Abby Buchanan, Age 6

Abby is loving first grade. She's a rule follower, a people pleaser, a hard worker, and a good listener. School was absolutely MADE for kids like her. She received a good behavior award in the first month. She is really enjoying reading and math--and becoming quite good at them too. I don't remember such academic rigor when I was 6.

She's often the first one up in the morning. She will sometimes even get dressed, make herself breakfast, make her bed, and brush her teeth before we even roll over. Her new-found independence is a very welcome blessing in our household! The only hole in her strategy is that now, when she asks for help getting dressed or making her bed because she "can't do it by herself," we know otherwise!

There's a whole herd of kids on our block after school (usually about 7-10). Our backyard has become the place of choice for their general merrymaking. They sometimes even try to convince Abby to play out there when she doesn't want to. But, usually, she's more than happy to oblige and play hostess to the whole crowd. After all, that puts her in charge. Even with the older kids. And, Will loves joining in the fray too, so it's nice to have them all in one place under her watchful eye!

She's still enjoying Girl Scouts (I think!) and she's joined the Children's Choir at our church. When she turns 6 1/2, she tells me, she'll be ready to try piano lessons, but not before. So, we stay pretty busy without losing sight of the all-important after-school play time which so many kids don't get these days. It's good for the soul and the imagination, both of which she exudes with abundance.