The 12 articles in this monograph discuss the value of informal learning for children, and suggest how basic skills can be reinforced at school, home, and within community groups and institutions. Promising programs, practices, and activities for children are highlighted. Topics addressed include: (1) a rationale for a rededication to a holistic approach to learning for students, the value of informal learning, and criteria for determining the quality of nonschool settings; (2) the role of the public library in the educational process, services and materials available, and current innovative programs; (3) museum programs offering young patrons opportunities to participate in multisensory exhibits; (4) educational opportunities available through zoological parks (including a list of zoological parks in the United States and bibliography of books about zoos and zoo animals); (5) use of social contexts of school and work to extend children's learning, developmentally appropriate activities for stimulating children's interest in work, and the development of cooperative learning opportunities by schools and businesses; (6) the educational and developmental roles of community service organizations; (7) use of an oral history project to strengthen students' basic skills; (8) activities for students in rural and small towns that reinforce basic skills and nurture a sense of community pride; (9) youth participation programs enabling young adolescents to assume roles of responsible adults; (10) everyday experiences and inexpensive items that can be used to reinforce skills and convey to children a sense of love and well-being; (11) the development of concepts of time in family settings; and (12) the emergence of microcomputers as learning devices in home, museum, library, and other settings. (RH)