My 8 yo spent this last year in a wonderful, intense, demanding and very fun math magnet school in Moscow, Russia (we'd been there 4 years and just moved back to the US this June). I had homeschooled him the year before and while he loved math, he resisted learning to read. So we trudged through a few things--OPG, Pathway Readers, Phoncis Pathways. We also tried just reading a lot and not following a program, etc. I had hoped to make real progress with him this academic year, but his school--where the language of instruction was Russian, my ds' second langauge--was really tough and he had quite a bit of homework. So we ended up not making a lot of progress. (He did, however, earn high grades and his teachers were quite pleased with his reading and writing in Russian.) Meanwhile, I homeschooled my 5-6 yo this past year and he raced through our reading program and is now reading books by the bucketload. In fact, when for some reason I can't do the evening read-a-thon, he does it, reading for more than a n hour aloud to his siblings. And my older son is always conning him into reading comic books to him, etc. The disparity--my 8 yo reads like a mid-year first grader amd my 6 yo reads like a 4th grader--is becoming very obvious, and I think DS1 is starting to get motivated to get in the reading game. So now it is time to buckle down and help my ds1 learn to love to read on his own. Can anyone suggest a program, approach, plan? I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

...from the car? We are moving from crowded, urban Moscow to a lovely seaside village in the US. We are hoping for a lot of sea and surf time, and I'm busy thinking how I will get toddlers, sand toys, boogie boards, coolers, towels, novels, a sand chair (mine!) and an umbrella/tent from parking areas and onto the beach. Silly problem, of course, but it is more fun to think about than the window job we need done on the house. My big boys will help but I'm wondering if someone has a great suggestion beyond (or in addition to) my 3.5-foot tall sherpas. Thanks!

Eyewitness: Evolution by Linda Gamlin The Evolution Book by Sara Stein (out of print but used copies are available) Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution by Steven Jenkins Mammals who Morth by Jennifer Morgan (there are three books in this series by the author. It's a bit of an ambitious perspective--the story of life on earth is told from the universe's point a view--and a little new-agey for my tastes. My children, however, were enthralled. I also second Virginia Lee Burton's Story of the World and Darwin and Evolution for Kids. Hope that helps.

My 4 year old is starting to read at a very basic level and loves workbooks. We've used and liked the Explode the Code A, B, and C books but she doesn't like ETC 1. We've used the Before We Read and Learning through Sounds workbooks from the Pathway Reading Series. She's also worked through Singapore Math's kindergarten books, although she's done only the "fun" pages. I'm especially interested in materials she can use on her own or with a little help while her brothers are working too. I'm thinking about the Critical Thinking Company preschool books--my guys like their mind benders and other books--but I'd like to hear any suggestions. Thank you.

Many of the museums have a "pay what you want" option. Don't be bashful--those ticket prices add up. The American Museum of Natural History is a must see and they allow you to decide what you can pay--but they don't advertise it. Just say you can pay $1 a person, for example. This doesn't apply to special features--many are expensive but very wonderful. If you've never been, you can get an eyeful--and a headful--without having to do the extras. On a lower level--I forget which-- you will find a discovery type room. Be sure to ask where it is when you get your tickets. There is no special charge for this, but you have to sign up for a time slot in advance by going to the room. ( I think. Maybe you sign up at the ticket counter. Just ask to be sure) Across from the northeast corner of the museum is a great playground just inside Central Park. Also on the roof of the museum is a grassy roof garden. EJ's luncheonette is nearby, but it can be crowded on weekends. the children's museum is also nearby but pricey and no great shakes (at least compared to the Boston museum Also free (or almost) for the asking is the Met, the most amazing museum of art ever. Wonderful. Also a great roof view of the park, etc, from the roof bar or roof cafe. Try to find the Shakespeare Garden in Central Park. Also the Sheep's Meadow is great for people watching. The Central Park Zoo is fun, but nutty on weekends and pricey. Have fun! I'd love to hear if any of this works out! I second the Staten Island Ferry and just walking.

Point Judith! We haven't lived in RI for more than a decade, and never with children. After so long in big cities--NYC, Moscow--we are excited to live some place we really love to be. The seawall, Moonstone beach, the breakwall at Jerusalem, the libraries!!!!!(we've been without access to an English language library for 4 years), the narrow river, the ferry to Block Island--I can't wait! I'll miss our friends here, though, and our great tutors. But for a tomato patch and a boogie board I'll give up this foreign travel, at least for now.

We have two dissection frogs and a dissection kit and after months of procrastination I am finally ready to get this project underway. Has anyone done this with younger children? Any suggestions, warnings, etc.? My children are not squeamish (they've caught and cleaned their share of large fish) and neither am I. We don't have a dissection guide, and have no way of getting one, so unless I find one online --I've looked to no avail--we'll just open them up and see what we learn. Would love to hear about your experiences with dissection.

Thank all of you for your thoughtful replies. What you write makes wonderful sense. Part of the problem as I see it is that my older boy is very invested in being the best and the smartest. It is something he has picked up at school. So he works his tail off only to see his smiling, whistling brother race past him without breaking a sweat. I'm nervous about having a "we all have our own gifts" conversation because I am afraid that by defining these gifts I will be labeling the kids. Does that make sense? Yesterday my three year old refused to let DS1 read to her because "you are too slow" and said she wanted DS2 to read instead. ARgggh. We are returning to the US this summer, after 4 years abroad. We do plan to continue homeschooling, with tutoring in Russian so we don't lose these hard-won gains. My oldest son says he wants to keep going to school but I think the schools near us will be nothing like the Russian school he loves so much.

as my primary means of disciplining my children. Instead I try to use encouragement, example, literature and conversation. Some days this is rather exhausting, and it is not always very effective, at least in the short term. I just want good order, good listening and a little bit of cooperation. I'm wondering what other similarly-minded parents of cheerful, rambunctious, kind, crazy, oft-wild hordes do when they are a little burned out and having trouble finding the joy. And apologies for the grammatically wacky thread title. These can't be edited so I can only laugh.

Love those lists! I second the Freddy the Pig series. They are also great read alouds because they are fairly witty and so entertain me as well. Also, we recently read the Great Horn Spoon (a boy and his butler join the gold rush) as a read a loud. That would be a good read for your son if he wanted a break from fantasy writing. Finally, we just read a series of books featuring woodland animals--Ragweed, Poppy, Poppy and Rye and Ereth's birthday by Avi. Great books that would work for your son perhaps.

Hi there, I'm now in Moscow, Russia where I have been living with my family for four years. We return to RI in June. My oldest child was homeschooled for first grade, but is now in a Russian math school--we just couldn't resist giving him the chance to gain real fluency. My now kindergartener is homeschooled this year, with tutoring in Russian and math. We plan to homeschool the lot of them when we return to Wakefield, RI. Any other RI here? How about Muscovites or other expats?

My 5 yo is surging past his brother in reading, writing, math, etc. in ways that are now very very obvious. My older son (7) attends school (we live in Moscow and he attends a math magnet school that is really extrordinary) and is proficient in Russian. His language of instruction is Russian, and his is doing very well in this acheivement oriented school. His English reading skills are behind grade level, I think, and his writing and spelling are abysmal. We think the temporary delay in his reading and writing in English is worth the gains he is making in a foreign language. (My husband and I are not native Russian speakers). His brother is at home and is reading fluently in English at a 3rd or 4th grade level. His is doing work in math beyond the elementary level. He is working with a Russian language teacher and is now reading and writing in Russian at a second or third grade level. My oldest sone is very smart, and quite talented in math. My second son is, I think, truly gifted in both math and languages. My two oldest children are very close and loving brothers, but I can see that my older son is more than a little shocked and alarmed by his brother's progress this year. He is also naturally more competative than his brother, so he notices in a way his brother does not. I am wondering what others who have experienced something similar in their family dynamic have done to support their children, mitigate rivalries, etc. Thanks for any advice.