About Zen Penguin
Who we are, and how we teach.
Zen Penguin was built by neurodivergent teachers who wanted swim lessons that work with a child's nervous system instead of against it. We teach every real swim skill, and we get there with information and consent.
On this page: What a lesson is like · The method · Who teaches · Our values · Scholarships · How we've grown
1 · The lesson
What a lesson is actually like
Thirty minutes, one coach, no surprises.
Your child's coach meets you at the steps. Before anything happens, they say what's about to happen — getting in, getting wet, what the first game is. If your child wants to sit on the edge for a while, that's where the lesson starts. Nobody is hurried into the water.
Every lesson has the same shape: a hello, a few minutes of play that is secretly the skill, the skill itself, and a goodbye your child can count on. The order stays the same from week to week, because predictability is what lets a nervous body relax enough to learn.
You sit on the bench, officially off duty. We keep sensory toys out there too. When the lesson ends, your coach tells you what they saw and what comes next.
2 · The method
Backfloat to Breathe™
Breathing first. Strokes later.
Most swim programs teach a child to hold their breath and go under on day one, ready or not. We get there too, once your child knows what's coming and says yes. We start with the back float, because a child who can float on their back can always get a breath — and a child who can always get a breath is safe.
From there we work in the order a body actually learns: comfortable, then buoyant, then moving. Strokes come last, after your child trusts the water and trusts us.
These are the rules of the method. Nobody is dunked. Nobody's face goes in before they choose it. We tell you what's going to happen before it happens, and we ask before we touch you — every time.
3 · Who teaches
Every coach learns the method first.
Zen Penguin was built by neurodivergent teachers, and every coach is trained in Backfloat to Breathe™ by Penny herself.
Penny P.
Founder & swim instructor
Wrote the Backfloat to Breathe™ method and trains every instructor on it.
How every coach is trained
The same standard for every coach
Red Cross certified to start.
100+ hours of Backfloat to Breathe™ training. Two years beside a senior instructor.
The same coach for your swimmer
every week.
[PHOTO]
Lynn [LAST INITIAL]
[ROLE]
[ONE-LINE BIO]
[PHOTO]
Lani [LAST INITIAL]
[ROLE]
[ONE-LINE BIO]
[PHOTO]
Logan [LAST INITIAL]
[ROLE]
[ONE-LINE BIO]
[PHOTO]
Elena [LAST INITIAL]
[ROLE]
[ONE-LINE BIO]
[PHOTO]
Liz [LAST INITIAL]
[ROLE]
[ONE-LINE BIO]
[PHOTO]
Haley [LAST INITIAL]
[ROLE]
[ONE-LINE BIO]
“As if flipping a switch, Penny changed her approach. She tailored her interactions with my child to reduce demand. She opted to model behaviors rather than require that he perform them… While there's an art to what Penny does, there is also very clearly a science.”
— Lucy Rimalower, parent
4 · Our values
Seven things we won't compromise on
First time these are written down in public. Same seven on the Careers page.
Consent first.
We ask before we touch, and we tell you before we do.
Fear is information.
A child who is afraid has assessed the danger correctly. We don't argue them out of it.
Regulation before instruction.
Nervous systems co-regulate. A calm coach is the first lesson.
Staff are held the way kids are held.
Thriving wages, 100+ hours of training, two years beside a senior instructor.
Neurodivergent-led.
Zen Penguin was built by neurodivergent teachers, and that shapes everything.
Cost shouldn't decide who learns to swim.
Our scholarships are funded by the families who swim with us.
Small on purpose.
Private pools, tiny classes, the same coach every week.
5 · Scholarships
Cost shouldn't keep your family from the water
Ask about our scholarship program. Mention it when you book, or email us, and we'll talk through what's possible for your family.
6 · How we've grown
From one pool to two
Zen Penguin started at the Puddle, a small private pool in NE Portland, with one coach and a method that didn't exist anywhere else. Families who had been asked to leave other programs stayed. Word got around.
Our second pool, the Pond, is in Clackamas inside Clackamas Day School — the same method, the same calm, on the south side of town.
We're staying small on purpose. Two pools, tiny classes, and instructors who train for a hundred hours before they ever work with your child. Growth, for us, means more families held well — not more kids in the water at once.
Try one lesson.
Your child meets their coach.
You talk about how they learn, what they're nervous about, what they love.
Then they get in the water — or sit at the edge, whatever they feel ready for.
By the end, you'll know if Zen Penguin is right for your family.
If it is, we find you a weekly spot!
Questions first?
Zen Penguin Swim School
Sensory-friendly swim lessons for ages 3 months to adults, in two private indoor pools in Portland and Clackamas. Built by neurodivergent teachers.
Need a human?
[email protected]
We answer within two business days.
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