Once you tap into their interests, you can weave in things they should learn. For example, says Seal, "If she's having trouble with reading but loves bugs, get her a book on bugs. Or if your son is weak in math but loves baseball, examine baseball stats with him."

There are myriad other ways to en-hance your children's educational experience. Here are some age-appropriate suggestions.

Preschool
Language and mathematical skills are key for young kids. Seal suggests helping your child's vocabulary naturally by asking questions and building on her comments. "Ask questions, listen to your child's stories, then encourage her to elaborate: 'Tell me more. What happened after the puppet said "Surprise"?'"

Helping define words and reading stories actively - as in asking questions about the book your child is reading and encouraging feedback - can also improve your child's language learning.

Develop math skills by encouraging counting. "It takes a long time for children to really get numbers in sequence and to really understand one-to-one correspondence [the idea that one number is associated with one object], and this is really essential," says Birgitta Corneille, president of Math Link, a developer of mathematics educational materials.

Have fun getting kids to count. Cor-neille suggests having kids count like objects - apples, blocks, etc. - to under- stand one-to-one correspondence.

Elementary Age
The family meal may be passé, but it's not lost its importance. Tuning out the TV and tuning into family discussions during mealtimes will help keep the focus on language alive.