R-o-l-a-i-d-s

Thursdays make my stomach churn.

Thursday is the day before Friday and Fridays mean one thing when you have an elementary school student: Spelling Test Day.

Here’s the thing. Alex cannot spell his way out of a paper bag. I meant it. He also has very little interest in learning to spell. So far this year, he’s earned two C’s and a D in spelling.

We had the conversation today on the way to school that a D means “below average--as in ‘you are performing under the ability of the average second grader.’”

I glanced in my rear view mirror to give Alex the arched-eyebrows-and-pursed-lip-face to let him know I was seriously irritated. He looked at me and said, “Well, what happens if I get one D on my report card? Because I’m sure it will be balanced out with A’s in math and science.”

I told him I expected nothing less than a B to show up on his report card. I told him the jig was up. I knew full well he wasn’t giving spelling (OR reading for that matter) his all. He didn’t even put up a fight. “Yeah, you’re probably right. See ya!,” and he was out of the car.

After school we had some errands to run. While we were out, we picked up our first Harry Potter book. I’m hoping Harry flips a switch or casts a spell, and Alex will magically want to improve his literacy skills.

On the way home, Alex asked if he could play outside. I reminded him he chose to wait until the last minute to study for his spelling test and there most likely wouldn’t be time. I white knuckled the steering wheel and took a deep breath in order to fill my lungs with the air that would surely have to deliver an angry lecture about preparation once again.

To my surprise, very little protest arose from the black Graco booster.

I don’t know what happened, but Alex willingly studied for his spelling test.

Wait. I do know what happened. I threatened to call Mrs. Small, his teacher if he didn’t. I e-mailed her last week and he went nuts as a cat on a hot plate.

I also bought each of the kids a miniature composition notebook. Like all kids, Alex and Meredith really like things that are far smaller than practical. He wrote all his words, without protest, on his tiny tablet. By the end of our two hour session, Alex could spell all the words except one. I’m hoping something sticks until the test. I hope it’s early in the day. We haven’t worked on retention.