Diary of a First-Grader's Mom

While this book was being prepared for release, my son Vasya became a second-grader. Are you still worried about counting within ten and calligraphy in handwriting practice? Then solve this riddle: “With a voiced consonant, we live in it, with a voiceless consonant, we read it.” Correct answer: “house—tom.” Or here’s another: “Write the names of fish with a soft sign at the end, using four, five, six, and seven letters.” For moms who are fishermen and biologists—who will undoubtedly cope with this task—I offer an extra one. “Two words are given: ‘case’ and ‘idleness’. Quote a proverb.” You can’t use the Internet. And you also can’t use books. Answer: “A small piece of work is better than big idleness.” This is what they learn in second grade. They say that by third grade all parents start to feel like clinical idiots.