Erin McDavitt of Derby, Kansas

Written by Jill Johnson Hymas

Erin McDavitt loves horses! One of the most exciting things she has ever done was ride a friend’s horse three years ago.

She also loves children and gets plenty of time each day to be with children by helping at her mother’s home day-care center. She likes to gently push their swings and to catch the children as they come sailing down the slide.

One thing Erin wishes she had is a sister. Instead, she has four older brothers and one younger brother. “It’s hard having only brothers,” she said, “because they always tease me.” Even so, she still likes them. She especially likes to play school with her younger brother.

Besides being able to play with the day-care children, Erin is happy to live in a neighborhood filled with children close to her own age. During the summer, the neighborhood kids often gather at one of their homes and play hide-and-seek, flashlight tag, there’s no bears (a game like hide-and-seek, but when the “bear” catches someone, that person becomes a bear also), and other games.

Erin collects stickers and stuffed animals, and she likes to roller-skate. She is learning to do ballet, to tap dance, and to play the piano. Her piano teacher is from Beijing, China, and speaks only a little English. She is teaching Erin to see if she can communicate well enough to take on other students.

Erin also likes to read and to have her mother and father read to her. Her favorite scripture story is about King Solomon judging two women who fight over a baby. Each woman says that the baby is hers. Erin likes the story because of how King Solomon determines which woman is the real mother. (See 1 Kgs. 3:16–28.)

In the summer Erin can often be found in the neighborhood community pool. She likes to swim and can even dive off the diving board. Her favorite school subjects are just about everything. In science, she likes to do fun experiments and mix chemicals. She loves drawing and playing music, and she wants to learn how to play the flute one day.

For a Kansas Day play at school, Erin sang a solo. (Kansas Day commemorates the day Kansas became a state in the United States.) She said that singing alone was scary.

Erin remembers when she was baptized and became a member of the Church. She says that it felt good because she was doing the right thing. She knows that it is important to always do the right thing, to help her family, and to be a good friend to others.

Photographed by Jill Johnson Hymas

The McDavitt family