I know this is an age old question, but would love to hear some current thoughts. Did you switch schools in order to have 2 or 3 separate classes? Why did you do it? Are you glad you did it?
Thanks much,
Camille

Our girls were in class together from preschool through 5th grade.
They did beautifully together, helping each other with homework, rarely "telling" on each other and developing both same and separate friends.
Our girls are not identical but similar in looks. I have never had a teacher who had issues with them being together. Many expressed apprehension before having the girls in class but everyone has said it was never a problem and that a visitor to the class would never know they were siblings.
Our girls have different strengths, interests, hobbies and are involved in some different/some same sports. None of this was my doing. They expressed and interest and we went along with it. I was never one to "make sure they have their independence".

We started separating in 6th grade because our school only has 2 classes of each grade and to give the girls "their own class" we needed to do it over 3 years. So far (they are in 7th) each has enjoyed being in class alone but hasn't expressed distaste for being together either. In reality, they have been with the same group of kids for so long, I think all the girls feel like sisters!

We made the decision to separate only because we knew the high school they will go will have 8 times as many freshman as their 8th grade class so odds are they will be in many separate classes. We didn't want high school to be the first time they were "alone".

Good luck in your decision. Only you know your kids best.




Judie and Victor
lucky parents to
Frankie 3/95
Maggie 7/96
Rose 7/96
Elizabeth 7/96

My BBG are 14 and they are in same class. I think thati is the best for them.

Camille,
I responded to your post in the elementary age forum, but here I go again (IMHO) I am glad I was able to get them in seperate classes for 1st-4th. It has been good for them for different reasons. When I talked to the principal about placement next year, he asked me if I would be ok with 2 of them in the same class. I told him it would be fine for Rebecca to share a class with one of the boys but please keep the boys seperate. Rebecca needed a seperate class to help her learn she could do things on her own. She is still shy but she no longer depends on the boys so I'm ok with her sharing a classroom.
My boys need to be seperate for the reasons I talked about in previous posts. It is so hard for Jacob to see how good he is when his brother always seems to out-shine him without really trying. I am angry with myself for not listening to my instincts and keeping them seperate for baseball last year. I knew it was becoming an issue but I hoped it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Jacob liked playing baseball, now he won't even play catch with his brother in our back yard. He knows he can't play as well, so he just stopped trying. Watching your kid give up on something he likes really breaks your heart.
My kids get along great (for the most part, lol.) They don't point out when one of them struggles with something, they don't go around telling eachother "I do ____ better than you." In fact they often try to encourage one another. They do care about eachother, and look out for eachother. Just when one has to work hard at something and another doesn't, the one who struggles can't help but take notice.
If you have any questions about seperating, let me know. I know it is not the right choice for everyone but it has been for us.

Shell~
B/B/G 1/7/2000