We did swimming lessons this year. We went for the shotgun approach. One week, straight into the pool, first day “swim-to-me”, and it worked great. Ava really wanted to learn to swim, which was the main reason we did it. That, and my never ending fear of my children falling into a body water (including our bathtub) and NOT-KNOWING-HOW-TO-SWIM. So, really our goals were for her to enjoy her first experience in the water and for her to be able to rescue herself from the water should she need to. Goal accomplished (video to come soon).