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Today marked Margot's first day as a bona fide pre-schooler. She left the Sea Turtle classroom behind (ages 18 months - 3 years) and moved into the Pre-K class (ages 3 - 5). Her new teachers are Mr. Scott and Mr. Brian and, overnight, she went from being the coolest kid in the little pond to being the littlest fish in a bigger pond. She clung to me this morning when I dropped her off, something she's never done before at school.

But by the time I picked her up this afternoon, she was all happy smiles and was busy constructing a castle with a new friend (Margot calls her "Vella" - I'm not sure if that's her real name, a nickname, or a misnomer). Mr. Scott told me she had a fantastic day and it was as if she had been in the Shining Stars classroom from Day One.

As if to fulfill a cliche, however, after school Margot demonstrated that these older kids really are bad influences and are full of misinformation.

I was checking email and Margot was practicing ballet when she looked at me and said, "Mom, milk comes out of a cow's pee pee."

"What!?" I responded, astounded. "Who told you that?"

"Vella told me," Margot said. Oh, Vella. This kid is going to be trouble.

"Margot, that's not correct," I said. "Milk comes out of a cow's udder. You tell Vella that tomorrow. And the next time you have questions about something, you should ask me first. I'll always tell you the correct answer."

Brodie later joked that maybe Margot read that on the wall of the pre-K bathroom. All I know is that it's going to be a long road to getting this kid off to college.