Separation of Power?
Kemp | March 28It’s time for more ‘Thinking Points for Parents with Twins’ or ‘THPPT’ (That would have worked so much better with audio…)
Today the topic is something that splits parents of multiples apart…
Sure, you could research it… you could talk to other parent’s of twins… you could even read a book on the subject… but the same thing that happened to my wife and I will happen to you; you’ll find opinions that are split down the middle of which option is better. I’m speaking writing blogging about the concept of separating twins in school or not.
When my twin daughters (The Peanut Butter – The PB – and The Jelly – The J) started their pre-school program last August, we had that decision to make, something I wrote about on my own blog… But the end of the school year is looming, which also means that we now have to get ready for next school year and the beginning of the end of Kindergarten.
When it was time last year to decide about splitting them up for school, it was a mutual decision between my wife (Honey Mustard, AKA HoMu) and I alone… the school district (that would be the district where I was almost chosen to be on the school board… but I’d rather not dredge-up bad memories now) had no clear-cut policy in place… so it was up to HoMu and I. After talking to other parents of multiples and doing quite a bit of research, it was the behavior of our children that ultimately prompted us to, shall we say, divide and conquer… or split them up into separate classes.
The reasoning was, at the time, The J tended to speak for, and over, The PB. So we thought that having them in different classes would benefit both of them… and after almost a year of being separated – it has. The PB has become more talkative (of course, so has The J; but that’s a family thing. Anyone reading this who has met my wife knows that…)
Now I’m not going to say that separation is the best option for everyone… if your school and/or school district leaves that decision to the parents, then I would highly suggest that you do your own research and talk to other parents (and I can almost guarantee that the opinions you get will be the same as my wife and I encountered, split right down the middle). Having said that, my best advice on this decision (and please remember that this is only my opinion - I’m not an expert) is that you gauge your children’s attitudes and behavior and use that as the barometer for making the decision.
But now comes another snag… They start Kindergarten next Fall (Should ‘Fall’ be capitalized? I can never remember…) and, while we’re in the same district for the time being (we are looking to move), and since they are both going to be in the same ‘Magnet’ program… they’re going to be in the same class… Uh. Oh.
The wife and I are a little worried about this and it’s got us asking a lot of questions…
Will they resort back to their old ways, with The J speaking for The PB?
Will they reverse rolls?
Will they both become less or more talkative?
Will Corinne ever find out what happened to Father Tim?*
Stay tuned…
* which classic TV sitcom is this in reference to?
I think I’m going to keep mine together at least through Kindergarten. It’s just easier for now.
What did happen to Father Tim?
My friends that have twins/were twins, were all in the same classes and they said in hindsight, they saw nothing negative about it. I feel for ya having to make that decision. Another point to think about in the “Would Twins Be Easier” talk. We have those around my house since twins are the extreme norm on my husband’s side of the family.
Isn’t Father Tim from Soap? I think I recall someone talking about that show when I was little and that name sounds familiar.
My twin girls (now 9 and in grade 4) have always been in the same class. At first it was for comfort (kindergarten) and then we left it up to them to decide. They have always chosen to be in the same class (yeah! Same homework, same field trips and I only have to volunteer in one class ;) Their teachers have always seated them apart from one another and treated them as individuals. They sometimes hang out together during the breaks but largely have their own buddies and interests. Keeping them together (as long as they choose to be) works for us and whatever works is a good thing :)