In this article, I draw on the ethnographic study of a Universal Pre-Kindergarten class to theorize the functional appeal of conflict that permeates young children's interactions. From a conflict theory perspective, I document how young children negotiate meaning in and with their world as they engage in learning through conflict. While considering multiple and overlapping dimensions of conflict influencing and informing life in this classroom community, through an analytic narrative, I theorize and story conflict in an early childhood setting, illustrate the transformative possibilities of conflict, and challenge the concept of the "ideal" early childhood classroom.