Walla Walla, WA - "I'm bored!" It's the battle cry of kids everywhere during the summer. Experts say the answer is not more television or video games, though, but activities that will stimulate children's brains and bodies.

Today is National Summer Learning Day, calling attention to the need to keep kids safe and learning new things, even when they're out of school. That's more difficult this year in Washington, because many schools that used to operate summer programs have cut them for budget reasons.

For children of farm workers, one challenge is to keep the students speaking and reading English, so they don't fall behind between grades. At the Children's Home Society in Walla Walla, director Mariela Rosas says academics are only part of her program's responsibility.

"The safety of these kids is very important for this community, because their parents work in the fields and they go to work early in the morning, like at 4 a.m. sometimes. The kids stay home on their own; they don't have anyone to supervise them."

Rosas says her program is busier than ever because there are so few alternatives for families in the summer.
Children's Home Society parents are asked to pay what they can to help with food and supplies for the summer learning program. However, Rosas says, there is never enough money or staff, and the need keeps growing.

"By lunchtime, I have 75 every single day. As you can imagine, these kids need somebody to take care of them. But two staff people and volunteers - that is not enough. Some days, we don't have enough volunteers."

The Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University says children lose two months of math skills and lower-income kids lose more than two months of reading achievement over the summer months if they don't have activities and supervision to keep "brain drain" from setting in.

More information about summer programs and resources around the state is available at www.schoolsoutwashington.org.