K.Lo, of course, may have had little concept of what would really happen once we reached the Outsourcer this morning, the first day of a new school year, but she knew change was ahead. I hooked her in with the idea of a new cubbie, and then tacked on the concepts of new room and new teacher. She seemed fairly excited when we talked about it, but you never know. I found her new cubby, put up her things, and walked her in to her new classroom, where the teachers already knew her name. Thank heaven. Miss Jenny and Miss Lisa had visited the 2-year-old summer camp classroom the week before, and so were familiar with Miss Bug. They complimented her twirly dress and invited her to play at the tables, which was already a big difference from the younger room, where there is free play on the floor as the day’s first activity. I hugged and kissed her good-bye, and that was about it! So proud of the little one.

At pickup, I found her with the other 3-year-olds on the big-kid playground, looking perhaps a little forlorn, but she was all smiles once she spied me and N.Lo. She dragged us around to the different equipment for a few minutes, and then on the way to the car, we walked through the building again, where K.Lo insisted on showing off her classroom again. No arguments there! N.Lo actually provided the greater challenge in prying him away from the slide set up in the corner. Maybe he is ready for the Outsourcer, too? Next year, little one. For now, let’s absorb K.Lo as the seasoned preschooler. Amazing!

I do wonder how long it will be before it sinks in that she’s not going back to her old room, with her old teachers, whom she did love very much. On the way home, she told me all about her day, the picture she drew, the waffle blocks she played with, some of the other kids’ names (some new, some familiar), and the sandwich she ate. Then, as we pulled into the driveway, she thrashed and screamed about not wanting to get out of her seat, and gave her brother a slap.

It can’t all be magic.