We went to Parc Asterix last summer. It was lots of fun, and we're not even huge Asterix fans. It might be a nice break from more traditional sightseeing things. I remember there seemed to be quite a lot of water rides and all the kids got very very wet, so you might want to be prepared.

Funny, because we homeschool in France and I've never found anyone to be anything other than very understanding. I even went to the Mairie (city hall) and asked if I needed to do anything to register the girls or anything. They didn't really know what to do about us, just said homeschooling sounded like a great idea, and leave us alone. I haven't had one negative word about hsing from anyone since we moved here more than a year ago. DDs have other lessons and things during school hours, we're often out during school hours, and no one has ever commented on it. Being foreign helps, obviously. I heard more negative comments as a general matter when we were living in NL where the law allows homeschooling in only very limited circumstances.

I've done a few of these. I quite liked the tour that focussed on the history of the bridges, but I can't remember the name. I did the one near Alma Marceau (I think it's the Bateaux Mouche sp?) last summer and found it difficult to hear the narration from inside (and it was raining, so we were inside). Personally I would prefer to do the cruise and stay on rather than hop on hop off as the boat won't necessarily take you all that close to what you would want to see. I think there must be some sort of hop on hop off bus that would do that. If you haven't checked Tripadvisor, that might have good advice. What else are you planning on? What sort of sights? I can go through my info and see if I have anything useful for you (we live just outside Paris).

Good points all. I think, on reading the responses, that for me this is less about the fact that it's a Jewish camp than that I don't trust the grandparents' judgement here. I would love for the kids to learn more about Judaism (unfortunately, DH refuses to do play a role in this and at this point if I say the sky if blue, DH will insist it's green, so I cannot discuss with him or go into this here), but I'm remembering some comments made about Christianity by my MIL that make me a bit concerned. My 10 yo DS is a bit emotionally fragile and very very religious at this moment. My 4 yo has abandonment issues from adoption, so sending him away with people he's met twice is guaranteed to cause huge emotional setbacks. Anyway, the kids simply cannot go because we cannot go to the States during that time due to other commitments, so I have a polite excuse. I'll stop being grouchy and go do my taxes now! SAW

MIL wants to take ds 10 and ds 4 to Grandparents/Grandchildren camp for 5 days this summer. They cannot go, for one because the dates don't work, but I'm bugged by the fact that this camp is a specifically Jewish camp, which describes itself as a camp where families can deepen their Jewish identities. Great, if you're Jewish. DH's family are, but I am Christian and we agreed before the marriage that the children are to be raised as Christians, which they are. When they are grown, they may do whatever they like, but we decided it was better to choose one religion than to try both and risk confusion. This is the second year MIL has tried to get me to allow the kids to go to this camp. I get that they want to spend time with the kids, but I'm annoyed that she doesn't even seem to think that this might confuse the heck out of my kids or make them feel out of place as the only Christians in the group. It's one thing to celebrate Jewish holidays in the family, which I encourage, but 5 days specifically designed to foster Jewish identity in kids who aren't Jewish seems to be a bit insensitive. I don't really trust MIL to take the kids and ensure that their is respect for their own religion, I think. Or maybe I'm just grumpy and grouchy. Sorry, just need to vent and certainly cannot do this with DH as it might offend him. SAW

I have to stop and calculate what grade my kids are in, because they're in three different systems -- one is in Form 2, two (homeschooled/VA-schooled) in Klas 3, one in Moyenne Section. Seems to me it's just a question of translation.

Can you recommend tutoring/extra help for the boy on the basis of his having missed more school than his sister because of being ill? Maybe make it sound like advice that all kids who miss more than x days a year get? That might make it more palatable to the parents than hearing that their precious boy is behind. S

I've been discussing this same type of question with my son's handwriting tutor in London (ds is 9 and at boarding school), whose own two children have done remarkably well. Her initial advice on my dds (12, but two years accelerated in their former school) was to do 4 A levels and do extremely well, as that will be easier to get and just as (in her opinion) useful in terms on uni entrance as the IB. We're looking at US university for the girls, but they will likely do their last two years at school in the UK or similar (when they are 16/17, thus dropping the acceleration). It seems possible, though, that the girls will do quite as well on the IB as they would on the A levels, so her advice is now leaning more toward IB. Not sure that helps, but I think it is a good question to be asking and certainly one we will be looking at in the next couple of years. I like the idea of the IB, but if 4 A levels get you into the college of your choice, well, who can argue with that? I'd be very interested to hear what the school says, if you don't mind sharing.

No problem. Email me at mom to arc @ aol. com (without spaces). Sophie

It is kind of nice to know that my dds and I are not alone in this! The thing that bothers me is that my dh was in college and law school the guy who took women's studies classes and was very pro-equity for women etc. This is the same guy who won't put his dirty plate in the dishwasher. Well, he would if this were class in feminist theory.

The bakery up the street where the lady who runs the place sells us fresh bread every morning and lets dds practice their French on her. The boys' soccer team dd 12 plays on that has not once made a negative comment about her being the only girl. The school ds 4 attends. Great music instruction. The wonderful woman who made a special class for dds and me to learn cartonnage, when we could not join the regular class, because she saw that we were keen to learn. My really really helpful French teacher who will make phone calls for me when I'm out of my depth. Eclairs Marrons glace. Actually, marron anything. Skating at the Eiffel Tower ice rink. I will not comment about the strikes or public transport since this is about what I like!

I was there last summer with 2dds (nearly 12), ds 9 and ds 3. We all loved it. It was part of a larger trip that included Mansfield and Walnut Grove. We were in De Smet for two days, which was good. The first day we saw the town and took the tour of the houses in town. These can be seen only by tour, iirc. We also did a postcard hunt that we bought at the giftshop and spent a lot of time walking/driving around trying to find the history. The second day we spent out at the homestead, which was great. The kids did all the activities, from doing laundry to making ropes and cornhusk dolls to going to school. As we were there on a Friday, we had tickets to go to the pageant in the evening, but unfortunately there was a thunderstorm and the pageant was cancelled. How much time you would need depends I think on how thoroughly you want to track down references in the books. I could have spent another couple of days there quite happily, but I suppose you could make it one long day with the morning in town and the afternoon at the homestead. I think that you should do both of these, though. It is possible to stay out at the homestead, which I thought sounded great but for some reason we ended up staying elsewhere. I would love to go back sometime soon.

Do your kids know what nickels, dimes and quarters represent? That one always trips mine up. That and the fact that little kids can't go naked on the beach or in the wading pool in the US.

I heard the same thing with using the word bed, but to have the child hold up the pointer and thumb on each hand with the thumb curved in. With a bit of imagination and an imaginary "e" in between in looks like the word "bed" represented by the fingers.

I'd be tempted to wait four years, let you son graduate with honors/do really well, and then rub it in this person's face. Not very nice at all, okay, but it's what I think about doing to the school guidance counselor/special ed teacher who suggested a "special" school for my 6 yo ds (who is now at a "special" school that admits only a select few musically gifted boys, from which it's a given he will go on to a top independent school). Not that I'm vengeful or anything, just when I wake up in the middle of the night I think about how nice it would be to send this counselor a letter to make up for the anxiety she caused us. Good on your son getting in on the strength of the scores, though. I'm sure he'll do well and do you proud.

We really enjoy the Just William audiobooks, very funny and well-read.

Most of the boys from my son's school were in Moscow on a school trip last week. They flew back home this weekend from Moscow. Scary. Horrible for the victims and their families.

Here are few where we've stayed: Airport hotel: the ones I've seen are not actually that close to Heathrow. When we stayed at one a few months ago we had to take a bus that came every 15 or 20 minutes and took about that long to get to the hotel. Heathrow is zone 6 so the tube ride will cost you. Citadines. Can be pricy but you could get a good deal. The South Ken location has just been refurbished and is quite nice. There is a kitchen. We've stayed there a couple of times in a room that had a bedroom/bathroom upstairs, then a living room/kitchen downstairs, with a couch bed. The Trafalgar Square location is fabulous, but quite shabby and rundown, although it is clean and functional. Kitchens work, as does laundry. Grand Plaza in Bayswater. Aparthotel. Not bad, my brother and his family got an upgrade to a huge two-bedroom apartment, while we got stuck with five of us in one room, for the same price! The location is good and you might be able to get a good deal on booking.com (although I don't think they always have the very best deals). Gower Street in Bloomsbury has a lot of bed and breakfasts, like the Arran House Hotel. They're basic but quite nice. There is another street whose name escapes me near King's Cross that also has a row of b&bs on it. I stayed once at the Mentone and it was fine, if a bit noisy. Acorn Apartments. They have several locations throughout the city. We have stayed in the Gower Street apartment several times. It's huge, if somewhat rundown. The people we've dealt with are very nice and helpful. Think Apartments. We've stayed at the Earl's Court and Tower Bridge locations, both very new and nice. Someone just told me about Dolphin Square serviced apts in Pimlico, and I'll be checking those out soon. You could also try one of the chains like Comfort Inn (?) and see whether staying a certain number of nights will get you a free night or two. Good luck and have fun Sophie

I'm not sure what your objections are, so this may not help, but just in case. My son is a Lone Scout and participates in Cub Scouts without attending meetings etc. He does this because he goes to boarding school and cannot go to meetings, but I know that boys can do Lone Scouts for a variety of reasons. I don't know whether having your son be a Lone Scout would address your concerns, but it might be worth looking into. It's a lot more work for me but it's great to have something like this to work on with my son when he's home. Sophie

I'm not sure I agree with this. As I read it, I think there are two issues here, the first being the exclusion of Christmas as a religious holiday from public (state) affairs, such as schools or legislatures, and the second being the commercialisation of Christmas in stores. Frankly, I don't see that state schools should be promoting Christianity. Why should my Jewish nephew and niece sing about Wise Men and Jesus and angels? It's not their religion, why should they be required to be part of a celebration that means nothing to them? Personally I like the idea that government should not promote a particular religion. As for the second issue, I think that Christmas is horribly commercialized, and I don't like it a bit. But I think that conflating these two issues is dangerous. I don't see what the overcommercialisation of Christmas has to do with the exclusion of Christmas/religion from public/state sponsored institutions. As far as I can tell there is no connection between the two.

I don't think I could generalize, but my dds (12 yo) would fall into the latter category. They have been staying home alone since they were 10, biking to school on their own since then, can cook basic foods (dd cooked breakfast for me and for her brother yesterday), babysit 4 yo ds, go to activities out of the house on their own, etc. They plan out their own schedules for their internet school and take responsibility for studying and communicating with their teachers. They are in no hurry to grow up, like their Am Girl dolls and playmobil, like nice clothes but don't care about the brands, no makeup, and the boys they like are their 9 yo brother's friends they can run around with. So there's two who match your category!

I've got a ds9 in an excellent boarding school in England, two dds12 who were in secondary school in the Netherlands and now do a combination of Dutch internet school (following the same "national" curriculum they would there) and what I like, and a ds4 in a French public school. If you'd like to know more about these systems I could probably help. Sophie

How do you do this? My dh will not participate in anything either, and I don't want my sons to follow his example or my daughters to marry someone like this. I don't want to be negative about him to the kids, but I find it difficult to strike a balance between letting them know their dad's attitude toward family life is not normal and maintaining their love and respect for him.

Dh earns money (until recently I did as well). He takes out the trash most of the time. I do the rest. I'm amazed at how much some of your dhs help around the house! That's great.

Are you planning to go into London and stay at a hotel there, or do you prefer something near Heathrow? If the former, I can give you some recommendations (we're in London a couple of times a month to visit ds9 at school). Sophie