You asked...

Dear Learning Lady,

All summer long my kids keep saying they are bored. How do we avoid our children wasting their summer away by watching television and playing video games? We really want them to have a productive summer but we have a home-based business and still have some work to do.

Sincerely, Very Busy Parents

The Learning Lady's reply...

Dear Busy Parents,

Your children's summer doesn't have to be a waste, and they don't have to regress in their learning (as many studies indicate).

Summer is the perfect time for children to experience "fun learning" again. It's also a chance for them to discover that learning happens all the time and is not just reserved for school. Summer is a great time for exploration and developing new interests. Math and reading are a part of many other interesting topics so they can still be reviewing those skills while they learn about a new topic of their choice.

As your children get older they should be encouraged to be resourceful and start learning some things on their own, with some guidance. This is a great opportunity to start teaching some self-motivation skills. Author Susan Perry of "Playing Smart", says that "to avoid boredom, a child has to learn to be motivated on his or her own, to a certain extent, and that is an acquired skill. If every time your child says, 'I'm bored,' you step in with a quick solution, they'll never learn to develop their own resources. But do provide some options."

Your job as a parent for the remainder of this summer can be to provide guidance and give some ideas to get them started on some new projects. I'd suggest also re-defining the household rules for television, computer and video games. Here are some fun learning ideas to get you thinking:

Regular Library Visits

Join a Reading Club at the local library. A stack of new books can keep everyone occupied for hours. You can all have reading time together. You can even read something that is related to your work.

Gardening

Start a small garden. You may have to be more involved in getting it started if your children are younger, but older children can research the plants they want to grow and write a book or log about their garden. They can also record data, much like a science experiment, on the seeds or plants they are growing, which sprouts up first, etc. Show them how to chart or graph their results.

Writing and Crafts

Set them up to start working on their own summer scrapbook, journal, or magazine. Have them try writing summer letters to their out of town friends and relatives. Write a book and illustrate it. You can even go to a printer and make copies for relatives.

Question Book

One of my favorites has always been the Question and Answer Book. At dinner, think up questions together that you don't know the answer to and then send everyone off to research the answers to those questions. They'll have to be resourceful! Search the Internet, read books, younger children can even phone relatives. Everyone then shares his or her findings at the next meal.

Theatre

Inspire your children to write a play or act out stories from books. They can even create puppet characters and plan out rehearsals for a big show. Put together invitations, sell tickets if so inclined and invite other children in the neighborhood. They can also use old clothes and design their own costumes.

Learn Some Responsibilities

Teenagers can find a summer job or volunteer work. Give your children some new chores for the summer. Let them help out with your business. Older children can teach their younger siblings some new chores around the house.

Treasure Hunt

Have your children map out their own treasure hunt, craft a treasure and make up the clues. The clues can even be math questions!

Start A Business

This could be a lemonade stand, selling crafts, or providing yard services. Get creative! Have the children keep track of the revenue and expenses in a simple ledger.

Travel

Traveling can sometimes be boring for kids. Word games are adaptable for all ages and you can pick a topic such as geography or literature, or just about anything! Choose a letter of the alphabet to start the game. With the letter A, someone might say Atlanta. Then, because the name ended in "a", the next person must find a name that begins with "a", such as Amsterdam. Now "m" is the beginning letter, and so on. With younger children you can use just the first letter. Name all the animals that start with "B". The game 20 questions can be adapted to fit any topic and really helps out with classification skills. To practice counting, look at the license plates of cars and follow a sequence: find a zero, then a 1, then a 2, and so on. You can even do multiplication - find a 2, then another 2, then find a four.

Family Time

Make sure to fit in some quality family time. Even if you are really busy, schedule some time to spend together - your family grows up so fast! Plan a special day trip or fieldtrip and make it a memorable learning experience. You may enjoy the break from your work as well.

Learning can happen everywhere and anytime. With practice it will soon become part of your lifestyle. Remember to have fun and happy learning!