Q: My son's second-grade teacher said he should "read all summer," so he doesn't forget his new skills. How much time does she mean? Also, I read each day to my 1-year-old daughter, but she often won't sit still to finish the book. Reading is so important and I want both of them to become good readers.

A: Chances are excellent that your children will become lifelong readers if you create a home environment where reading is exciting and a source of pleasure, not pressure. What does that home look like?

"It's a place where kids see their parents reading and enjoying it," says reading expert Keith Garton. "It's a place where children are read to regularly. It's a home rich in literature -- with books, magazines, newspapers and digital devices that offer up a range of reading for the adults and children in residence. It's a home where parents monitor TV time, plan weekly trips to the library and snap up children's books at garage sales. It's a home where writing is encouraged -- with plenty of paper to scribble on."

This summer, encourage your son to spend 15 to 30 minutes each day reading about topics he's interested in.

"This can mean reading to and with him, as well as having him read independently," says Garton, founder of children's book publisher Red Chair Press.

"Most local libraries have summer reading programs designed to keep kids' skill levels strong," he says. "Check out an armful of books so he'll have choices. Get another armful on the next trip. Enroll him in any summer sessions at the library. Include e-books, comic books, magazines -- whatever engages him."

Help him make connections with his reading. For example, if you're taking a trip to a zoo, read an issue of Zoobooks magazine (zoobooks.com) or the Dr. Seuss classic "If I Ran the Zoo." Go to the zoo's website and read the latest news.

"By connecting his reading with daily life, you teach your son the utility and pleasure of reading," says Garton.

Don't worry if your daughter won't sit still for reading. Just take cues from her. If she's wiggly, set aside the picture book for a time when she's less distracted, such as right before she takes a nap or goes to bed. The act of reading a little every day is what is important, notes Garton.

Your son might find it fun to read some simple picture books to his younger sister.

"Find books at his reading level with a lot of color in the illustrations or strong, bold images," Garton suggests. "Show him how to read with expression; point to the illustrations and ask questions while reading. This will help engage her in the story and stay focused. E-books are a great way to do this, since many e-books include interactivity with characters that move or make sounds and highlighted text to help her follow along."

Nothing helps a young reader grow like reading aloud to an appreciative audience!

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: My eighth-grader spends too much time on Facebook. She's obsessive about checking it 24/7 this summer. Taking the computer and phone away aren't practical solutions. How can we make her time online less wasteful?

A: As teens constantly monitor their Facebook status updates, spend hours playing games and watch a steady diet of charmingly silly videos, it sucks precious time from their lives and dampens their creativity.

"I understand this mom's concern. And she's right; removing the technology won't solve the problem," says Betsy Corcoran, editor of EdSurge, a lively newsletter about the intersection of education and technology.

Corcoran, a mother of two teens, believes that parents have a responsibility to help kids find tech tools that encourage them to be active learners rather than passive sponges just soaking up others' Facebook updates.

"Content for teens can be mind-numbing," she says. "Or it can offer compelling opportunities to build things, write computer games, learn a language, start blogs, tour the world or test-drive a career online.

"The trick is to coach your daughter to use these tools to become a producer, not just a consumer. This is a fundamental shift, and one that is important for digital natives to learn."

What software programs and tools can change kids from consumers to creators? Corcoran likes the following:

If your daughter enjoys writing, check out Penzu (penzu.com), an online diary site. Teen Voices (teenvoices.com) links to other writing sites. Pathbrite.com helps her create a digital scrapbook that can include photos and videos.

She may not be ready to start her own video blog, but what about creating a fun stop-motion video using a site called iCreate to Educate (icreatetoeducate.com)? For instance, she could make a stop-motion video to entertain kids she baby-sits!

Is your daughter passionate about a topic? Learnist (learni.st) is a "Pinterest for learning things," says Corcoran. It allows users to explore topics by pulling related blog posts, music, videos, images and podcasts from the Web. She can learn from others -- or teach by compiling her own collection of "learnings" and sharing it.

Does she want to learn a language? Try Mango Languages (www.mangolanguages.com), Livemocha (livemocha.com) and Voxy (voxy.com).

SciGirls is a cool, science-oriented site where girls can hang out (pbskids.org/scigirls). Rocket21 (rocket21.com) is a safe site where students can learn about careers, take video field trips and work with mentors in careers that interest them.

Gamestar Mechanic (gamestarmechanic.com) and Scratch (scratch.mit.edu) allow kids to build their own computer games. Code Hero teaches programming skills (primerlabs.com/codehero).

Make Beliefs Comix (makebeliefscomix.com) offers drawn characters, dialogue boxes and flexible editing options.

Corcoran likes educator Richard Bryne's site, freetech4teachers.com, which has resources that encourage kids to create media and not just consume it.

"My boys and I talk a lot about what they're doing online," she says. "I'd rather not put a clock on them, but they know that after a half hour of playing games, I may walk in and say, 'How about making your own game to challenge your friends?' And then we're off to Gamestar Mechanic or Code Hero."

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: My son's teacher told me that his emotional maturity must improve before he enters first grade or, "Jacob will spend all his time with the principal." When he gets frustrated, he throws a tantrum. I'm sick of yelling! Any suggestions?

A: Try techniques Wisconsin family counselor and psychotherapist William Mulcahy shares with parents.

"Don't take frustration as an assault to your parenting skills," says Mulcahy. "As young children grow, they constantly encounter new tasks to accomplish, grow from -- and become frustrated by."

He teaches kids the Frustration Triangle: name it, tame it and reframe it. They learn to cope with frustration in a way that puts them in charge of their thoughts and feelings.

Here's how it works: Draw a triangle and label each point as you go. First ask Jacob to name the cause of frustration.

"This may sound obvious, but naming the source increases children's awareness of their emotional state," says Mulcahy.

Next, tame it with "chill skills" to let go of the frustration. These include deep breathing, counting to 10, playing, listening to music, spending time in nature, progressive relaxation, prayer and meditation.

Third, reframe it by looking at the situation from a different angle. For example: "I can't ride my bike, but my dad will play catch with me."

Mulcahy says as kids become more efficient at reframing, they learn that this, too, will pass.

Tantrums that follow frustrations often necessitate apologies. Mulcahy says learning to apologize should be taught in a positive way.

"They can learn the power of a sincere apology," he says. "It can end conflict without fighting, encourage communication, restore self-respect, increase empathy for receiver and giver, and heal negative feelings such as shame, guilt and anger."

He teaches children a "four square" apology to make something right: Write the four steps on a paper folded in quarters to make it easy to learn them.

First, the child must define what he did to hurt somebody. Allow the child time to get calm and acknowledge what he's done wrong.

Next describe how the person felt. This is where the child should put himself in the other's shoes, says Mulcahy. "It's a step in developing empathy, a critical social-emotional skill," he says.

Third, discuss what the child can do next time. This prepares children to think about future choices they can make in a given situation, rather than have a knee-jerk reaction.

Fourth, talk about how to make it up to the person. "When we hurt others, we take something away," says Mulcahy. This step gets children to think how to give something back.

"We need to help children understand that frustration is a natural emotion and that emotions aren't good or bad," Mulcahy says. "It's what we do with our emotions that matters. These techniques teach kids to feel, identify and deal with their emotions in a healthy way."

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)