Should I put DD's 1 & 2 in the same pre-school class?

[wibblydibs]

DD1 starts school in Sept and is currently at the school pre-school. DD2 starts pre-school at Easter so they'll have a term together. The school mixes pre-school and reception together in two classes, so they could be in the same class for a year and a term.

So, I can't decide whether to put them in the same class. The school says it's up to us, the girls want to be together - I just worry that DD2 might follow DD1 around then be a bit lost when she moves into year 1. Does anyone with small age gaps have any experience of this?

Thanks

my sons are 11mths apart. I wasnt keen on putting them together, but in preschool there was no option, and they were fine. both in school now and every other year are in the same class. they love it! even when not in class together they play with each other at lunch time, so id say go for it. trying to keep them apart doesnt work!! i was worried they wouldnt have their own friends - but they both do.

x

My dd1 and ds, then ds and dd2 each were in preschool together for a term. I think it actually helped the younger one settle and then they enjoyed the 'freedom' when the older one went into primary 1 (we're in Scotland).

I would go for it.

There's pros and cons.

My 3 children are each a year apart, so there has been overlap in preschool for each of them.

The obvious great advantage is that they have the reassurance of following an older sibling, which can help ease any separation anxiety.

However, I found with DD & DS1 that he continued to be very heavily influenced by her in preschool, e.g. he would always choose the same activity, play with the same children etc. She would also make decisions for him, e.g. 'It's apple for snack and we don't like apple, do we DS1?' He loved being in preschool with her but certainly blossomed more in his own right once she had gone up into school.

With DS1 & DS2 in preschool together, it was quite different. DS2 went his own way and made his own friends from day 1.

For me personally, I wouldn't be too worried about them being in preschool together, but I'm not sure that I'd want them to be in the same class once your older child is reception age. I think they need a bit of space to do their own thing. But that's based on the personalities of my children, and only you can be the judge of how your DDs will respond to this. It's definitely a personality thing.

Thanks very much for the responses.

I think we're going to put them together for the first term and see how it goes. They could always be separated after the summer hols. I'm sure I'll feel like I'm doing the wrong thing no matter what I do

Thanks again.