Audra's Play

Audra has been working all year at Options on her school play- Snow White. She was Sneezy and a tree. She had so much fun! Drama is one of the main reasons we liked this particular Options program. It's so great for her to get up in front of people and perform. She always gets nervous, but then flips a switch and is so confident in front of people when it's her turn.

You don't need to watch this unless you are a grandparent, but for the grandparents I thought you might enjoy seeing the show. It's in two parts, sorry about that:

Here's some pictures of our cutie:

 She is the third from the left on the above picture.

Date Night

Last weekend I was able to take Audra and Claire to go see a really great musical production called "Lamb of God." It was a beautiful symphony and choir combo- similar to a Mormon Tabernacle Choir production.

You were supposed to be 8 to attend, so I wasn't sure if I should take Claire. But, she really wanted to go, and I felt like she could handle it.

We went out to dinner and then headed downtown to a beautiful cathedral where the performance was held.

Audra didn't make a peep the entire performance, and neither did Claire. But, Claire was sitting on my lap, and all of a sudden she started crying. On the way home I asked her why and she said, "I was just thinking that I don't want you to die." That was a little depressing, but also sweet. 

Anyway, it was a great night. It was nice to share such a beautiful performance with two of my favorite girls.

Sunday Stroll

I like to go on walks. We happen to live right next to a nice trail, and every warm Saturday morning I try to go on a walk with friends, or we often go as a family after dinner for a nice stroll, or whatever. It's nice.

Most of the time.

Sometimes, like this last Sunday, we go for a walk and hear nothing but whining. And more whining. And I think, "Why do we bring the kids on walks? This is torture, not fun."

But, then we get a cute picture like this and it makes it almost worthwhile:

ITBS

When Audra was in kindergarten, she started coming home from school and crying and crying about the TCAP. The TCAP was the standardized test at the time, taken in THIRD grade- but already as a kindie she was crying over it (thanks, legislators, for making my kindie cry). I tried to soothe her by saying it was years away, that I wouldn't make her take it (yay for opt-outs!), and we would have a huge Tea Party instead to make it fun.

Nothing helped. She still cried.

Since that time, they have since changed the law. Now, instead of taking the TCAP every odd year starting in third grade, kids take the PARCC every year starting in kindie (Is that right, Colorado friends? That's what I heard, but maybe it hasn't been implemented yet?). At any rate, it has gotten worse.

Oh, and now teacher's pay is tied to the test scores- so now teachers are forced to teach to the test.

Needless to say, I am opposed to this. I'm not opposed to all testing! I just think we have gone completely overboard here in CO, and my kindergartner sobbing for several weeks in a row over a test that she wouldn't have to take for another three years is proof that these tests can be detrimental.

Have I mentioned lately how glad I am to homeshool? This is one of the many reasons why.

Anyway, there is one additional problem with the all the testing: Even the homeschool community is not immune. In Colorado, homeschooled kiddos need to take a nationally normed test every odd year starting in third grade. There are other options- they can take an "Alternative Assessment" administered by someone qualified- basically a certified teacher or someone with a Master's Degree in education. I do happen to have a Master's Degree in education, but in the end, I actually did want Audra to take the test (gasp!). Believe it or not, I do want to make sure my kids are learning and that this crazy homeschool experiment is actually working out.

Unlike the PARCC which takes three weeks to administer and several weeks before that to get ready for, many of the homeschool kids (including Audra) take the Iowa Test in one day and it isn't a big deal. In order to meet the Colorado state standards, they need to score a minimum of the 13th percentile or risk being sent back to public school (the reason it is so low is actually a good reason- a lot of parents who homeschool do so because their kids are special needs, so the low requirements aim to consider that).

I tried really hard not to make a big deal out of it. But, I did want her to know how to fill in bubbles and such. I printed off a practice test and we went through it a little at a time. Man, oh man- going over that test made me realize once again how awful these tests are! They ask things in funny ways rather than just asking the question, they try to trick those being tested, and the working/structure was often confusing. Maybe we should have gone the alternative testing route in the end.

Today was Audra's test: Three years of dread in the making. My greatest fear was that she would get flustered, freeze, and not be able to do the problems. This happens with Audra- she gets very anxious and it shuts her down so she can't do anything. I tried to give her some tips beforehand, but unfortunately the tips didn't help.

Halfway through the math portion, she got super flustered and completely froze. She burst into tears and had to be taken out of the room. They tried to call me, but I was on an extremely rare one-on-one date with Claire and was busy playing chase in a swimming pool and missed the call. Which made her cry some more. Thankfully, the teachers put some classical music on and let her finish the test in the separate room She felt pretty awful about it. I told her again and again how proud I was of her, and hopefully she will be OK.

We went out for ice-cream to celebrate. She earned it! Three years of stressing out over a stupid test, but now the beast has been tamed! It is over- for at least two more years. We won't know her test scores until May. I'm really not worried- she is a fantastic kid who is very smart. She has many, many talents- and it doesn't/shouldn't matter what one test says- which is why I am glad that rather than wasting 3-6 weeks every school year on a test, we spend about 8 hours every 2 years instead. So much better than the alternative!

Awesome Parenting

Guess who was in charge of getting the kids ready for church today?

I had a meeting this morning, and Camille walked into church just like this. I turned to Ben and said, "Oh, this is interesting. I mean, I know we let the kids dress themselves- but perhaps we have taken this too far."

He turned to me and said, "Well, she walked in this morning dressed like this and said, 'Don't I look beautiful?' What was I supposed to say?"

And so this is how she went to church. Hopefully nobody is judging, and if they are- oh, well. This is how we roll.

Testimonies

Today both Claire and Audra got up to bear their testimonies in sacrament meeting. The first Sunday of each month, members of the congregation are given the opportunity to stand up in front of the congregation to share their testimony to the congregation.

Audra has shared her testimony before, so I wasn't worried. But, it was Claire's first time. We have been practicing at home during our Family Home Evenings.

They really did a great job. I remember Claire's specifically. I asked her to give it to me before she went up, and she said the exact same thing when she went up:

"I would like to share my testimony. I know the gospel is true and that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

It was really special.Maybe some of the things we are trying to teach her are getting through to her.

A Caucus-ing We Go

I realize this is a horrible picture. We could have retaken it, but decided that if people tried to tell us how horrible we are for attending a Democratic caucus, a blurry picture gives us plausible deniability.

Last night was Colorado's Caucus. The last time we went was 9 years ago- when I was pregnant with Audra. This time, we had to take our three kiddos with us. I was not looking forward to it.

We were impressed when we showed up at how many people there were. There are a lot more Democrats in our area than we thought! From the talk on Facebook, it appears that Colorado had a very large turn out for both parties caucuses, so that is really great that more people are getting involved (although I wish the Trump supporters would get sick and have to miss out).

It was nice to be surrounded with mostly like-minded people. Ben even said it was quite pleasant. Maybe he'll start attending the Democratic monthly meetings.

Thankfully, our precinct was super fast. While other precints were letting people speak about the candidates, we went straight for the voting. We were done by 8. Nice! Ben, however, kind-of wished we were in one of the other precints- he wanted to hear what people had to say and be part of the discussion. With three kids in tow, I did not.

The causus is not my favorite part of voting. However, I do think it is the one and only time you can feel like an actual part of the process- that your vote actually does matter. 

It was neat to be a part of the community as well. Ben commented on how nice everybody was, which they were. It was neat to see senior citizens and fresh 18 year old kids getting together to talk politics. 

But even so, I can't wait for this election to be done. Unless Trump wins. 

Man, the next few months are going to be interesting indeed.