ADMITTEDLY, the weather this summer has not been kind.
But, even so, this is the time of year children look forward to most as it gives them a break from school, books, homework and the constant pressure to learn.
You would think few children would want to spend their summer in front of a computer screen learning about spreadsheets, database programs, desktop publishing, graphics applications and computer programming tools.
Not so, according to Eric Chin, president of the Hong Kong branch of Futurekids, a United States-based company that aims to teach computer skills in a way children will find fun.
The whole idea behind Futurekids is not just to teach children lessons they can learn at school, or how to use computers.
It is a combination of both, where, with the aid of personal computers and multimedia software, children can learn about everything from astronomy to the animal kingdom, and build up their knowledge of computers at the same time.
Mr Chin said the fun element was very important in the classes.