One of my favorite school stories happened on an August afternoon a few years ago. Our director and I were going through student paperwork when there was a knock on the door.
Two teenagers stood there, and I assumed they were selling something in the neighborhood. Instead, they introduced themselves. They were twins who had recently graduated from high school, and one of them was leaving for college the next day. It would be the first time in their lives that they’d be apart. So before they separated, they were making the rounds of their favorite places in Annapolis. Places that held strong memories from growing up. They went to Weems Creek for preschool and wondered if they could look around. Of course!
They walked into the pre-K classroom and the girl instantly said, “Oh my gosh.” The boy responded with wonder in his voice, “I remember this. It looks so much the same.” One of them peeked out the window at the playground and exclaimed, “The sailboat’s still there!” Their excitement was palpable. We walked all around. They let us take pictures. It was the sweetest thing.
Imagine! Of all the places two 18-year-olds could choose to say goodbye to as they took a step toward a new “adult” chapter, their preschool made the list. As they reminisced, they weren’t talking about their letters or learning to read. They remembered playing, making friends, and being together.
So often, those of us who love and teach young children don’t see the fruits of our labor. We see the block towers and the paint smocks and the goodbye waves at the gate, and then our young friends grow up and head out into the world. Rarely do we learn what memories stayed with them. In this case, it took one knock on the door for me to be viscerally reminded: what usually sticks with each of us is a sense of belonging.
Parents ask me all the time whether their child will be “ready.” I understand the worry… today’s parents are surrounded by checklists, learning apps, and comparison charts all suggesting their kids might “fall behind” before age 5. Yet, this story underscores the truth that readiness is not built on academics. It is built on a foundation of emotional intelligence. A foundation that allows a child the time and space they need to feel safe, to know their own voice matters, and to feel brave enough to try, fail, and try again.
That kind of learning happens best in one kind of soil: unhurried days of play, with grown-ups who understand that when children feel good about who they are, they’re ready to explore, discover, and grow. And somewhere down the road, hopefully your grown child will knock on an old door, just one more time, to walk through a loved space and remember.
That’s what preschool was meant to be.
Any content, resident submissions, guest columns, advertisements, and advertorials are not necessarily endorsed by or represent the views of Best Version Media LLC (BVM) or any municipality, homeowners associations, businesses, or organizations that this publication serves. BVM is not responsible for the reliability, suitability, or timeliness of any content submitted, inclusive of materials generated or composed through artificial intelligence (AI). All content submitted is done so at the sole discretion of the submitting party.
