Gilmore Kids' Graduation

This past school year I've been helping the Gilmore family by teaching their jr. high kids' Math and Science classes.  Thursday was their last day of school, and following family tradition, they held a graduation ceremony that evening to show off their work and bring the year to a close.  I remember attending last year's graduation, when I had just arrived in Musoma.  That year Camden and Tirzah had each done a report on a historical character; I was highly impressed with their presentations and not a little intimidated at the thought of teaching them!

Now Camden has finished 8th grade, Tirzah 6th, and Braden has proudly completed 1st grade.  Each of them put a lot of time into some special projects this year; this was showtime!

During the year, Braden had turned an idea from one of his journal entries into a book, complete with illustrations and even Swahili translation.  To share "Tom and Bob's Adventures in the Serengeti" with us, he enlisted his older siblings to act in a play version of the story.  The tale concerns the two title characters (giraffes) and a dinosaur they meet.  After initially being frightened of each other, the characters find common ground (in their spots and long necks) and decide to be friends.  I hear that further adventures may be forthcoming.

Speaking of plays, Tirzah and Camden enjoyed their introduction to Shakespeare this year.  In reading through Macbeth, they worked together to illustrate their favorite scenes from each act, selecting quotes to accompany their drawings.  We got to see the play through their work projected onto their living room wall.  (I enjoyed the refresher--it's been a while!)  Here are the artists with a couple key scenes:

Unfortunately I don't have pictures of their big project.  To practice writing and computer skills this year, Camden and Tirzah each wrote and designed their own magazine, focused on the topic of their choice.  (Camden created a Bionicle magazine, and Tirzah wrote one for missionary kids.)  The magazines included informational articles, fictional stories, poems, book/movie reviews, etc.  Since printing the magazines will be a challenge, the kids used the LCD projector to show them to us.  You'll have to take my word for it; the magazines are awesome!

We also heard from the beginning musicians--Camden with the guitar, and Tirzah with the flute.  Meanwhile, arranged on tables around the room were lots of items for our perusal.  Journals, past and present, were there, along with the major projects from previous years.  Each student had also displayed stacks of the books they read this year, noting their favorites.  At the end of the ceremony, the students' father/principal presented them with their certificates.

Did I mention I'm proud of them?