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"    &amp;quot;Mommy, can we visit Miss Pam and Miss Carole today?&amp;quot; Samantha asks as soon as she pops out of bed. &amp;quot;I miss them!&amp;quot; Yesterday was her last day of preschool\u2014EVER\u2014and instead of indulging in her newfound summer break, she wants to go back to school. In Samantha&amp;#039;s small preschool, every teacher knew my girl by name, the director showered her with hugs and the other parents chatted her up. Samantha made great friends with her classmates, whom she saw every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I understand Samantha&amp;#039;s reluctance to depart. In a way I feel this is the end of innocence, where she leaves behind her intimate school with only one class for her age group to start the elementary school with five sections for her age. (Come fall, Samantha will find herself in a room with twice the number of kids and half the staff.) I&amp;#039;m excited for Samantha&amp;#039;s next venture, yet I&amp;#039;m worried. Will she adapt well being that she&amp;#039;s one of the youngest, with a fall birthday? Will she make friends easily or will she be shy and cling to the teacher? Last September, Samantha didn&amp;#039;t want to go to preschool. She wanted to be back in the Duck room\u2014her class from last year. Samantha was afraid of her new Lion room teachers, who were more down to business in their pre-K class than her previous year of great art projects and lots of playtime. It took her three months before she spoke to Miss Pam and Miss Carole. The teachers explained that we wouldn&amp;#039;t get a journal keepsake at the open house like the rest of the parents. Samantha refused to answer her teachers&amp;#039; questions, let alone share her stories or feelings with them for entry in her journal. (A journal would have been nice, but not having one is not the end of the world.) When Samantha finally did open up\u2014when she was ready\u2014she revealed that she couldn&amp;#039;t talk because there was a Froggy in her throat. &amp;quot;Samantha, I&amp;#039;m so happy the Froggy is gone,&amp;quot; Miss Carole said. &amp;quot;You have a beautiful voice.&amp;quot; And months later, when it came time to say goodbye, Miss Carole gave Samantha a big hug. &amp;quot;Samantha, you&amp;#039;re all ready for kindergarten\u2014I&amp;#039;m proud of you.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;I know,&amp;quot; Samantha says. &amp;quot;And when I go to kindergarten I&amp;#039;m going to leave Froggy at home.&amp;quot;\u2014Julie Weingarden Dubin Isn&amp;#039;t it amazing what a difference a school year makes? What changes have you noticed in your children since September? Share your stories and thoughts in Comments. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a42237/the-little-graduate-5698/>