<p>I am getting through my to-do list for 1 January (my NY resolution to make and get through daily lists!) before the football games start! My 16 year old will have a 17 week period of time off between the end of her current school year and the beginning of the next year as she will change schools/systems. Specifically, she will have half of May and all of June off. Has anyone had experience with finding useful things for teens to do during these periods of the year? We are all set for mid-June onwards. All ideas appreciated.</p>
<p>Maybe she can tutor younger students as they prepare for end of year exams, or assist in aftercare programs.</p>
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Ok, I can’t figure out exactly how much time we are talking about.</p>
<p>If an actual job is not a possibility, have her do stuff around the house like paint the outside or do some landscaping.</p>
<p>I’ve found that physical labor can also be a motivator to do well in school so they don’t wind up doing it for a living. :)</p>
<p>Two possibilities occur to me. Whether they would work depends on her specific circumstances, including access to transportation.</p>
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<li><p>If she’s interested in getting a paying job, she has an advantage over young people who are available only for shorter periods of time. She may want to exploit that.</p></li>
<li><p>Another possibility – and it’s pretty much incompatible with a job because it involves different commitments in different weeks – would be to spend this period getting all the miscellaneous things that high school kids need to do out of the way. Specifically, </p></li>
</ol>
<p>a. This would be a great time to do her driver’s ed – as much of it as possible, including the classroom course, the behind-the-wheel training, and as much of the practice driving with a parent as you can squeeze in.</p>
<p>b. Could she take an SAT prep course during this period? It would be easier to devote attention to it then than during the school year.</p>
<p>c. Although it is ideal to visit colleges when they are in session, many kids find it necessary to do at least some of their college visits in the summer to avoid missing too much school. This sounds like a good summer for at least a few college visits.</p>
<p>d. Has her dentist suggested that she may need to get her wisdom teeth removed? If so, would it be appropriate to do it during this summer (and for her to schedule at least a full week with no commitments afterward so she is not under pressure to get back to normal activities before she has fully recovered)?</p>
<p>e. Does your local community college allow high school students to take courses there, either regular classes or classes intended just for high school students? Would she be interested in this? (Remember that if she takes a real college course there, she will have to provide a transcript to the college that she applies to later, so she needs to take it seriously.)</p>
<p>f. Does her new school have a community service requirement for graduation? Are they counting previous volunteer activities toward this requirement or is she behind? If she needs to fulfill such a requirement, can she find some volunteer activities to do during the summer to complete as many of her community service hours as possible?</p>
<p>g. Because she’s changing schools, she may find that there are some annoyingly basic requirements for graduation that she has not yet fulfilled, such as a health course or a technology education course. Sometimes, these courses are offered in the summer session, and students who want more flexibility in their school-year schedules take them in the summer. She may want to check with her new school system to see what is offered in the summer and find out whether she can get anything out of the way to allow her to take more of what she likes during the school year. (Note: This is a good idea only if a substantial proportion of the kids taking the course in the summer are doing it to get it out of the way. If everyone in the course is taking it over because they failed it, summer school might not be a good idea.)</p>
<p>If your daughter is a potential pre-med, could she start volunteering/shadowing in something medical related?</p>
<p>Or the same for whatever area her interests are in?</p>
<p>Or could she use the time to shore up any areas of academic weakness, for example, do a homeschool type program in math to ensure a higher test score, or enroll in some kind of intensive foreign language program?</p>
<p>OR…is there something that she has always wanted to do and never had the time to immerse herself in it?</p>
<p>Hi,
These are all great suggestions, thanks. I like the idea of the wisdom teeth (!) because it is such a hassle at other times. I had thought about drivers ed. We live overseas and this was a challenge to do with her brothers as a result. This might be worth thinking about. I should also look into local language programs because this is an area she needs to work on, for sure. </p>
<p>She will do a variety of things after mid-June (travel with family, organized programs) but the earlier part of the summer is tougher to do because she is the only one off. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>