Dealing with Testing Stress

We have testing at my school next week.  I have to say friends, I hate tests.  I wasn't a good test taker growing up, so that has carried over to testing my little guys.  If it was a project or homework, I made a 100 every time, but actual tests stressed me out.  Not to mention, you knew they were timed, so it never failed that I was the kid finishing with one minute left.  So now when I have to test my kids, I feel that same anxiety, except now it is for them.  I know I taught everything, but there are so many unknowns like "How was their weekend?" or "Did they eat leftover Easter candy for breakfast?"  The hardest part is you truly can't test everything.  For example, determination, manners, and character don't show up on a test.

Anyway, I hate tests, I do, but I am trying to do everything I can not to let my kiddos feel the same stress I feel and that I felt when I was a kid.  I want them to be confident and sure of themselves.  Last week I blogged, a little about testing treats, but this week I'm going to fill in a few more gaps and teach you a few tricks I've learned the last few years.

If you take tests in the morning, which at my school we do, then breakfast has to be your number one priority.  I have always done breakfast for my kids the morning of tests, but a few years ago, I learned that there are actually foods that can give them a little bit more of an edge.  Below is a list of those foods.  Oh, and I'm not a dietician, so there could very possibly be a few things on this list that are wrong, but I have read multiple articles and these are the things listed by the majority of them.  The biggest thing is to eat protein.

The other thing I read in multiple places is to stay away from muffins (lots of carbs), turkey (makes you sleepy), and sugary drinks (can cause you to be jittery).

Some of these testing treats can double as breakfast for your kids, but most of them are for snacks later in the day or something fun for your kids to do after tests.  I had a lot of requests for the forms, so, I've included the file here.  Just click on any of the images and it will take you to the file to download.

Now, I mentioned fun.  It sounds funny, but I tell my kids multiple times that if they give their best I will make it worth their while and promise I will line up some fun activities.  Since today is Easter and we were prepping for tests last week, I didn't get a chance to do Easter stuff, so one of the things we will be doing are Easter centers.  We finish testing on Wednesday, so Thursday and Friday we will end up doing a lot of center activities.

Another thing we are going to do are some of the awesome Pinterest experiments I have found recently.  Below are a few of my favorites.  To read more about them, you can click on the images.  These images came from the original site which is Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas.  Friends, I stumbled onto her site and whether you are a teacher or mom, her stuff is great.  She also includes TONS of pictures, so it makes it easier to know what you are getting yourself into. Once I get around to doing them, I promise to update you on how they went.

We will also be doing brain breaks.  I have ALL the CDs from The Learning Station, but just in case you don't, you can search for them on YouTube and do them with your kiddos.  Below are two of our favorites.

Happy testing and I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!