Testing - Unschool-Style

Since we ended up with a rainy afternoon yesterday, I kept the girls in from recess, and gave them a test. Okay, we don't actually have recess - we just play, and it was more of a rainy day, craft project, than a quiz. But, since a large part of succeeding on any test, is being able to read, understand, and follow directions, it served the same purpose.

I gave each of the girls a lump of salt dough (2 parts flour, 1 part salt, and enough water to make it dough like, but not too sticky), and Brigitte Casagranda's Salt Dough Fun. It's a great book, with detailed, step by step instructions, accompanied by clear photographs, for several, simple, salt dough creations.

I told the girls, their job was to pick a project, and follow the instructions, as exactly as possible, to make it. Then, I went off to work with the younger girls. They picked a project too, but I read the instructions, and broke them into smaller pieces for them to follow.

It was an interesting exercise. G, my 11 year old, followed the written instructions pretty well. She questioned the logic, behind some of them, but agreed to give them a try. A, who is 9, followed half of the written instructions, and then guessed, incorrectly, what to do for the rest, from the pictures. I pointed out, where she had deviated from the directions, and started her over. The second time through, she followed all of the written instructions.

There was enough clay for the older girls to make two projects each. They chose to make two of the same project, rather than having to read through new instructions. I thought that was kind of funny. I think, if I had not told them it was a test, they would have been braver about picking a new project.

So, this morning, as a reward for "passing" the "test", the girls painted the baked, and cooled projects...

...with complete artistic freedom.

It's great to be a homeschooler.