Turns out we were right: she's doing great! She's proficient in nearly everything on the 3yr old chart. She's a "loving, confident, happy, friendly, empathetic girl" - which, when it comes down to it, are some of the most important qualities, in our minds.
Her best buds are the 4 year olds, and apparently she recently jumped up to their learning group. (She was invited to be a guest before the switch became official, and we heard bits & pieces about this when she'd say in her all-knowing tone: "When someone invites you over, you are their guest." So learning about the switch finally explained where those seemingly random factoids were coming from.)
One of the two "challenges" her teacher pointed out is always seeking permission before doing something new. But is that really a challenge?? I love that she asks before starting a new task or taking out a new toy. Although, I can see where she might be overly cautious at times, so they're going to try and encourage her to start new activities during "free play" without asking first. And seeking approval also comes up when negotiating social situations with her friends. Evidently, she tends to ask the teachers to intervene instead of working out conflicts on her own, but we think she'll learn how to handle that herself over time. She is hanging with the older kids, after all, who were playing together an entire year before Em joined their group.
Her other "challenge" is trying new things, including food. Ha! We know new foods are tough for her, so that wasn't much of a surprise. But what we didn't realize is that she also has her own daily routine over there, which she evidently doesn't really branch out from. Wow. Anyone who knows us well, knows that my favorite thing in life is a routine. And it looks like I've passed that on to her. So flexibility is something we're both working on this new year ;)
