The Sequoia Breeze

Rebecca: Welcome to the Sequoia Breeze podcast, of breath of fresh air for your home school. I am your host, Rebecca LaSavio, and I'm honored that you've chosen to spend your time listening to this episode. Most of us homeschool either because public school was too controlling and wasn't working, or because we like the freedom and independence that home school brings to our children's education. That means when it's time to test, a lot of us might resent it, fear it, or hate the intrusion of it. We know our kids will have to do hard things in life, but we don't like to be the source of those. And let's face it, it's one thing to coax our kids through something hard that we know is good for them, and it's another to coax them through something we might not see the point of and don't want to bother with ourselves. Hopefully you listen to the conversation I had with Brad and Lacey, testing coordinators, teachers and parents last week. They gave us such a great understanding of the whys of testing. Why does it matter anyway? I know how my kids are doing. Brad and Lacey also shared their own vulnerable stories about the testing struggles and triumphs in their own homes. If you haven't heard it, you might want to stop right here and go back to that. I'll be right here waiting for you when you come back. I wanted to talk to regular families. What makes other families willing to test do their kids struggle and fidget and sometimes cry like mine? Is everybody else out there happy to do this big thing? Am I the only one that feels like losing three days at least to testing is hard when there's so much that I want to be able to do in our home school? You guys, our Sequoia Grove family is amazing. I got to meet and talk to three incredible moms for this episode. Janae has thought it all through, and she's really good at preparing her kids for the tests. She's flexible and open, and I learned a lot from her. Carrie was a kindred spirit in her dislike of testing, but she takes the commitment she and her kids have made to the school really seriously and sees taking those tests like paying her taxes. And she does it with a good attitude. She sets a really good example for me. Finally, I talked with Stacy, the mother of five neurodivergent children. Testing is hard at their house, but they do it with a purpose. I could have picked Stacy's brain for hours. I hope you'll listen to each of these experienced homeschoolers as we get a peek into each of their families for a few minutes. So let's get started with Janae and hear more about how to help your kids prepare for their tests. The Coopers are Clarksville Homeschooling family and Janae, their mom, is here today to talk to us about their testing experience. Welcome, Janae.

Janae: Hi, happy to be here.

Rebecca: So tell us real quickly a little bit about who your family is. How many kids do you have? How old are they?

Janae: I have four kids. My oldest is 16, then 1412, and the youngest is nine.

Rebecca: And are they all homeschooling with you?

Janae: They are all currently homeschooling with us. This is our third year.

Rebecca: Okay, so you do have some public school experience in your background?

Janae: We do.

Rebecca: Okay, so tell us a little bit about your family's testing experience. The good, the bad, the ugly.

Janae: Well, testing before being at a charter school was very different than testing now. And my kids always hated testing in a public school environment because they just tested so much. And now they see the testing as an opportunity to see where they're at and a way to support their charter school because they feel very fortunate to have the freedom and the support to go to this school and to do what they're doing. And they know that their participation and doing their very best, it helps the school to be able to continue staying open.

Rebecca: Do they struggle with testing?

Janae: It's not their favorite thing in the world, but I've sort of taken it as we don't test a whole lot in a home school environment. And so we use these opportunities as opportunities, as like, a life skill. So managing that test anxiety and becoming more self aware of where they're at and how they're feeling and if they're feeling distracted or hungry or tired or needing a break. Just practicing that self awareness while they're taking a test and just practicing how to take a test on a computer and without help of mom or siblings or anyone around them.

Rebecca: So what do you consider to be success when testing? It may not be results. It might be good attitudes. It might be perhaps it is. Perhaps you want to see a certain amount of growth on the scores each year, or you want to see that your children are some aspect of the test is more thoroughly mastered. What in your house is success?

Janae: Specifically in regards to the CASP test, I think setting goals for each child is helpful, and for us, generally speaking, I would say successful if we take the time to prepare, and we prepare well. And just like a sporting event, if you play sports, you go to practice so that you're prepared for the game in the same way we prepare for the Cast test. And part of that preparation is looking at the questions. Is looking at is practicing writing for the test because it's so different than what we do at home? It's very different from the curriculums that we use. I also want to make sure that they feel prepared emotionally for the test that they are regulating. They know how to regulate themselves while they're testing and that they know that I have one student that could sense that he really needed a break. So it was like every 20 minutes or so, he would log off the test, out of the test, and he'd go jump on the trampoline or he'd go get a drink of water or he'd go get a quick snack and it made the test. He took a long time taking the test, but he was able to stay focused and engaged and self regulated the whole time.

Rebecca: He didn't feel he was stalling. It seemed to be a need that he had to be able to keep going.

Janae: Definitely. And so for him to just be able to recognize that in himself and advocate for that with his teacher that was proctoring the test was a huge success. As long as we prepare, we try our best and they're all able. But in this case, he was able to practice some of the skills of emotional regulation, skills that we've practiced in the past on his own. That's a huge success to me. So it doesn't even matter what the scores are.

Rebecca: So aside from the test, you felt this gave him an opportunity to really display some life skills that he'd been learning and practicing.

Janae: Yes, absolutely. And life skills that we don't get a lot of opportunities to practice in a homeschooling environment.

Rebecca: Yeah, because mom's there checking on you. Mom's catching the signals before you are that you might need a break. So you talked about being well prepared. Tell us what that looks like.

Janae: Depending on how much time we have. In an ideal world, I set aside a week beforehand, and we stop doing curriculum like math and writing curriculum, and we dive in together, and we look at the CASP website, and they give you all sample questions for english and science, the ela portion of it, the science portion of it, and the math portion. So for each grade level, I print those out and I let them do practice and then they have the answers also. So then with each kid, I go through their answers and we look at how the test oftentimes the questions were just worded funky so the kids have.

Rebecca: A chance to see they didn't actually know this, they just didn't understand how they were being asked.

Janae: Absolutely, yes. Because the Cast test is different. They ask Common Core standard questions, which we are working towards the standards, but in different ways, and they might be different places than where they're testing at that time. And so it gives them an opportunity to see how the test maker, what they're asking for so we can kind of analyze those questions and see why they got them wrong, if they got them wrong, or which ones were easy and which ones were harder.

Rebecca: I know a couple of my kids aren't doing real straightforward math, so while they're doing well in the curriculum they're in, it's not what it's going to.

Carrie: Look like on the test.

Rebecca: So I know I need to spend some time, helping them know what to expect and what that math on the test will look like and gain some confidence that you you do know this. It's just in a different format and.

Janae: You haven't seen it in a year, maybe, because two of my kids were working way far ahead in math. So if they're being tested at their grade level, they may have not seen that content in a year. So it is really helpful to just brush up on their skills in that.

Rebecca: Way, not assuming, oh, they're working at grade level ahead. Of course they're going to test well, actually. Well, I forgot that I haven't had to do in a while.

Carrie: Right.

Janae: And if they are working ahead of grade level, they might overthink some of these questions.

Rebecca: That's a good point. That's true. Do you have any specific resources, you said the CAASP website that you like to use?

Janae: Yes. One other resource that I would highly recommend is Ride on Web by Melissa Webb. If you look that up. A couple of years ago, we did one of her CAASP prep writing prep courses. It was a short course, and it was all online, and she went through she taught my kids and along with me how to prepare for the writing portion of the cast test. So we went through all of the different essays that they could get and the expository, opinion, persuasive, and narrative. And we looked at the essays that they have on the CAASP website and evaluated their scores and how the test graders would grade the scores that are on the CAASP website. And then she specifically pointed out what exactly they are looking for in each of these writing areas. So with narrative, they're looking for those plot elements that they want you to communicate certain things by the type of essay that they give you. So to make sure that my kids knew what they were asking for, and then they had the opportunity to practice writing each one of those styles. So I tried to do that. I try to take one of the topics through the CAASPP website and just give it to them. And then we together grade it and we look at the other grade and we decide what grade it should be.

Rebecca: Okay, so you just want to make sure that their hard work is pointed in the right direction?

Janae: Yes, we do a lot of writing, but it's not a very clearly narrative or very clearly it might not have all of the pieces that they're looking for in a test like this. So we just want to make sure that they know and have the chance to practice it before the day of.

Rebecca: Do you think home school parents should be concerned that the scores their kids get on the cast reflects on them? As a teacher?

Janae: I don't think scores are everything. They tell part of a story, but definitely not the whole story. It really just depends on how the kid was feeling that day. There can be lots of reasons that the student may not test well, and that's okay. So setting realistic goals, more like process goals, is what I would encourage parents to do. Because in the end, I don't think these scores are the be all, end all. They don't tell the whole story. They don't none of these scores tell the whole story.

Rebecca: They make all of our kids look the same on paper, and yet right. How different could they be from one another? What helps your family get through or thrive on a testing day?

Janae: My kids prefer to test at home.

Carrie: Okay.

Janae: So we try to keep the house as quiet as possible. We try to make high protein breakfast, get a lot of sleep the night before, and then have lots of snacks and ways that we can play outside just to get the energy out. I think going on a walk, if weather permits beforehand is helpful. Just getting outside keeps them alert and focused. They can be really long.

Rebecca: It's kind of a big ask, which is, I think, why some of us are resistant. Like, we didn't enjoy taking it. We don't really enjoy helping our kids through it. We know they're not going to enjoy it. It's a big ask.

Janae: They love being able to home school through this charter school, and they love our HSD. And I remind them that them being willing to do this and give it their all and do their best, it helps our schools stay open. And I think that they really take that seriously. I don't think it puts extra pressure. It's the truth.

Rebecca: Thank you, Jenny, for sharing about your family's experience and your wisdom with us today. I appreciate it.

Janae: You're welcome.

Rebecca: Now we'll sit down with Carrie. I think you'll find her open and gentle manner as inviting as I did. Carrie Dickinson is here with me. She is a Clarksville parent with four kiddos. And I'm excited to hear what testing looks like at her home. So welcome, Carrie.

Carrie: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Rebecca: So, give us a little overview of your family and what school looks like at your house.

Carrie: Okay, so I have four kids. My oldest is a senior in high school. She's 17. She'll graduate this year. And we home schooled one year at a time. So it's kind of shocking to be here at the end of the road with one. And then I have a 14 year old who's in 8th grade, and I have an eleven year old who's finishing up elementary or primary grades. And then my youngest is a boy and he is seven. And it's very busy in our house.

Rebecca: So if you've been homeschooling for this long, then have you been with charters the whole time?

Carrie: Almost the whole time. Okay. Yeah, we were independent very briefly.

Rebecca: So you have a lot of testing experience with this all right, so are you a gung ho tester? Are you all for it or do you test because you have to?

Carrie: We mostly test because we have to.

Rebecca: Okay.

Carrie: Definitely not gung ho.

Rebecca: So tell us a little bit about that. With so many kids to get through testing and so many years of experience, which must lead to some level of confidence in what you're doing with your kids, then why do you test? Why are you willing to test?

Carrie: I would say the number one reason I'm willing to test is because we found so much support and benefit with the charter schools and we feel like it's a way we can give back to the charter schools. I think you and I kind of chatted a little bit about it's our way of paying our taxes. In that way, we're able to help the charter schools stay functioning at their best. So we come each year and pay our taxes and do our best because we enjoy the citizen benefits of our charter school, so to speak.

Rebecca: So just like we all want nice roads to drive on, so we're willing to pay our taxes, you want the benefits of the charter school, so you're willing to take the test?

Carrie: Yes.

Rebecca: Okay. So how do your kids feel about testing? Do they go into it willingly? Is it a struggle?

Carrie: We have run the gamut. I would say, generally speaking, it's not something they look forward to. Although all the fun things that Clarksville has done in the past when it was inspired, and then Clerksville, they took breaks and had games or they had special snacks or rewards, that all helped. They would remember from the previous year, oh, remember, we got this last time when we finished. That helped. But otherwise it's not normal for us to spend time on a screen or sitting at a desk for an extended period of time. We tend to do shorter lessons and so it's a long day when they go, yeah, not something they're excited to do.

Rebecca: Do you have any particular issues that make testing extra difficult? Do you have any anxious kids or kids that need a little extra support?

Carrie: Yes, definitely. My third one has some special needs, and anxiety was definitely a part of it. And honestly, the charter schools have been so willing to work with her needs, and it was just a matter of me speaking up and expressing the needs that we had, honestly, because they were so willing to accommodate her and make it a better experience. So, like last year, she tested with her HST. They just did it one on one, and we had to go through a process to get that accommodation for her. But it was such a better experience because they could she could develop a relationship and pause and take a break if she needed to. And then just I think the first I was trying to remember my oldest, I think the first time we did state testing, they started at second grade. Do they still start at second grade? I remember. Okay. Yeah. So that was really young to be gone for so long. And I literally sat in the parking lot and said, I will be here if you need anything. So those are just the little things.

Rebecca: So they were at that your kids have mostly done in person as opposed to virtual from home?

Carrie: Mostly. Okay, yeah. The one who did it last year in person, that was fine. It was very near our house and she recognized people from the school. So that made it they run into people that they are familiar with. Only one did it at home. But I guess I'm trying to remember because, you know, you lose track. That was so good. We did one year at home, right? Everybody did it.

Rebecca: Yeah.

Carrie: Yes, I thought so. Okay. And then, of course, some of my kids have had certain tests, like they had to stay longer because of the grade that they were in and had to do the extra science test or stay for the PE test or whatever. It's always been a little different.

Rebecca: So how do you set up expectations with your kids? Do you expect a certain result on testing? Do you expect a certain attitude from them? What kind of expectations? Do you set up expectations with your kids?

Carrie: I do set up expectations. We have talked about paying our taxes and that we do it well and we do it with a good attitude. And this is not to toot my own horn at all, but it is modeling. If I model that well and I don't get grumpy about testing, then they tend to not get grumpy. And I've learned from mistake in that regard. If I'm grumpy and complain about it, then they're not going to want to do it. The expectations. Actually, I sometimes talk about the star results for the school with the kids because I like how it breaks it down a little bit more and there might be actually some feedback that we can use. But honestly, with the state testing, the results are so delayed, oftentimes we don't even look at them when they come. And sometimes my kids say, we went to all that work and you don't even and I say, you know what, somebody else is using that information to benefit and to use it as they needed in the school system. But we don't necessarily it's not going to impact us to even look at those. So I don't have expectations like as to how they score or anything like that. But I do expect a good attitude, and I expect them to do their best. And they usually come out telling me, okay, I did my best. I kind of got tired part way through or whatever, but I did my best and that's my expectation.

Rebecca: Do you see skills that they learn from the process of taking the test, being effective in other parts of their life.

Carrie: I definitely have. And that was a surprise to me because, like I said, I've had to model my own good attitude about it. But inside, I'm kind of like what? Why am I giving up my day for this? But honestly, I think just being able to go and to listen to somebody else giving directions, to be able to navigate on a computer, that's a new experience for them. My daughter was telling me earlier this week about, oh, she's in one of the HSVA math classes. And even there, she's like, we're always troubleshooting things with the technical side. And she's like, it's like in state testing, they have to do that every time on your first day. And I think, you know what, that's real life like. I have to troubleshoot technical stuff all the time, and it takes a lot of patience and it takes a lot of doing things over and over, trying to get it to work and even.

Rebecca: Planning ahead that there most likely will be some technical issues. So we have to leave time for that as well.

Carrie: Exactly. And just being able to face, like, taking a test, knowing that you're taking a test and that somebody else is going to look at those results, I think that produces a sense of anxiety in most people and just being able to help them navigate that as well. It applies, like when they go to take their driver's ed test at DMV and it's all on the computer right there at DMV. Yeah. And I think just the pressure that comes with having to perform and keep in that aspect of it, you have to go and there's an expectation and somebody's going to look at the results and being able to overcome that and then just do your best with it.

Rebecca: Do you do anything to prepare your kids ahead of time besides expectations, but to actually prepare for the test itself?

Carrie: So I do small things. I would say when they were all younger in an elementary school, in their first year of testing, or even, you know, 3rd, fourth, and fifth grade, we did not do very much, except I would pull up the practicing and show them what it would look like. But we didn't you know, they didn't type, they didn't didn't really navigate very much on the computer at that age. And I just thought, we're just going to go and it's going to be what it's going to be. But as they got older and then it got more proficient, going in and looking at what it was going to look like was more important to them and being able to navigate it because they had the skills of being able to type and move the mouse around and figure things out like that. But we also prepare. This might sound silly, but if they take state testing for math. They don't do math that day at home. Like, we totally adjust our schedule because I know it might be easy to think, oh, they're going and taking this test, and they have rewards and it's fine and we'll finish our school, but it's really taxing use that word on my kids and their energy level and just their mood. So I tend to clear their schedule of things that don't delight them, math and handwriting and things.

Rebecca: Right.

Carrie: And we also pack snacks, and so when they have a break, we try to pack a snack that is special to them to just encourage them and make that a little bit easier, I guess. And then if there's an option to spread the testing day out. I think normally in the past it's been like two or three days and I try as much as possible to set up so they could do all three days if needed, so that they don't feel pressured or like, oh, I have to do 3 hours in one day to get it all done. If they want to, they can, but they can always go back on that last day and finish it.

Rebecca: Yeah. So you already said that your family doesn't maybe use the CASP results much to guide your schooling. Do you worry about their results or what others might think? Are you concerned that it might feel like a reflection on you?

Carrie: No.

Rebecca: Okay.

Carrie: I guess because I see testing is just one piece of the puzzle, and my kids are in front of me every day, so I can see what they're doing. Well, at now, if they were in a class and a teacher was saying, hey, look, this is something you need to work on, or if I saw that they were struggling with their math assignments, then that would have more of an impact or influence on what we were doing every day. But the testing is one space in time, a place that they're not normally sitting in that classroom. See, like, there's so many other variables that it's just one piece of the puzzle.

Rebecca: So I haven't you're not worried about if the handwriting on the check to pay the taxes?

Carrie: No, exactly. As long as I don't get the date wrong on that.

Rebecca: So is there anything you would want to offer up to other families as they're considering testing?

Carrie: Just getting it done, I think, not making it too big of a deal, not making it like a hurdle that you have to step over, but just part of your plan. This is what we do in the spring. We do. I mean, maybe that's because we've been doing it for so long now, but it's just something that we do, whereas it maybe used to be more of something we worked on with the kids or then now it's just what we do in the spring.

Rebecca: Part of your rhythm?

Carrie: Yeah, it's part of the rhythm. It's like, oh, yeah, there's state testing, and then you have a few more weeks of school, and you're finishing up, and it just kind of comes.

Rebecca: So to not let it dominate.

Carrie: Yeah, I think don't let it dominate. And if you are concerned about if you are someone who puts a lot of pressure in the scores, maybe just this year, allow yourself to just not open that email when it comes and look at your kids. Look at the students who are in front of you and just know that you know them better than a test does, by far, and that this is just one piece of their puzzle. And it's really helping. I mean, it's such a grand scale. There's thousands and thousands of people doing this test of students doing this test, and they're pulling it all together to try and paint a picture. And so not to downplay that role, but just to remember that it's just one piece. It's not the whole thing. It's just a few days out of the year. And not to put too much weight in it, because in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter that much for that student.

Rebecca: So take yourself off the hook, but also let your kids off the hook. It's something we need to do, but.

Stacy: We don't have to be worried about it.

Carrie: Definitely. Yeah, definitely. And I think that's a daily thing in home schooling.

Stacy: Right.

Carrie: So supply it to this week as well.

Rebecca: Thank you, Carrie, so much for sharing your experience.

Carrie: Yeah, thank you. Thank you for having me.

Rebecca: Finally, we'll talk with Stacey. By the time I was done with this conversation, I felt like I could go out and do just about anything. Enjoy. Welcome, Stacey. It's great to have you here. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Stacy: Sure. I'm Stacey McDonald. I have five kids. My oldest has graduated in off studying physics. My second graduated from Clarksville last year, a year early, and then I have another in high school and two more in middle school.

Rebecca: So tell us a little about the testing experience in your house.

Stacy: So my kids all have learning differences. We have some ADHD, we have some spectrum. We have some visual learning disabilities with dyslexia. So testing is hard and mixed into all of those, we have some severe performance anxiety. So any sort of assessment at our house is a real challenge.

Rebecca: So with that in mind, why do you test?

Stacy: When we signed up with the charter, we chose to go with the charter instead of going independent for the funds. I have three kids, and homeschooling can be very expensive between the curriculum and the extracurriculars and field trips. And when we signed up, part of the agreement was that we would agree to testing to have access to those funds. And I like to teach my children the value of community and of supporting each other. And so when we discuss why they have. To test. That's a big part of what we talk about.

Rebecca: Did you make that decision on your own or were your children a part of it?

Stacy: My children are absolutely a part of it. Like I said, testing is very difficult for them. There's times we have to take breaks because they get emotional, they get upset, they get frustrated. We've had nothing but support from our HST prepping for testing, during testing, after testing. They understand. And we've discussed, would you rather give up your activities? Would you rather give up your memberships to this museum or this activity that we do to not test? They never say that that's what they want.

Rebecca: What do you consider to be success when testing in your house? Is it all about the scores?

Stacy: It is not about the scores. And sometimes I get caught up in that. This last round of testing, my kids scored a little lower than I would have liked them to. And so I went to my HSD and I kind of said, I'm worried about this. And she kind of checked me back and said they probably did the best they could do that day. And that is such a small reflection of their ability and their comprehension and their knowledge of what they've learned. They could have been having an off day. So it's not something to panic over if they're not successful in their scoring. For us, if we get it done.

Rebecca: We'Re happy as home school moms. We can fear that those test scores are a reflection on our success. What would you say to parents about that?

Stacy: I think that's absolutely true. I think that's when, again, it comes back to the support of the community and like I said, I reached out to my HST and I said, gosh, I've really kind of dropped the ball this semester. We had a lot going on, and my kids haven't been doing what they should have, and I haven't been getting them to do what they should. And because of that sense of community we have within our charter, she kind of checked me and said, listen, you're doing a great job. They're doing a great job. This is a slice of your whole school year. Just relax and remember that it's every day what you're doing. It's not that one day that they happen to take an assessment and your.

Rebecca: Child is a whole child, and they are testing them on this very specific pieces of information in a very specific way, in a very specific context. So there's so much more to who our kids are.

Stacy: Well, and how many of us get asked a question and we stand there, right? Like when you're put on the spot, it's not that you don't know the answer to it. It's scary. I mean, it is scary. And to pretend like testing is like butterflies and sunshine is untrue. It is scary and it is hard and it is a challenge. And so it's hard to view it as a full reflection of your child, because if you asked them that question in a comfortable setting, the likelihood that they could answer it is probably a lot higher.

Rebecca: And so that's true for all of the other kids taking the test, too. Right. It's not just your kids. So when they others are struggling with the same thing. So if scores aren't really the goal, what is a good testing day look like at your house? We don't know the scores, but we've gotten through testing.

Stacy: Yes.

Rebecca: What does a good testing day look like?

Stacy: Usually on testing days, we don't do school. We don't do any other school. And for my kids, that's an incentive is today we're only going to do this test. That's only going to take a small amount of what our typical day is, and then we're going to go do something fun, or you can play that video game or watch that show. So successful testing, to me is we get through it. We cry minimally. Hopefully we take breaks. I love to see my kids advocate for themselves when it becomes too much and they're frustrated and they're feeling overwhelmed and they're feeling bad about themselves and what they don't know or what's frustrating them, to have them say to me, I need a break. I need to pause my test. I need to step away. And we step away. We have a conversation, we have a snack, we recharge, and then we return and we finish our test.

Rebecca: Demonstrating self awareness is success in and of itself for you. So you can watch them doing something hard, being willing to do it and diligent, but being able to say, I need to stop. I'm not okay right now. So there's kind of multiple character traits that go into that, aren't there?

Stacy: And going back to it.

Carrie: Right.

Stacy: We don't just say, Gee, this is hard. I don't like this. This is making me feel less than and then walking away and not coming back.

Rebecca: You've touched on this a little bit, but what are things that help your family get through testing?

Stacy: We talk about it a lot, and we validate that it's hard. We validate they don't want to do it. I don't want to do it. I don't think anybody wants to do it. So we validate that, and we talk about that, and we talk about the reasons why we're doing it, and we reevaluate if those reasons are worth the discomfort of testing.

Rebecca: Kind of like going to the dentist. Yeah, nobody wants to go to the dentist.

Stacy: And then if you don't, you kind of regret it.

Carrie: Yeah.

Stacy: So we talked about that. We make sure they're comfortable with what they're wearing. We make sure that those days are often, what's your favorite lunch day? Or what's your favorite breakfast day to make sure that we're full and we're setting ourselves up for success as much as we can on those days, what.

Rebecca: Expectations do you set for them to finish? It okay.

Stacy: And sometimes my son really struggles with written communication. That's very hard for him. A lot of his assignments we accommodate by him presenting them orally, or he presents them to me and I write them down for him. And so when it comes to those state testing, they require them to write paragraphs and essays. And so we kind of sat down with him beforehand, knowing that was coming and knowing that was an expectation he probably could not fulfill. And discussing with him, what does success mean on that portion for him? So he went into it prepared, knowing, okay, the instructions say X, Y, and Z. I'm not capable of that, but what am I capable of? What will push me in this instance that I can do versus just not doing it?

Rebecca: Because ultimately, it is a test of what can you do, what do you know? And more than the actual scores, is being able to maybe look next year and say, we've seen some improvement. That's great. Your kids are not sitting down at the computer for their testing, never having talked about it or thought about it before. You have done some prep work with them, set some expectations for what, one, is on the test, and two, what they can expect themselves to be able to accomplish on that test.

Stacy: Yes, and we do include our HST in that because I don't know the test, what it looks like for every single grade. Obviously, they give us access that we can go and preview that. I do go through that with my kids so that they have an idea of what it will look like. We don't spend a lot of time on those practice tests because for us, that almost triggers more anxiety, more anticipation. Gosh, that was scary. But again, my kids have accommodations, so there's some things that we go through in there. So they know the format, they know where to push a button if they need it, to do text, to speech. They know those things. So you can take out a level of that anxiety of just being familiar with the website, familiar with the format, so they're not surprised. That day.

Rebecca: You're here talking on a podcast about testing. Obviously, you take it seriously, and you think it's either you think it's important or you understand that it's important to the schools. Do you want other families to consider as they approach the testing season?

Stacy: I think it's just important to realize that really none of us want to do it. I think sometimes we think that everyone else wants to, or we think that everyone else's kids are capable of it and our kids struggle. And so that the best thing for our kids is to accommodate that and not have them do it. Our family's decision is that we're part of a community that's very important to us. We really appreciate the funds and the abilities that we have to do things that we wouldn't have otherwise. And so I just think that it's important to remember that we are a community, we are in this together. We can support each other, we can bolster each other. And part of that is participating in testing so that our charter does get their participation numbers that they require, so that we can continue to have the amazing community that has been built and the support that we all love.

Rebecca: What do you want your kids to learn from the experience of testing? Is there anything for them to learn or is it simply a duty that has to be done?

Stacy: I think that I want them to learn that when you commit to something, when we signed up for the charter and it said that we would test that, then that means that's what we do, because that's what we committed to do. I also think it's very important to learn the skills that are involved in testing has nothing to do with the material and if they know it or they don't know it, but do they know how to navigate testing? Are they looking at trade schools where they're going to need to pass licensing exams? Are they looking at post secondary education where they're going to need to take assessments in college, those assessments are often cumulative over a year. Are we developing those skills? But also are we being able to look at things that scare us, look at things that are hard for us and figure out a way to make it work for us? One of the things that we say a lot at our house, because we have a neuro diverse house, is we have to learn to work with our brains instead of against them. And so that is one of the biggest skills I want them to learn with testing is learning how to do something hard, working with your brain instead of against.

Rebecca: I think that applies to everybody.

Janae: Yes.

Rebecca: Because we all have different strengths and weaknesses and that's really cool. Is there anything else you would like to tell us on this subject?

Stacy: I just appreciate you having me in. Like I said, we really do not enjoy testing at our house. It's a rough week, it's very difficult. But I enjoy the horseback riding lessons and I enjoy the aquarium and the museums and the subscription kits that we get. And so that week that we survive of testing, that's just what our whole family focuses on, is at the end of this, this is the reward that we get.

Rebecca: Thank you, Stacey. As I was listening to each of these parents talk about why they prioritize testing, I noticed a common thread. We love the benefits we get from the charter school. We value the support of our teachers. They also all mentioned life skills that their kids had learned from taking the test. Though these skills varied wildly from child to child and from family to family. For some, it's simply being able to identify that they need a break and then to be able to articulate that. For others, it was knowing how to navigate tests that they would come across in the future. I started this little series on testing to help the school get the word out about why testing is important to them. I hoped that we could talk about testing in a way that helps us relax and feel like we've had a breath of fresh air on the topic. I didn't know that I was going to learn that testing isn't a waste of three days. It isn't a roadblock to the real learning I want my kids to have. It is the learning for those three days and perhaps for a few days before of prep time, they are learning a stack of educational and life skills. Our Sequoia Grove family really is very special. It has been an honor to get to know and record with each of these five parents and you, listener, are part of this family as well. You are doing a great job with your kids and you can help them navigate this testing period and we're here to help you if you need it. If you have concerns, please reach out to your HST. If you'd like to email me at podcasts@sequoiagrove.org with any further questions or worries about testing, please do. If I can't help you, I'll find the person that can. If you ask a question that others need to hear the answer to, I'll bring it up on a future episode. Have these episodes been helpful? Please let me know. I'd love to hear your story. I am your host Rebecca Lasavio and this has been the Sequoia Breeze podcast. I hope that the time we've spent together has been a breath of fresh air for your home school.