Suppose you had a month with no commitments, no demands, but no friends to hang out with? What would you do? My D17 will be the very last of her peer group to leave for college this fall (her school is on the quarter system and starts in late Sept.) I don’t want her to have nothing to do that month – she’ll just spend it moping over everyone else’s social media. I told her to go out and find a project, so she’s looking around. But I thought I’d hit CC for any creative suggestions. (Note: D is very social, so bonus points for ideas that get her out of the house and around other people.)
She could volunteer at a family shelter, the kids there benefit from interaction with happy young adults. She could volunteer at a nonprofit doing clean-up work (like if you’re coastal, a beach). She could volunteer at an after-school program that teaches computer literacy or beginner musical instruments to lower income kids. She could volunteer at a church or soup kitchen.
Paid job or volunteer/charity work?
Could she extend her summer job for another month? (I assume she’s at Stanford or another west coast school, so if she’s out there, it should be easier to find a summer job that continues into the autumn, unlike the seasonal work on the chilly east coast!)
Go on vacation?
My daughter’s summer employer is giving a $200 bonus for anyone who can work through Labor Day. Daughter has to go back to school the prior week, but is willing to come back for the 3 day weekend (when she can probably work 3 10 hour days) and get the bonus money. Many employers in your town would be thrilled to have an employee stay an extra week or two.
If any neighbors are taking a late summer vacation, house sit, water plants, dog sit.
Get her books for college and get a head start.
All good suggestions so far. Sadly, she can’t extend the summer job (it’s an East Coast camp counselor job so it wraps up in August.) A lot of the volunteer things she’s looked at ask for a longer commitment – especially those that work with children. But a soup kitchen is a good idea. I’ll pass that on to her.
Total solar eclipse in a narrow path that crosses the country: August 21
Classroom volunteer at her old elementary or middle school. Even if it is just a couple days each week, some teacher is sure to be happy to hand off all their photocopying to her!
If you are near any touristy area, they are always looking for employees end of August!
Yes, my first thought was volunteering. If she likes working with kids maybe she can ask if she can help out at her old nursery or elementary school. She will likely have a similar issue in December as well (although by then hopefully she will be happily settled in at college).
I encourage her to spend as much time with dear old mom and dad (or other parental figures) as possible.
How about volunteering at the local pet shelter or at a Senior Care Center ?
Take a trip. It’s off season pretty much every where.
My kid worked! Her college didn’t start until after September 15. All of the other college students…and HS students left by Labor Day…many before. She picked up a TON of extra hours a ton! And her employer was very happy!! And so was my kid!
Maybe next summer, she could consider something other than a summer camp job…
Plus…she did have some HS friends who were either still in HS, or who were attending college locally. It’s not like EVERY person she knew left town.
My kid didn’t mope at all. It was a nice down time for her…and also gave her ample time to get her “stuff” organized for her college move.
My kid did go and help the HS band director with music sorting, and also teaching the new color guard their routine…but really that ended by Labor Day.
Is your kiddo worried about this? If not…I’d say…don’t worry about it your self.
If you can take the time off, it’s a terrific time to travel to a lot of places that are overrun with tourists in August. You could have a fun bonding experience. Totally agree with everyone that most employers in resort areas are delighted with kids who can work past the 3rd week of August, and many volunteer organizations struggle the same way. The challenge, though, is that most places want employees who have been there for the earlier part of the summer, not ones who are starting at the end. If I had the time and couldn’t travel, I would probably take a cooking class or something like that, but that might not be so appealing to an 18 year old!
Go to the gym everyday with mom? (Good for both of you!)
tbh, I keep telling myself to get this rolling with my senior before she goes off this fall, but haven’t managed to get that started…my bad. But maybe it can work for you!
If a family vacation isn’t in the cards, I’d try to leave as much getting ready for college stuff till after her friends leave. Packing organizing, drs visits etc. Those social media postings are tough on those left waiting. My daughters friend actually visited her friends at the big state u in early September since she still hadn’t started school. That helped a lot!
We faced this problem 12 years ago. Our daughter spent September moping over her friends’ social media (and in some cases actual letters) and dawdling over preparations to go to college. We had a going away party for her that was the smallest party ever, because only 4-5 kids could come. It wasn’t the end of the world. It was three bad weeks that were forgotten sometime during the first hour of orientation.
Walk dogs at a local SPCA or animal shelter.
While it’s great to gather ideas, all you can do is make suggestions. At some point, if the kid is not self motivated, you just have to let her get bored. Trust me, she will look back on that month of quiet with longing when the firehose of freshman year is turned full on her.