We had the fun of taking our first standardized test of the school year this past week. Since we homeschool through a charter, we have to adhere to all the state requirements. Yipee!! I know in the core of my being that these are not accurate reflections of what my kid knows and doesn't know or what they can and can't do. Even trying to facilitate the test, I was utterly confused on the directions of some of the problems. Yeah good luck with that son.
However it reminded me of the reason why I homeschool. It's so easy to find identity in grades or how you match up with the rest of your class. If it happens to be on the lower end, then it could mean you're starting out life from a place of self defined deficiency. I don't want this to be the case for my kids. I want them to understand that they are capable of anything. Truly anything. They are not put into a box or defined by a reading level or a group based on what they are not capable of at the current time.