I printed out a PASS placement test for J to take. I figure that since testing will be a part of her future, she might want to brush up on the test-taking skills. At about half-way through, she looked at me and just wanted to stop. It wasn't hard for her at all, but she said it was just like the ones she took at school and she didn't like it one bit. It reminded her too much of that time, with all the confusion, high expectations, bad feelings, and competition between her and her classmates. She finished it anyway (it was very short) and did well, but I've decided she doesn't need to be tested this year. In NY we can test in 5th and 7th grades in lieu of 4th, 6th, and 8th, so that's what we'll do. I know what she's capable of and don't need her to go through this just to ease the minds of the curious/doubting relatives and friends.

W is sick again. He has a cold with fever and chills. What kind of sucks is that his trip is Wednesday and I was chosen as a chaperone. I called MIL to watch J that morning, but, as usual, she had that tinge of annoyance in her voice and said she'd let me know tomorrow if she's available. I hate that she's the only family I have around here.

I broke down and mentioned homeschooling to W today. He said, "no thanks, I like school". I dropped it, but then a few minutes later he said, "you know, maybe I want to homeschool". I'll try not to bring it up again. If he does, I'll tell him about it, but I wouldn't feel right unless it's what he really wants. We do so much together during the day that I know homeschooling would fit him perfectly. Today we played with Dr. Dreadful's Freaky Food Lab and made foaming brains and a spider in venom (we were all set to make the "spicy spider farts", but you need the other kit with the straw attachment). We did several pages in his big sticker book and J played cards with him. He wore his Heely's all morning (getting good at keeping his balance!) and we threw some baseballs to each other so he could try out his new glove. He went to starfall.com all on his own and listened to (and read!) The Gingerbread Man story a few times. After school, he met up with his friend Roberto at the playground and they played together the whole time. He's very independent and self-motivated, like J. I think he'll thrive with homeschooling.

Link of the day:
http://townhall.com/opinion/columns/NathanaelBlake/2006/03/10/189334.html