CHARLIE and Hamish Lunn haven’t started classes at big school yet, but they already look the part.
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“They’ve been wearing their school uniforms in the afternoons after preschool for a few months,” the boys’ mum Tonya Lunn said.
“They’re pretty excited and have been looking forward to it for a long time now.”
The Lunns, aged five, are one of two sets of identical twins who will start kindergarten this year at St Therese’s Primary in New Lambton.
They will be in a separate class to Scarlett and Mackenzie Hill, who are also five.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling,” Mrs Lunn said.
“They’re so ready to go and I’m really excited about the fact they’re going and we’ll be moving on to the next phase of life, but I’m sad this is the end – I feel quite torn about it.
“I will miss them a lot and the house will be a lot quieter.”
Mrs Lunn said her boys had been preparing by practising their drawing and letters, as guided by their older sister Sophie, who will start year two.
“Hamish is really curious about science and loves video games and reads those kinds of books,” she said.
“Charlie loves art and drawing and is a helper, he very much wants to be involved and engaged.”
Mrs Lunn said the boys were in separate rooms at their Queensland preschool in 2016 but moved to the same room when they relocated to the Hunter in 2017.
“Once they get confident we plan to separate them – we want to ensure they get to develop their own skills sets without all the comparing that happens,” she said.
“They really stuck together last year for emotional support and this will be a big exhausting year.
“These guys look after each other and are always checking the other one is okay.”
The boys said they were both most looking forward to “making art”.
Natalie Hill said her daughters had been “absolutely ready for school for about five months” and had grown even more excited since finishing preschool and starting to talk about seeing their older cousins and friends at school.
“They love learning and ask a lot of questions,” Mrs Hill said.
“They love writing on Christmas cards, learning new words and spelling.
“Scarlett picks things up very quickly and then gets bored, so I think she’ll be into sport and activity.
“Mackenzie is very creative and arty and loves singing and dancing.
“She’ll work on things and keep going and going and going.”
Scarlett said she thought school would be about “being happy” and she was “looking forward to playing in the sandpit” while Mackenzie said school would be “fun” and she wanted to “make craft”.
Mrs Hill said separating the girls into different rooms at preschool was “the best thing I ever did”.
“Mackenzie used to follow Scarlett around and we wanted her to gain some independence,” she said.
“Ever since then Mackenzie has just blossomed. They loved talking to each other about what they did that day with their friends.”
But Mrs Hill said the girls were still each other’s biggest fans.
“If one is in trouble, the other can get really upset,” she said.
“They do not like the idea of the other one getting left out.”
Mrs Hill said it would be difficult to see her girls leave the nest, but her husband Daniel said he was excited for them, that they were “ready for the next challenge” and he was looking forward to seeing his “hard-workers thrive”.
“I’m ready for them to go,” Mrs Hill said.
“But I’m starting to realise they’re going to school and there’s no going backwards.
“I’m going to have a very strange face on the first day trying to hold it in until they get into their classrooms.
“They’re going to be nervous because it takes them a while to adapt to an environment.
“They’ll cling a little bit but after an hour they’ll be alright, once they’re able to make themselves feel comfortable.”
Both mothers said while they could usually tell their children apart, it wasn’t always easy.
“Charlie tends to be the one that pretends to be Hamish,” Mrs Lunn said.
“Hamish does not seem to get the same joy out of it.
“We’ve cut Hamish’s hair shorter and left Charlie’s a bit longer.”
Mrs Hill said Scarlett had small pink stones in her earrings and a pink schoolbag, while Mackenzie had purple versions.
“They correct people if they get mixed up, I don’t think they’ve realised yet they could be playing tricks!” she said.
“Scarlett’s our fashionista. She’ll be the one wanting to change her uniform and wear a belt or pink socks.”
Students’ return to classrooms will be staggered from this week, depending on their school and grade.