Sunflower magic didn't work for me? :(

My friend Mark wrote that on his daughter’s last day of preschool, her teachers sent every kid home with a packet of seeds and told them:

"When these bloom, you'll be ready for kindergarten."

And look at one of her sunflowers today—the same day kindergarten’s starting!
Isn't that great? However, below is the sunflower that I planted at the start of summer. Looks like it's back to preschool for me… AGAIN.