February 20, 2026
Flu B is no joke, y’all. IYKYK. My girl Lily has been completely knocked out this week—sick and pitiful—and all I can really do is rub her back, keep the OJ and water coming, and gently remind her to rest.
Unfortunately, I’ve also been the one making prioritized lists of missing assignments, tests, and quizzes. And if I’m being honest? I’ve silently cried about it, because asking your child to power through even a little schoolwork while they feel awful is just awful. Middle school make-up work is no joke. Missing multiple days is overwhelming. And apparently, in middle school, being sick is not a reason to avoid learning how to divide decimals. (Also not helpful: being a former 5th grade teacher who taught this skill differently and hasn’t taken a math class since the mid-90s.)
Parenting keeps changing as our kids grow into new phases. I’m raising a middle-school girl who is capable, responsible, and mature. But she will always be my baby—my toddler, my preschooler, my little girl. Our story together—her journey—will always be shaped by those early, formative years.
For those who may not know (although I tell everyone), both my kiddos began their academic journeys at Soapstone Preschool.
Lily started in the M/W 2’s class with Ms. Erin (5-day 2’s did not exist back then). She loved preschool from day one, and each day I picked her up, Ms. Erin or Ms. Marcia would gush about her sweet, angelic personality—which, frankly, I had a hard time believing, given the fiercely independent “three-nager” I had at home. I often asked, “Are you sure you’re talking about the right child?”
Before she started, I wrestled a lot with her age. Lily’s birthday is September 2, which meant she missed the Wake County Kindergarten cutoff—and the age cutoff for Soapstone—by just two days. I remember walking around my neighborhood in the last days of August 2013 trying to “walk that baby out,” because as a teacher, I knew exactly what the age cutoff meant.
I honestly believed she was ready for the 3’s, but when I asked the our former preschool director if she could skip ahead, Ms. Helen gently took my hand and said, “No.” She calmly explained that, because of her young age, Lily was right where she belonged developmentally, and reassured me that she would have the opportunity to go to Transitional Kindergarten from the 3’s.
Ms. Helen was right.
Lily thrived in the 2’s and 3’s, and when the time came, she soared in Transitional Kindergarten. TK gave her space to strengthen social and emotional skills, navigate friendships, advocate for herself and others, and continue building on the literacy and math foundations she had developed earlier.
By the end of TK, Lily was ready for Kindergarten. After her first day, she asked to ride the bus by herself—and by October, she was strutting in and taking names. Could she have handled Kindergarten if she had been born two days earlier? Probably. But TK gave her the time to grow into herself, build confidence, and prepare socially and emotionally for the academic pace ahead.
And now, here we are in middle school, and I see those benefits every day. Even this week, while battling Flu B, Lily showed the independence, perseverance, and advocacy skills she began developing back in TK—while also knowing when to rest. That girl who once needed guidance to manage transitions now manages her own schedule, her schoolwork, and yes, even dividing decimals.
Lily is obviously my favorite TK success story, but she’s not the only one. So many children at Soapstone soar because of the foundations preschool and TK provide—learning the social, emotional, and academic skills that make school, even middle school, more manageable.
If you’re wondering whether TK might be right for your child, I’d love to talk. And yes—I’ll probably show you a picture or two of my girl. That’s just my momma’s heart in action.
xoxo,
Jess