Formerly - A look at the ups and downs of life with a double pushchair!

Tuesday 1 September 2015

She goes one way, she goes the other!

So they've been inseparable for 5.5 years and today they both took their first steps into their new Reception/Gan classroom alone.  The classrooms are in fact next to one another and in the playground at the back of each classroom, is a very low fence separating the two areas. I am quite convinced that there will be plenty of chatting over the fence during playtime!. For me however as their Mummy it was a new phase in life and I have to confess that I had been having a few anxieties about the decision ever since that fateful day earlier this year when I filled in the application forms to separate them.

One of my main concerns is that one of them would have lots of friends in her class and the other wouldn't. Well thankfully the local authority got it right and they split the nursery they were in last year into two and so on the day when I discovered the names of the Ganim that they had each received, there followed a flurry of whatsapp messages, some of which I could barely keep up with, until I had compiled two lists of names as to who was going to be in gan with A and who with E.

The girls have delighted in telling me on many occasions over the summer, which gan they were going to, the name of their teacher and reeling off the names of the girls (certainly no boys were ever mentioned) who will be with them. DH and I on the other hand have had to really try hard to memorise the name of each gan for each child, and as for the names of the other children, well as the year goes on, I guess we will become familiar with who is with who.

Last week they each had to visit their new gan to meet the teacher and see the classroom.  Last Friday I took E. It was strange just driving with E only, and as much as I know they are individuals one of the first things I found myself telling the teacher is that she is a twin and her twin is in the class next door.  I guess it's a twin thing. It is so much of who they are.
On Sunday DH took A to her new gan.  Both girls in their meeting were extremely shy and reserved, stayed close to our side but coloured in the picture to adorn the classroom wall for their arrival.  I don't think their shyness had any bearing on their being separated from each other.

So this morning finally arrived and after much discussion it was agreed by all that I would take A into her class and DH would take E.  DH and I were definitely more excited and nervous than the girls were.

"Aren't you going to say good-bye to each other?" I heard DH call out.

They didn't.

I took A into her classroom, met the teacher, found her a chair to sit on with two of her best friends from last year and I left her colouring in hearts that I drew her on the paper. I took my leave. It was all rather quick and painless.

I noticed DH hadn't come out of the other room, so I peeked in. E was also colouring in. I went over to plant a kiss on her head and to say goodbye and she clung to my leg.  We had a quick chat with the teacher, looked at her drawing and I tried to leave. In the end the teacher took her from me and I ducked out of the room.  I knew within about 10 seconds she would also be fine.

This afternoon, I came a little early as a treat to pick them up, and collected E first as she was standing in the doorway and saw me approach.  A friend of mine,who also has identical twins in the same classes as our two, arrived at the same time and asked me, "Who do I collect first?" It's a tough decision for a Mummy of twins.

Obviously I got into trouble and A has insisted that I pick her up first tomorrow.  I guess it will go on like that all year.

And so they both had a great day. They had chatted at break-time in the playground. They had done different activities but had both received a sweet at some point during the day and they had eaten the same catered lunch and the best news for DH and I is, is that they are both looking forward to going back tomorrow.