Gasp!

Noooooooo!! This can’t be happening! It’s horrible! It’s terrible! Kathleen’s moving up into the older toddler room! How can she? She’s still a baby!


Yes, that’s right: my baby is growing up (sniffle, sniffle). She’s scheduled to move into the older toddler room in early July with one of her classmates, Quinn. I can’t believe it. She’ll be under Miss Autumn primarily, but there will be a second teacher in the room caring for the other half of the class, as well. I believe Mason’s under Miss Autumn, too. Does Miss Autumn know what she’s getting herself into?

Kathleen likes the older toddler room. She doesn’t want to leave it when I come to pick her up after work. She’s too busy putting all the cool toys through their paces. She’s familiar with Miss Autumn, too. Although Miss Autumn has never directly watched her for any great length of time, she’s been there when the younger and older toddlers combine classrooms for play time. That also helps – the combined play times. Kathleen has spent time with the kids already in that room. They’re not complete strangers. And let’s not forget that Mason is there now – a familiar face and favorite cohort. We have all of that going for us during the transition. It should make things slightly less concerning from both Quinn’s and Kathleen’s perspectives.

They should start with the actual transitioning phase shortly. Kathleen will begin spending more and more time there – napping there, snacking there, lunching there, and eventually taking “classes” there – so that by the time July 9 comes around, she’ll barely notice the difference.

I’ll notice the difference. It’s going to be a bigger transition for me than for her. I have to wrap my head around the fact that she really is no longer a baby. She’ll have her own cubby. She’ll be sleeping on a low cot instead of a mat. She’ll be moving into a more structured environment with twice as many children as she’s used to. She’ll literally be only one step away from the preschool room. One step. She’ll be a big girl before I know it . . . before I’m ready.