School year "wrap-up"

The end of the school year is always bitter sweet.  On on hand, it's great to see the kids grow up and move on to the next grade level and the expectation of summer fills us with joy, but on the other hand, it's always hard to say good bye to teachers and friends, especially if it has been a great year such as this one. 

Of course the end of the school year was not short on fun and excitement, which my girls are experts at if I say so myself.  

During the last week, we were able to have "pretend birthday" celebrations for both girls (their actual birthdays aren't until July) and they had such a blast celebrating with their classmates.  Both of them proudly wore the "It's my Birthday" paper crown and happily shared cupcakes and donuts with the rest of the class.. it was quite the eventful week for them. 

Also, my in laws were in town so it was nice for them to enjoy some time with the girls. 

Here are some pictures of the birthday celebrations. 

And then came the last day of school and to follow the tradition we started last year, I took pictures and compared them with the ones taken at the start of the school year.  In the pictures, the growth of the girls is very noticeable; I think their faces changed significantly and I can tell that Gaby got really tall in relation to her height when the school year started.  Olivia's face is fuller and she looks much more mature and serious.  It makes me sad and happy at the same time; these girls are really blossoming into such sweet young ladies; Olivia is officially a 2nd grader and Gaby embarks on her journey through elementary school as she starts kindergarten.. wow!

Here are a few highlights from what the girls learned in school this year:

Gaby: 
All letters and their sounds
She can count up to 100
She can write her name and last name
Arts and crafts (she got really good at coloring)
All prayers, including the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and a few others
Basic geometry
Basic addition facts
She can read Level 1 books and will soon be moving to the Emergent Reader level
She can make her own bed
She can get dressed on her own
Buckle and unbuckle her carseat
She really enjoys history, vocabulary words, riddles and religion



Olivia:
Reading at 4th grade level (she really enjoys mystery and fiction books)
She was a lector for one the school masses during the year
Math facts
3 digit addition and subtraction
Basic multiplication facts
Science
Practicing math at 2nd grade level already
Creative writing (her writing is pretty awesome), she even won the "Wonderful Writer" award for her awesome stories
Olivia got straight A's in all of her terms and was consistently a very dedicated student.
She really enjoys art, reading, writing and religion.


So with that, we come to the end of yet another wonderful school year. My kids have made me very proud in this journey and I'm sure they will continue to share their wonderful accomplishments with the passing of time.  They are sweet, considerate and passionate individuals, who truly understand the blessing that is this life and everything that comes with it. Thank you, girls for another awesome school year.  Happy summer!! :)