Child Summary: Hannah at 7 years

Sleeping

She sleeps from 8pm until 7am (sometimes later when allowed.) She has had a couple of nights where she had trouble falling asleep, but it is rare.

Rest time

She has about 2 hours of rest time every afternoon. The first thirty minutes she is required to read a fun book of her choice or catch up on school reading. If we skip a rest time she seems to be fine without it. It is mostly to give her time alone since she is surrounded by her siblings all day otherwise.

Eating

Although I would not categorize her as a picky eater, she certainly has a way she likes things and a list of things she doesn't like. For example, Hannah does not like pears, anything spicy, yogurt, dips or of any kind (everything has to be plain and dry), foods touching, granola bars, any cereal, popcorn, hot dogs, and corny dogs. Most of these are not super healthy foods so I don't make her eat them unless she is served it at someone's house. She wants PB&J just about everyday for lunch, and this is an area I typically don't fight since it is easy. She is a good eater and usually the first to clear her plate at dinner. She will try new things and loves a variety of seafood (including octopus) despite the fact that I never make any seafood at home. She eats faster now and always eats everything she is given for meals, usually starting with the thing she dislikes the most to get it off her plate the soonest. Most of her dislikes are snacks anyway.

School

Hannah is doing well in school. She is reading above grade level. She has struggled with memorizing her math facts, but seems to be getting a little faster now. We are behind in History and Science, but I think we will just go through the summer for those subjects if we are not caught up by then. The reason we are behind is not her fault, but the baby set us back more than I anticipated, and Math, Grammar/Writing/Reading took precedence.

Books

She is reading chapter books that I find in the 2nd grade section at the library fairly easily, but the 3rd grade books overwhelm her with more words per page. She is reading Beverly Cleary at the moment.

Brian is reading the first book of Lord of the Rings to the girls right now. She has talked her daddy into letting her watch the movie after they finish the book. I don't know if that's a great idea, but Brian is on nightmare duty if it backfires so I'll leave it up to him. :)

Toys

Hannah still loves Barbies and American doll stuff, but she spends most of her time in imaginative play with her siblings or drawing, coloring, and crafting.

Dentist/Doctor

Hannah has had many doctor appointments of late for ear infections, suspected UTIs, seasonal allergies, and walking pneumonia. She is an excellent patient. She is seeing a pediatric urologist later this month.

She loves the dentist and always wants to go first. No problems there either.

Concerns/Trouble Areas

Hannah is a great kid, but she is super bossy and takes it upon herself to be on constant look out for rule breakers in the house. We are working on this. Also, a bit of initial shyness has caused her to slack on manners when meeting/talking to adults. I am trying to encourage her to speak up and give her phrases that would be polite and respectful to say to adults. Her attitude towards her dad and me continues to be a struggle under certain circumstances, but it is getting more rare which is promising.