Both Kids in Same Class?

[preppy]

Our daycare is set up in 4 classes - baby, toddler, "3 year" class and pre-K. S is currently in toddler which is 18mo - 3 year olds. The state cut off for K is Sept 1 and her bday is Sept 16. Our daycare offers the option of doing the extra year in toddler or the extra year in 3-year to anyone born in Sept. We can't do the extra year in the pre-K class as that class abides by the state Sept 1 cutoff. 

If we select to keep her in the toddler class about 4 of her current classmates will be in her class while the rest would move up. P would also be in that class as she will be 18mo in August before the Sept switch. We love the toddler teacher and love the class and are leaning toward keeping her in that class since she will be in the group of peers who will eventually be her classmates in pre-K, K etc. I am wondering how much of an impact being in the same class as her younger sister could have, if any. If she moves to the 3 year class with how the school is setup P and S will never be in the same class.

Does anyone have any experience with having siblings of different ages in the same class? They get along great at home and are currently 12mo and 28mo.

[pooh8402]

No personal experience, but my friend who has twins does everything possible to keep them separated. I think it's to allow them to forge their own personalities and playmates, rather than just being with each other all the time. She also said that they fight less at home since they're not around each other all day.

[kath16]

Oh wow, that is a big gap for one class. How big is the class? How often to they ALL do activities together?

I would probably lean toward moving her up to the 3s, but that's mostly based on my own toddler and his abilities and not so much the idea of the two kids being in the same class.

I think whatever you decide will be fine!

[preppy]

Feb 7, 2018 13:16:22 GMT -5 kath16 said:

Oh wow, that is a big gap for one class. How big is the class? How often to they ALL do activities together?

I would probably lean toward moving her up to the 3s, but that's mostly based on my own toddler and his abilities and not so much the idea of the two kids being in the same class.

I think whatever you decide will be fine!

total the class currently has 16 kids, but some kids are tu/th and some are m/w/f. My kids go 5 days and I honestly don't know exactly who is there each day. 

S would be fine in the 3 class - her toddler teacher said she has the skills/abilities and is potty trained I just really like the toddler teacher a lot. The 3 year teacher is nice but just doesn't seem to have the same energy.

She will be fine either way for sure but eventually will always be the oldest kid in her class, though you are right 18mo-3yr is a bigger difference than a 4 to 5 yr old in terms of ability.

[minniemouse]

Move her to the 3 year old room. I imagine she would be bored in a class with 18mo-2 year olds for an extra year!

[momin2013]

I would keep her with the kids she'll go to pre-k and k with as much as possible; we've found that DS has formed some really good friendships with the kids he was in pre-k with, and is still friends with them now in k.

[preppy]

Feb 7, 2018 13:26:32 GMT -5 momin2013 said:

I would keep her with the kids she'll go to pre-k and k with as much as possible; we've found that DS has formed some really good friendships with the kids he was in pre-k with, and is still friends with them now in k.

Two of her closer friends in her class have Oct bdays so they will be in the toddler class. She would make other friendships in 3 year but these oct bday kids will be her classmates ongoing (of course pending people moving which happens). We do have a lot of military families in our daycare so there is a decent amount of new kids coming/going every year as well. 

[noodleoo]

I'd move her up. I find P does better when she's with older kids than younger kids. I'd much prefer her to be the youngest in the class than the oldest. And I do think it is good for siblings to be separated at school if possible to let them learn independence from each other.

[vtdiamond]

My twins were in the same room at daycare up until Preschool. Starting at preschool they started having problems together. Any time DS would misbehave DD would start copying him, the teachers noticed they behaved better apart then together. They are currently in separate rooms - DD is still in preschool room and DS went to the class right before with a bit younger kids.

We're going to try to put them back in the same classroom next month and will see how it goes as DS's current classroom isn't doing the same level of lessons, projects, etc as DD's room is doing. If I had the option of 2 identical rooms with equal numbers of kids I would keep them separated, but unfortunately that's not an option at our center.

[miamigirl]

I would definitely move her to the "3 year" class. I'd want her to have her own space away from her sister, also she might be bored with the younger kids.

[smock]

I'd move her up, even though you like the teacher. If she's already potty trained, she's on a completely different level than the 18 mo kids and will probably benefit more from socializing with older kids. Plus, if she's already going to be the oldest once she's in school, this is one of her last chances to be one of the younger kids learning from older peers.

As someone with kids close in age, l think they benefit from having separate friends and activities at daycare.

[preppy]

Feb 7, 2018 13:34:28 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

I'd move her up. I find P does better when she's with older kids than younger kids. I'd much prefer her to be the youngest in the class than the oldest. And I do think it is good for siblings to be separated at school if possible to let them learn independence from each other.

Eventually she will be the oldest in her class either way just due to where her bday lies and our state cutoff but I see your point:)

[preppy]

Feb 7, 2018 13:40:31 GMT -5 smock said:

I'd move her up, even though you like the teacher. If she's already potty trained, she's on a completely different level than the 18 mo kids and will probably benefit more from socializing with older kids. Plus, if she's already going to be the oldest once she's in school, this is one of her last chances to be one of the younger kids learning from older peers.

As someone with kids close in age, l think they benefit from having separate friends and activities at daycare.

This is a good point I hadn't considered. 

[nessness]

I wouldn't have a problem with them being in the same class - think of how many kids either have SAHPs or attend in-home daycares where they're with their siblings all day. But I'd still move S up - I find DD1's verbal skills and behavior improve when she's around older kids, and her 3s class does lots of activities that she enjoys that would be hard to do in a class that includes 18-month-olds - stringing beads, using scissors and glue, etc.

[raangoli]

I would move her to the 3 year class, she will benefit from being the youngest for a period and then also have the separation from her sister as well.

[hbomdiggity]

Feb 7, 2018 13:33:03 GMT -5 preppy said:

Feb 7, 2018 13:26:32 GMT -5 momin2013 said:

I would keep her with the kids she'll go to pre-k and k with as much as possible; we've found that DS has formed some really good friendships with the kids he was in pre-k with, and is still friends with them now in k.

Two of her closer friends in her class have Oct bdays so they will be in the toddler class. She would make other friendships in 3 year but these oct bday kids will be her classmates ongoing (of course pending people moving which happens). We do have a lot of military families in our daycare so there is a decent amount of new kids coming/going every year as well. 

This + preference for toddler teacher leans me to having her repeat the toddler class.

Either way, she will repeat a year, so there is chance she'd be bored repeating the 3 class too. I'd rather keep her with her friends and the teacher you like best. and it sounds like the teacher will make sure S isn't bored.

One thing mentioned in the montessori post, is that it is good for older kids to be a model for the young ones. I wouldn't worry too much about the sisters being together. this happens in our current daycare since there are just two rooms and the siblings have their friends.

[pinkpeony08]

We use a multi age daycare, so our kids are in the same class. My younger started daycare at 4 months - in the same room. They have been in the same class for all but about half a year when our new daycare wasn't quite up and running at full capacity and there wasn't space for your youngest. I think it has fostered an incredible bond between the kids. They absolutely adore each other, and they get along great (now almost 3 and 5.5 years). I would be hesitant at this point to move them to a daycare where they were not together because they love it so much (and being together so much).

They do play with other kids at daycare, not just together, but my older one does things like help coach the younger one what to do when another child is being mean. I really can't say enough good things about it. SaveSave

[lynn07]

I would move up to the 3’s classroom just because I think it’s beneficial to learn from some of the older kids. DS1 has a bday right after our state cutoff, so now he’s always pretty much the oldest kid in class. I think it’s good to have some separation, too. DS1 & 2 are 13 months apart and spend A LOT of their time together (pretty much every extra activity they do, they end up in the same group because of their closeness in age, and their school does 2 year blocks, so they have the same recess, same centers times, etc), so I think it’s good for them to have sometime apart and learn how to function separate from each other.

[nextbigthing]

Move her up. No question

[magpie]

I would move her up. She will make new friends. The kids in my daughter's preschool class seem to be "best friends" with a new person every other day!

[macmars45]

Move S up.

I'm a twin. My parents separated us as often and early as they could. We spent so much time together as it was that they wanted us to get time away from each other.

[boiler717]

I know our school asks for siblings to be separated but I’m not sure why. I think I’d lean towards moving her up.

[preppy]

Thanks all. I talked to S’s teacher more about it at pickup and while she said she will be fine either way, her official recommendation is to move her up, so I am going to go with that. I think keeping the girls separated for the school day will also be good as they get a little older.