Graduation Gifts and a New School Year

Aunt Toni sent the girls graduation gifts that were also "house warming" gifts this week. Danya is finishing first grade this month and Glory has completed Kindergarten. We are going to do a review next week to assess where they're at academically. Toni sent Danya a new doll for her collection and Gloria got her very first, very own, dollhouse.

The girls were both super surprised. Gloria was quick to tell Danya not to worry, that she would let her play with the new house. They haven't decided yet if Danya's new doll or the one that came with Glory's house will be the doll that they call "Aunt Toni".

As for graduation, we may make a special dinner at home and have everyone dress up, maybe have a special dessert. I'm trying to think of something inexpensive to do at home that the girls will think is fun and unusual. In the past, for reviews, we've had scavenger hunts that require the girls to use alot of skills and information that they've learned. We had a spelling test this week with words taken from the books they've been reading. Danya actually laughed when she saw the list and said, "Mommy, 'poison' isn't a hard enough bonus word." It came from a science book about Snakes by Dorling Kindersley .

I still think it's strange to classify the girls as first grader and Kindergartner when they are both so clearly above and beyond that. Really, though, they are at various levels for each subject, like Gloria doing second grade math, Danya ready for third grade math, and both of them reading well above grade level. I'm not sure where I would place them in science, an we are finishing up Ancient Civlizations in history right now. We are currently reading about the Greeks. We read part of the Odyssey where Odysseus encounters the cyclops and they are making masks and writing a play about it to perform at our own version of the Olympics tomorrow. We'll have athletic contests like a long jump and races, but also poetry reading and an art show to go along with the play. We've been reading more about the ancient Greeks in our Children's Encyclopedia. As we enter this next year we will move on to learning about Medieval Times. We've got a great year ahead and it will be even more fun as we add more kids to our family!