Our First Year of School: What We've Learned

The school year FLEW by and my twins are officially be FIRST GRADERS. What?! Where did time go? I am not gonna lie: this summer is going to be a rough one...but I'm ready!  Library here we come!

Last year at this time, we had a major decision to make: keep the kids together or in different rooms. Since kindergarten is full day now, it required a lot of thought.  Each family is different, but I do have some tips and things to think about when you are making the big classroom decision.

• Dependency: how much to they rely on each other? Can they spend time apart?  In school, you want them to be able to make their own friends and have a chance to be individuals.  If they are attached at the hip, that may not happen.  In preschool, the twins were quite independent, so I felt having them in the same classroom would be okay.
• Talk with the teachers.  They have been doing their job for quite some time--they know what's up.  Ask them their thoughts on having twins in the same classroom.  Getting to know the teachers at an open house can also help you decide if you feel a better connection with one teacher, too! 
• Comparisons.  If your twins are alike and do everything together, you might want to separate them just so they aren't comparing each other.  We don't compare our girls, at least we try not to...but it's hard for kids to not look at each other.  Maddie wasn't quite ready to read yet, but she was trying SO hard--but Olivia got the hang of it quickly.  This was somewhat stressful for Maddie because she felt as if she wasn't good enough.  No matter if they're in the same or different classrooms, this will happen. 

We chose to keep the twins together for kindergarten, but separate them after.  This gave them the opportunity to have each other to lean on, if needed.  Also, they can get used to the new schedule without too many other stressors.  Olivia would have been okay in her own classroom, but Maddie needed a little extra support.  

It is CRAZY how different kindergarten is now from when I went to school.  Their schedule was packed with learning!  I was shocked when our teacher told us they will be reading by Christmas--but sure enough, they started reading in the end of the fall.  What!?

To sum it up, it was an amazing year.  Getting the hang of the whole school schedule took some time, but we did it! I have a few quick tips for parents heading towards their first year of school with their kids, twins or not.

• Get Organized Early. This took us the longest to figure out. We had papers all over the place until like the last month.  Your kids will bring home SO MUCH.  It's really hard to know what to keep.  Here's what I finally figured out:
• Get a clipboard for any documents that need to be returned, or important event papers.  Keep it somewhere safe--those papers tend to get lost easily. You can file papers in an accordion large envelop from the dollar section at Target to keep other papers in.
• Have a work station. Even though your kids are at school all day, they will want to show you what they've learned or work on letters/numbers/math.  Small dry erase boards are perfect AND cheap!
• Have a method to the paper madness. I decided to only keep papers that seemed like they were making progress on something: first addition papers, first sight words learned, etc.  Make sure it has their name and a date on it.  It's fun to compare in the end of the year!  Get a BIG BOX to keep all papers and artwork in.
• Schedules are EVERYTHING. If at all possible, stay on schedule all week.  Eat dinner at the same time and keep a routine. The kids will know what to expect and it will help them know what's next.
• Don't be a stranger.  Helping out in the classroom really helped me get to know the school and other parents in the classroom.  It's fun to see how the school works and meet other teachers, too! Obviously do what you can and even if you can only make a PTA meeting or two, that's better than nothing! 
• LABELS. We found amazing no-iron washable labels at Meijer and put one on EVERYTHING. Remember, kids lose things quite easily.  THINK: individual mittens/gloves, shoes, backpacks, lunch-boxes, water bottles, etc. I daily had to remind the girls to grab something they had forgotten at school.

Next fall we have Gabby starting preschool and it will be a whole new world once again.  Parenting definitely keeps you on your toes, doesn't it?

Do you have any first-timer tips to share? Are your twins/kids older and you have tidbits of info for me? Comment below!