Teach to the Test

Hey Bloggy

So H dawgs has a project due tomorrow.  Part of the project is her writing and part of it was supposed to be either an essay or a ppt or I forget the other options -- speech maybe?  Anyway, at first she chose the ppt and was very excited about it.  She was going to go all Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on the ppt and we were all singing tra la la.

But then of course she doesn't realize how hard the ppt option is.  So we are two slides in and she wants my help, but also she is frustrated so she keeps snap yapping at me. I am doing the dance of help or no help; hands get bitten off or hands stay connected to wrists.  Since I prefer my hands to stay where the Big Guy made them I back track. 

But now, Blog, the prez is due tomorrow and we only have two slides.  I try not to stress about this because it isn't my prez.  But of course all day today I have to sit on my hands and not do the gd thing for her because I hate to think of her going in empty-handed.  This morning she says, let's change to the essay option because I am really a writer, not a techie.  Her words.   So in her little third grade head she is gonna happily type away the blues tonight but I know it's going to take a lot longer.  I can offer to type it for her, but again, my hands.  I like 'em where they are.  So tonight there will be tears.  Hers, mine, who knows.

As a former teacher, I know projects are essential.  As a parent, holy moly do we dread them.  It's tough because I could do the project in two seconds and we are constantly asking our educators not to "teach to the test".  Well, a project is a great way to differentiate instruction.  Until mama is sitting in a pool of Elmer's glue trying to connect two double A batteries to a sheep.   Then, not so much.