Twins Topics: To Separate Or Not

Today I would like to throw out there a twin topic that has been an ongoing discussion for my husband and I--"Should we separate our twin girls when they start kindergarten?"

They are currently in the same preschool classes and at the beginning of the school year we were pretty confident that we would keep them together next year as well. But now I'm having second thoughts, which in part started after I went to the girls Fall review with their teacher recently.

To help myself and you our dear readers work through this topic, here are the pros and cons that we have come up with:

Pros of girls staying in the same class:

• They would have always have a friend: Our girls have been together since the womb and have a tight bond. But they don't always stick together even though they are in the same class, so we believe they will still have their independence. 
• They would be on the same schedule: Our local elementary school runs on a 6 day cycle, example Day 1 is Art, Day 2 is Music, and so on and so forth. Each class has their own special assignment as to what each day is. And they do this to make sure that each "special" class is given the same amount of attention with the kids and things like holidays and school closings won't mean that kids are always missing a certain class. Does that sound confusing? It sure was when E1 first started school. So can you imagine having to keep track of 3 of these 6 day cycles? We are already having quite the juggling act keeping track of 2 schedules this year.

Cons of girls staying in the same class:

• Not treated independently: During the girls' recent school review, there were a few observations that their teacher brought up that was surprising for us because it didn't seem to fit the girls' personalities as we knew them. And we started to wonder if maybe during certain instances at school that their teacher may have confused the two of them. Heck, even we get them confused at home from time to time. So this got me thinking if it might be better to put them in separate classes, so they can be assessed/treated independently and not always be lumped together or confused with their sister.
•  Loneliness: As a mother I wonder if they would be lonely when separated. When the girls have their special days with us, they often ask about each other and their siblings. I worry if it would be a hard emotional adjustment for them to not be in the same class.
• Having to keep track of 3 different schedules (see above)

Do you have twins that are school age? Did you keep them together or separated? Are you a twin? What happened when you were in school? Any other pros and cons you can share with me?

Zi