Sometimes, #5 gets lost in the shuffle

Well, that is an understatement.

If you refer back to my post about Parent Orientation you will learn all about having no idea about Mac's daily notebook.  The daily notebook is where he needs to read a book, do flashcards and have his parents sign a form each evening.  All his peers have turned this in daily, but he has failed to mention it as we have talked about homework in the evenings.

A small glimpse into our evenings: Right now, no sports.  My office is from home, so we get home from school 3:45/4:00 - kids get snacks, I go back to my desk.  At 4:15, I am usually yelling down the hall (toward kitchen/homework station area) for everyone to get started on their homework.  Throughout the next hour or so, children are in and out of my office asking for my signature on this agenda or that reading log, etc.  Kids are also asking for help on math problems or asking what a word means that they came across in their reading.  At 5:30/6:00, I pretend like I am almost done with work as Daddy comes home from work.  And I pretend like I have a plan for dinner.  Jason starts to check math assignments, I try to get away from my desk to find textbooks and notebooks are scattered all over the kitchen and kids are upstairs, downstairs and outside riding bikes.  Mollee is usually listening to her iPod and ignoring her brothers during this time.  Tavis is usually in panic mode over what he forgot from his locker that day.  Daegan is working on his work and getting done. Capps usually did his work at school and Mac usually does nothing during these hours....

So, Mac is #5.  I made a deal with myself not to let him slip thru the cracks.  When we had him, I had no intentions of him being the baby of the family, but I really had no intentions of him being spoiled either.  But he never got spanked as much as the others and he definitely gets lost in the shuffle when it comes to school work.

We are getting a little bit better at reading at night, and only slightly better at flashcards.  It is hard.  As you see my glimpse into my evening, by the time I get out of my office, I then get dinner going, we eat late and then we never return to the Elementary School homework.  I know, I know.  There are many out there that are in the midst of sports and their evenings are even more chaotic.  We've been there and will be there again in the Spring, but as my job gets progressively busier, I am taking awhile to adjust to five with homework, versus four - especially with two in advanced math and ALL math needing to be checking EVERY evening! (And next year - high school)

And, this brings me to the reason for my post today.  I think this post could also be called "Delayed Spelling Test Studying".  In our chaos, I do not promote last minute studying, but it happens.  We may have been cramming for Mac's spelling test on the last night possible.  And he has not been doing well at all.  He has gotten some fairly terrible grades.  Last night, we were looking over the words and doing our studying and I just happen to be looking at some school e-mails and noticed it said "Spelling Test 9/11".

"Mac, did you have your spelling test today?"

Keep in mind, we were in the middle of studying them.

Blank stare.  "Hmmm.  No."

"This form says the test is going to be Thursday, not Friday"

Black stare.  If you know Mac, you know what look I am talking about.

"Mac, did the teacher stand in front of the classroom today and call out the words and you have to write them down?"

"Oh, yeah!  We did that."

*sigh*

So, apparently, we didn't know about the daily notebooks and his spelling test has been on Thursday each week and we have been cramming hard for it Thursday night!  And. He. Has. Said. Nothing.

Welcome to my world, People!