This article explores the relationship between notions of development and practice in early education. Through an interpretive study of the experience of the "gift of time," the article follows small groups of children who delayed kindergarten entry, those who were relatively young but entered on time, and children retained in kindergarten to gain an understanding of how time promotes development. The article examines how ideas about typical development override attention to individual development. Further, such ideas promote a teacher-distant approach in which opportunities to scaffold learning are frequently missed. The article suggests heightened attention to developmentally responsive practicepractice that utilizes both knowledge of typical development and particular knowledge of specific children. (Author)