Strategies to avoid boredom

I have been awake for a while, but since my son is laying next to me, I don't want to get out of bed. Laying in bed 2 hours after waking up leads to a definite sense of boredom, almost enough to risk waking him up but not quite. (I kept him up late last night watching Encounter at Farpoint). So I've done Facebook and email, now I'm blogging with my smartphone. In bed on a Saturday morning. Not the healthiest, but an effective strategy against boredom.

I've also been talking to my son about how he can be less bored in elementary school. It occurs to me that teachers, at least good ones, are supposed to ask a lot of questions, to get students thinking. But what about the other way around? Shouldn't students, at least good ones, also be encouraged to ask good questions? I told my son that I wanted him to ask one good question a day, a "why" question that shows he's thinking. I even emailed his teacher, telling her that was his extra assignment from me. I don't know if that is some breach of protocol, if the youngster in the bunch is only supposed to answer question and not ask them. But I do think its a good way to relieve boredom, to be allowed to ask questions, and have them answered.