reading is the key to it all. Just having a weird and wonderful array of books available will teach them things you wouldn't believe. I know this when I look at my two... they both have really quite outstanding vocabularies, and DS6 will often quite seriously pose the most serious of science questions that you wouldn't have expected from someone twice his age! They're very funny to watch.

we played Boggle last night and DD managed to get a five letter word that neither DH nor I saw, which was crepe! What amused me even more in another round was that she got the word 'logo' - it was quite obvious, yet neither of the adults had seen it and she had.

I think Becky, that not following a prescribed path 20yrs ago would have been very hard, but nowadays there are lots of alternative ways into uni - some need proper exams and qualifications, but they don't have to be the ones you'd do in school, which are primarily academic.

somehow or another my kids LOVE nature and animals - I kind of know how, but I still find it a bit surprising that I've managed to achieve that in the middle of a city. DD can't quite figure out how come so many of her classmates don't like animals, but all their Chinese parents (mostly Chinese, not all of course) have told them (as they were told by their parents) that animals are dirty and smelly. I think it just goes to show that a mother's enthusiasms are probably the most important factor in what their children learn.

that could be part of why my kids can't ride two-wheelers yet... I have no enthusiasm for the heat outside and running after a children's bike! Actually, I don't have a huge enthusiasm for bikes!

Kerri.