I don't have much advice, though DS8 just told me today that he hates math (his best subject). This was in response to my comment that I heard his teacher next year likes math and science. I asked him why, since he does so well in math, and he said because it's hard, and he doesn't like hard things. I am choosing to ignore it, since his school seems appropriately challenging to me (he has been able to do whatever they throw at him).
It's easier to say you don't like all that school stuff when you get a taste of the freedom of summer. You know your own kid, but my kid does tend to blow a lot of smoke.
I like the suggestion to set aside some reading time every day. At my son's school, they recommended 20 minutes each day for 2nd graders, 30 minutes for 3rd graders. We enforced this more last summer, and it was easier when we said "your teacher said you should do this over the summer". (He is more compliant with teachers than parents.)
This year we've laid off a bit because DS does read on his own more.
