I am not sure if this was mentioned, but I would highly recommend Moscow Saga by Vasily Aksenov. It covers the life of one family from 1920s to I think 1960s. It’s a trilogy, the first book is called The Generation of Winter. Another suggestion is Leningrad under Siege: the first hand account of the ordeal. This book is the documentary of the interviews with the survivors of 900 days siege of Leningrad (St Petersburg) during the WWII. Warning: it is shocking, but definitely gives you a lot of insights into how Russians lived before and during the war and what impact it had on their lives and subsequent generations. Update: forgot one more: And Quiet Flows the Don. The author got Nobel prize for this book in 1965.

Just want to say hang in there :grouphug: My DD is almost 12 and I see the same. She used to be VERY organized, punctual, responsible, observant, quick to clue in and alter action course when required... not anymore. She does not roll her eyes, but she does think we do not understand her "as well as you guys used to...like, not 100% now, more like 95% or 90%..." (her words), We mentioned once, casually, how she used to notice and memorize a million of things around her - she became very emotional and sad, so we no longer compare in her presence. She forgets stuff, she's absent-minded and despite her honest efforts to stick to the plans she's struggling. On a flipside - somehow I see that she feels deeper now, if you understand what I mean. In her "good" moments she's very attuned to our emotions, she's much more caring now. Her childish ego is gone. DH and I try to go easy on her, to diffuse tensions, to help, not to nag. Does not always work, but we try. I recall that in her age, around 12-13 years, I had an avalanche of unfortunate consequences of my absent-mindedness and lack of organization, and I actually remember thinking to myself: "What's wrong with me? This is so NOT me!" It helps me with DD. Actually, if it's any consolation - I am a good planner now, always organized and on top of things, this is part of my occupation and I am good at my job :), so I tell myself there is a light at the end of the tunnel :)

Thank you so much, everyone! Lots to peruse :) Actually, some of the options completely slipped from my memory, like Paddington, or Arnold Lobel - thank you for reminding me! Library and Amazon, here we come :)

Sorry, just realized it is confusing :) the books for him to read independently. He still reads out loud, that’s why i wrote “read aloud†:)

Hello all, Can you please recommend read-alouds for a 5yo with the good reading skills yet the maturity more or less typical for his age? This is what we've tried: Mercy Watson series - can easily read it, gets it and enjoys it. Ricky Ricotta and the Mighty Robot series - the same. Let's read and find out books, Levels 1 and 2 - the same. Magic tree house - can easily read it (as in "read out the words"), but the concepts in many books are still a bit foreign to him, difficult to follow. Any suggestions? He's especially fascinated with the idea of reading chapter books - this motivates him and makes him so proud. I suspect the discussions of this sort are fairly frequent on this forum, I just cannot easily locate them. Thank you!

You did not specify the age and what you've already read / watched... so i'll just offer a couple of random suggestions: Books about George by Lucy and Stephen Hawking (like "George's Secret Key to the Universe" and the others from the series). Documentaries by Brian Cox (e.g. "Wonders of the Universe", "Wonders of the Solar System") "A Black Hole is Not a Hole" by Carolyn DeCristofano.

Sorry, cannot help with finding the thread you're talking about, but I found this book very informative and useful. It was suggested somewhere on this forum - unfortunately I do not remember where or by whom! "Smart but Scattered" by Peg Dawson https://www.amazon.com/Smart-but-Scattered-Revolutionary-Executive-ebook/dp/B005D7D57K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518534078&sr=8-1&keywords=smart+but+scattered

DH and DD were watching the launch from the public beach - they traveled from Canada just for that. The beach was supposed to be closed, but I guess at some point the police gave up and was just monitoring for the safety and chatting with ppl how this is just like the times of Shuttle launches. DH/DD got emotional during the launch. I did, too, while watching spacex live stream. It's not weird and nerdy, is it? What an amazing and beautiful example of what we are capable of as humans. How insignificant and short-term some events and quarrels seem in comparison. Gives me chills.

Thank you for sharing your experience! Yes, she's in school during the day, with a good amt of homework. This is what my inner nagging voice was telling me, I guess I chose to ignore it...

This is so inspiring! Thank you for posting and best of luck to your team!

Would someone be able to share the experience? How bad is it to have AoPS C&P start overlapping with the tail end of Intro to Alg B for 3 weeks? Trying to plan out the workload vs vacations and summer trips and would really like to squeeze C&P before the family vacation. Background info: DD11, Grade 6, a fair bit of homework at school, a bit of extracurricular beside school, has been ok with the pace and complexity of AoPS so far, challenged but not struggling. Am I crazy? Or can it work? TIA!

May I share our experience? Gifted DD (now 11) was in French Immersion in grades 1-3. The best thing is that 2 years after she moved on she's still fluent in French. Apart from that, it was not a good fit for her, as the French was taught at the expense of everything else, including math (not to mention science, social studies etc). In other words, all other subjects were almost viewed as other ways to practice French and increase vocabulary. We ended up afterschooling A LOT. HTH.

Similar experience here! We found the comments and observations of the specialist who administered the test more valuable than knowing the number itself. There were a couple of a-ha! moments during the discussion. I would also caution against taking the chart at face value. Our profoundly gifted daughter does need to work hard sometimes, and it used to be a huge frustration for her and puzzle for us: if she's so talented, shouldn't she breeze through the stuff? Turned out not necessarily. Or she's an excellent memorizer but hates guessing: uncertainty annoys and bothers her.

This looks like a plausible explanation... just not a fair one.. or motivational, for what it's worth. As i mentioned, DD is "inventing" the challenges for herself because she sees very few, what improvement can she show if she's doing this and getting great marks already? :( sorry, rhetorical question, I know.

Just wanted to say - thank you so much everyone for listening in, offering your view and helping me organize my thoughts!