our boys are 3, 5, and 6 - or will be by the time summer is over. none of them have ever had swimming lessons before and we keep meaning to sign them up for them. swimming lessons are in abundance here, but i can't quite figure out the system, or the ages, of when to introduce them to water-without-floaty-devices.

the logistics are enough to make me batty: if all swimming lessons are in the morning, i'd have to take all three boys with me to take one boys to his age group or water-experience lesson. what do the other boys do while while the one is having a lesson? what if i have to get in the water with the youngest? then what do the older two boys do while we're in the water?

we take the boys swimming as a family, and it's one of our favorite things to do all year round (the Y in the winter for evening swims, the outdoor pool for hot summer day swims). i couldn't take all three boys swimming by myself. they all have different swimming personalities: rowan is not a head-under-the-water kind of swimmer. sawyer can't wait to be underneath the water and adam loves the water, but can't quite figure out the holding his breath or blowing bubbles under water thing. they all want to be in different depths of water at the same time. this is why having two parents in the pool with all three boys is necessary.  they wear floatie devices when we go into a pool, usually. and i rely on them as much as they do. and that makes me a bit nervous - i never had a floatie device when i was younger, and i want them to be able to learn how to keep their head above water without the floatie, but we're not experienced swimmers ourselves (we can swim without drowning) so have no idea how to teach them that ability.

so what about you? have your kids have lessons? if not, are you planning on giving them lessons? at what age? if you're not planning on ever giving them lessons, why? and how will you teach them to swim, or at least to not drown?

i dream of the day when we can go to the pool all day long, all summer long, and i can relax and not freak out about...the unthinkable.