them use writing programs. that was one of the bigger mistakes i made with them. so my advice would be to let them write about things they like, say a sports magazine (or whatever they like - especially the fourth grader). i like the idea someone already mentioned of story of the world audio books (and many other history audio programs) for history in the car. this makes for good discussion with the adults. this is something i have done often. my sons liked science that included a lot of experiments. this would require buying some science kits and letting them experiment. but my daughter prefers science books. there are 