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We weren't going to send Hamlet to preschool this year. Born in July, he's among the youngest of his peers; until this past summer, he had a speech delay. We just weren't sure he'd be ready.

This past spring, though, his social self blossomed. At the park he'd follow older kids around, engage in their play; at speech therapy his interaction went from parallel to direct play.

When local preschools started to advertise, I called around, did my homework. Only one really impressed me. The teacher was organized; she spent as much time with both of us as we needed; her discipline policy matches ours. Most importantly, Hamlet loved the place.

Other 3-year-olds left after a few months, not ready for the environment. Hamlet, ever the extrovert, has gone into the 4-year-old pre-K class. His teacher doesn't require him to do everything they do, but he tries anyway. As a result, he's thriving there too: tracing his letters, making new friends.

We're still considering holding him back in kindergarten--the age thing is still there, and Hamlet is small for his age--but he's an extrovert born to introverts. He might just surprise us yet again.