Every year at this time, it's exciting to see the 6 and almost 6 year olds discover that they really can write. For some it takes a bit of nudging. To those who are intimidated by the task of writing about something, I tell them to just write whatever they are thinking at the moment. Likewise, to those daunted by the request to write a sentence, I say that any thought that is in their head is likely to be a sentence. This relaxes them from the initial panic we often see upon suggesting this activity. The result is empowering. Suddenly there are little authors everywhere avidly writing story after story.