Butterfly
To swim butterfly, you basically have to move your body like a wave, starting with your head and letting your hips follow. You pull both arms back through the water at the same time and then swing them over the top like big wings. While your arms are doing that, you have to do two "dolphin kicks" with your legs glued together, one kick when your hands dive in and another when they push back. The trickiest part is the breathing: you just pop your chin up for a quick breath during the pull, but make sure your head is back down before your arms land so you don't lose your rhythm.
Backstroke
To swim backstroke, you basically just lie on your back and keep your body super flat like a board so you don't sink. You move your arms in a big circle, one after the other as one hand reaches back to enter the water pinky-finger first, the other one is finishing its pull down by your leg. While your arms are going, you have to do a fast, steady flutter kick with your toes pointed, kind of like you're kicking a soccer ball but with straight legs. Just make sure to keep your chin up and look straight at the ceiling so you stay balanced and don't accidentally swim into the lane line!
Breaststroke
To swim breaststroke, you basically move like a frog by alternating a "pull, breathe, kick, glide" rhythm. You start with your arms out front, sweep them out in a small circle to pull yourself forward, and pop your head up for a quick breath. As your hands tuck back under your chest to reach forward again, you do a big "frog kick" by snapping your feet back and together. The most important part is the glide at the end, you have to hold still for a second with your arms and legs totally straight to slide through the water as fast as possible.
Freestyle
To swim freestyle, you just lay flat on your stomach and reach your arms forward one at a time, like you’re grabbing something far away and pulling it back to your hip. While your arms are switching, you keep your legs moving in a fast, steady flutter kick with floppy ankles to keep you moving. Instead of lifting your head straight up to breathe, you just roll your face to the side into your armpit whenever you need air, then tuck it back down to look at the bottom of the pool. The goal is to stay as long and straight as possible so you can slice through the water like a spear.