Preparedness for Six-Year-Olds
Today Rilla decided to make herself an illustrated chore list. A most worthwhile endeavor—although, in the fashion of apples that do not fall far from their mother trees, her absorption with writing about her chores distracted her from actually doing them. This I learned later when I encountered a pile of pajamas in the middle of her bedroom floor.
She invited me to “help” her with the chore list, which meant sitting beside her and watching her draw. Painstakingly she depicted each one of her morning tasks: get dressed, make bed, put away pajamas (ahem), brush teeth, brush hair. When she got to the bottom of her list, she surveyed it, gave a satisfied nod, set it to one side, and reached for another piece of paper.
“That was the Everyday list,” she said. “Now for the Sometimes list.”
“What goes on the Sometimes list?” I wondered.
“Checking to see if the Tooth Fairy came,” she explained. And drew a little picture of a tooth, an arrow, a pillow.
