

    • Floating on the back with the instructor's hands for support

    • Floating on the front with a kickboard

    • Kicking from the wall and back again

    • Reaching for the wall to rest

    Moving up

    When floats and kicks hold steady with support, the instructor suggests Kicking and gliding.

  3. 03

    Kicking and gliding

    Green cap, ages 5 to 8
    Skills

    • Kicking on the front and on the back

    • Pushing off the wall into a glide

    • Pulling with the arms while holding a board

    • Turning the head to take a breath

    Moving up

    When the glide and the kick carry a swimmer a few body lengths, the instructor suggests Arms and breathing.

  4. 04

    Arms and breathing

    Blue cap, ages 6 to 10
    Skills

    • Freestyle arms with a breath to the side

    • Back crawl arms

    • A width of the pool, then another

    • Treading water with the instructor close

    Moving up

    When freestyle and back crawl carry a swimmer across the width, the instructor suggests Distance and technique.

  5. 05

    Distance and technique

    Purple cap, ages 8 to 12
    Skills

    • Freestyle and back crawl in one swim

    • Breaststroke kick

    • A length of the pool without stopping

    • Turns at the wall and streamlined pushes

    Moving up

    There is no level after this one; the instructor sets new goals with each swimmer every session.

Where to startBook your placement visit

Sample levels.

Every swimmer moves at their own pace.

Classes this winter

Afternoons Monday to Thursday and Saturday mornings, by level and age.

Winter session

Showing 21 of 21

  • Monday

    • 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm

      Yellow cap

      Kellie · 30 minutes

      Ages 3 to 5Bubbles and stepsOpenRegister

    • 4:15 pm – 4:45 pm

      Orange cap

      Camilla · 30 minutes

      Ages 4 to 6FloatsOpenRegister

    • 5:15 pm – 6:00 pm

      Green cap

      Maiv · 45 minutes

      Ages 5 to 8Kicking and glidingWaitlistRegister

    • 6:15 pm – 7:00 pm

      Blue cap

      Kerwin · 45 minutes

      Ages 6 to 10Arms and breathingOpenRegister

  • Tuesday

    • 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm

      Yellow cap

      Annalise · 30 minutes

      Ages 3 to 5Bubbles and stepsOpenRegister

    • 4:15 pm – 4:45 pm

      Orange cap

      Camilla · 30 minutes

      Ages 4 to 6FloatsOpenRegister

    • 5:15 pm – 6:00 pm

      Blue cap

      Kerwin · 45 minutes

      Ages 6 to 10Arms and breathingFull

    • 6:15 pm – 7:00 pm

      Green cap

      Maiv · 45 minutes

      Ages 5 to 8Kicking and glidingOpenRegister

  • Wednesday

    • 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm

      Yellow cap

      Annalise · 30 minutes

      Ages 3 to 5Bubbles and stepsOpenRegister

    • 4:15 pm – 5:00 pm

      Blue cap

      Maiv · 45 minutes

      Ages 6 to 10Arms and breathingOpenRegister

    • 5:15 pm – 6:00 pm

      Green cap

      Camilla · 45 minutes

      Ages 5 to 8Kicking and glidingWaitlistRegister

    • 6:15 pm – 6:45 pm

      Orange cap

      Kellie · 30 minutes

      Ages 4 to 6FloatsOpenRegister

  • Thursday

    • 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm

      Orange cap

      Kellie · 30 minutes

      Ages 4 to 6FloatsWaitlistRegister

    • 4:15 pm – 5:00 pm

      Purple cap

      Kerwin · 45 minutes

      Ages 8 to 12Distance and techniqueOpenRegister

    • 5:15 pm – 6:00 pm

      Green cap

      Maiv · 45 minutes

      Ages 5 to 8Kicking and glidingOpenRegister

    • 6:15 pm – 7:00 pm

      Blue cap

      Kerwin · 45 minutes

      Ages 6 to 10Arms and breathingOpenRegister

  • Saturday

    • 8:00 am – 8:30 am

      Yellow cap

      Kellie · 30 minutes

      Ages 3 to 5Bubbles and stepsOpenRegister

    • 8:45 am – 9:15 am

      Orange cap

      Annalise · 30 minutes

      Ages 4 to 6FloatsOpenRegister

    • 9:45 am – 10:30 am

      Green cap

      Maiv · 45 minutes

      Ages 5 to 8Kicking and glidingOpenRegister

    • 10:45 am – 11:30 am

      Blue cap

      Kerwin · 45 minutes

      Ages 6 to 10Arms and breathingWaitlistRegister

    • 11:45 am – 12:30 pm

      Purple cap

      Kerwin · 45 minutes

      Ages 8 to 12Distance and techniqueOpenRegister

Sample classes.

Times change by term; the enrollment page has this session's.

Between the car and the water

What to bring on a cold day

The lobby is warm. The walk to the car is not, so a few things go in the bag.

Everything to bring

  • A big towel

    Wrap up from the shoulders down before you leave the deck.

  • A warm hat

    Wet hair feels the cold at once. It goes on in the lobby.

  • A warm coat

    It goes over the towel. Boots wait by the bench.

Instructors

Five instructors, one warm pool

Every instructor holds the checks listed on our safety page, and you can meet them at a placement visit.

All five instructors
  • Kellie Bergman, owner and lead instructor, in a green swim shirt by the pool entrance

    Kellie Bergman

    Owner and lead instructor

    Kellie taught elementary school before she turned a former gym into Minnow. She teaches Bubbles and steps and Floats, and she keeps the front desk calm.

  • Kerwin Bridgeman, instructor, in a blue swim shirt with a towel over his shoulder at the pool

    Kerwin Bridgeman

    Instructor, Arms and breathing and Distance and technique

    Kerwin learned to swim in a lake that is warm for a few weeks of the year, which is part of why he likes teaching in a warm pool. He teaches the two oldest levels.

  • Maiv Lauj, instructor, in a green swim shirt holding the rail beside the pool steps

    Maiv Lauj

    Instructor, Arms and breathing and Kicking and gliding

    Maiv teaches Arms and breathing and Kicking and gliding. She likes to show a stroke slowly on the deck before anyone gets in the water.

  • Camilla Barrios, instructor, in a yellow swim shirt beside a rack of kickboards

    Camilla Barrios

    Instructor, Floats and Kicking and gliding

    Camilla is studying to be a teacher and teaches Floats and Kicking and gliding after her own classes.

  • Annalise Baird, instructor, in a white swim shirt standing on the pool deck

    Annalise Baird

    Instructor, Bubbles and steps and Floats

    Annalise teaches the youngest swimmers on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons and Floats on Saturday mornings, with a song for every step into the water.

From families

What families say

“The lobby window is a good seat in January. I watched my five-year-old walk down the steps with her instructor beside her, and I may have cried a little.”

Agatha J.Parent of a five-year-old

“They asked what we would like to start with, not what we had already done. Class ends, towel on, hat on, and we are out of the door in good order.”

Orsolya M.Parent of two swimmers

“We keep a hat in the bag all winter now. The instructors know my son's name by the second week and which cap is his.”

Latrelle T.Parent of an eight-year-old

Sample reviews.

Book a placement visit

Pick a time on our enrollment page, or call the front desk. Bring a towel and a hat.

Book a placement visit
Phone(218) 555-0106
Hours
Monday to ThursdayToday
3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
SaturdayToday
8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Friday and SundayToday
Closed