My DS was always so motivated to learn and read. He's a very 'academic' kid...loves flashcards, workbooks and learning toys...and books of course. My family criticized me for pushing him - they never understood (at first) that it was child led. I had to push my ds to have what I called 'imagination time', crazy! Now they get that DS is just this kind of a kid. My DD2 seems to be slightly more balanced with academics and free-play. She taught herself to count to 20 (have no idea where she learned that). But doesn't obsess over letters the way DS did. Thoughher vocabulary is amazing. She loves to go through DS' old flashcards and name the items (even obscure things like umpire and coral)...do I just go with her stregnths instead of making her into her older brother. It's fun to see how different they are!