First, at the beginning of the year, some of the friends in my class (who mom says were 'good examples') started a Girl Scout troop. It only meets twice a month, and it is such a good organization, that Mom gave in and let me start doing Daisy Scouts early in October. I love it! I love playing with my friends, I love learning about animals and doing service projects, and I love getting new patches. Last meeting, we even earned a patch by touring a bank. We got to see the vault and talk to each other in the drive-through, but what stood out to me the most was the cookies and punch we got to drink there (of course). With Daisy Scouts, I also got to sell cookies. I wanted a stuffed penguin reward so badly, but the goal for it was to sell 165 boxes of cookies. Mom and Dad tried to explain how hard that would be, but I was unwavering. And when the cookie money was due and the boxes all sold, Mom and Dad couldn't believe their eyes - I got 165 boxes sold and the money for it all collected! When I want something, just try to stand in my way...
Then, at Christmas I absolutely wanted a keyboard and nothing else. And with a keyboard came... piano lessons! I go to piano lessons now and my teacher keeps telling Mom and Dad how impressed she is with how fast I'm picking it up. Sometimes I love piano... like when I learn a song really well and it becomes fun to play. I was at Nana and DD's the other day and I wanted to play a song, but I didn't have my book. So, I got some paper and played on the piano until I figured out just the right notes to play to make the song. Voila! Instant piano sheet! Sometimes, I don't love piano... like when I'm first learning a song and it seems like way too much for me to figure out. I get so upset because I want to learn the song but it's just so hard! After a few times of practicing, though, I always come around to loving it again. If only the songs could be easy to play from the beginning...
Next, I got a letter from Katy ISD that told me I could start the Challenge program this semester. I go one hour a week to a different classroom with some of my friends and learn about "stretching my brain". I come home totally excited and ready to start new projects: mouse puppets or writing a script for a stage play or making up poems and songs using pictures as inspiration. Right up my alley!
And, when my friends at school started signing up for soccer and I begged Mom and Dad to let me try it, they figured... why not? It's only for a few months and so now I get to play on a soccer team! Mommy signed me up and told me over and over, "We'll just give this a try. We'll go to the first practice and then see how you like it." But at the first practice, I was sold! The coach calls us all "champ" and I feel like a real live athlete when he tells us what to do. After the first practice, we got to pick a name - we picked the Green Dragons - and put our hands in a circle and yell on the count of three. I told Mom, "I was having so much fun on the field that I forgot about everything else!" The next week it was raining so soccer practice was optional... and only three kids showed up to play. No surprise, but I was one of the ones who braved the weather so I could have another chance to kick the ball around.
"Mom," I said as I crossed the street after school yesterday, "Guess what? I figured out that I have four things! And I think that I love them all!" And Mom said she was glad to hear that.
Love,
Avery Four Things McClinton