<p>I have a daughter that is finishing up her freshman year in high school in early June. She goes to a private day school that is not located in our town so she doesn’t have many friends that live close by. We have a 2 week summer vacation, one 4 day sports camp and a leadership camp for a long weekend scheduled however she is going to be off from the begining of June until Sept. </p>
<p>I have been looking for some volunteer opportunities/community service however I have not been able help her find anything. I also do not want to spend 5K right now to send her on a service trip…plus I am not sure I am philosophically aligned with expensive service/enrichment trips. </p>
<p>She is too old to participate in local camps but a little too young (maturity wise) to go off for 3 weeks to a month by herself (to a pre-college program). What does your 14 yr old do during the summer?</p>
<p>My older son did his last year of CTY the summer after freshman year and the following summer did a pre-college class that he was able to commute to. My younger son went to a music camp the summer after freshman year. Other summers he’s volunteered at the local senior center and/or helped out in my office. (I’m the boss.)</p>
<p>I spent the summer after freshman year babysitting for some neighborhood kids. It was my first real paying job.</p>
<p>How about pet sitting, watering plants,collecting mail for vacationing neighbors?</p>
<p>Does she play a sport? After his fresh. yr., S2 was a volunteer counselor at a football camp for middle sch. kids.</p>
<p>Does she belong to a church group or have a friend who does? Our youth group always does a weeklong trip (chaperoned by lots of adults) to a nearby state where they help fix up houses for the elderly. It’s a easy way to get into volunteering but still fun for the kids because they’re all together.</p>
<p>Check out local nonprofit performing arts organizations to see if they have summer camps. My D volunteered as a summer camp intern for a children’s choir and a children’s theatre group. She had a great time and ended up being hired by one of the families she met at one of the camps as a nanny and has worked at that job for almost 2 years now.</p>
<p>Look into volunteering at the local library. Most have summer reading programs for younger students and would love to have the help. It would keep your daughter engaged and be a wonderful volunteer/community service option. When she needs to take time off for other things (ie vacation & camp) they are very understanding.</p>
<p>What does she want to do this summer? In our town the girls that are too young to get part time jobs go swimming, ,biking, play tennis, go to movies, play golf, babysit, walk dogs, hang out and watch the boys play sports. The parks and rec department has many “day” camps for art, theater, music, sports, that some kids get involved with. She may want to connect with old friends if this was her first year at a different school. Ask her, she might have an idea how she wants to spend the summer.</p>
<p>All good ideas. My son attended a few weeks of programs at a private Day School at that age. They had different classes (not academic) to choose from (ie: drama, film making, forensics, photography, printing/art, music, etc.). There were many options. Perhaps you can find something similar. He has had friends who signed up for sports at this age, such as a local soccer or baseball team . Life guard training and certification might be something to explore. Oh, a few of his friends started bands that summer or took up new instruments (ie: electric guitar, or guitar).</p>
<p>Mine took dance classes and volunteered at the local public library. I second the recommendation that you see if your library has a reading program for younger kids. If they do, they are generally always looking for volunteers.</p>
<p>If you live in a metropolitan area with a zoo, check to see if they have a zoo teen volunteer program. Also, I recommend the Concordia Language Villages language immersion summer camps (in Minnesota). A great way to beef up their language skills and you can earn a high school credit for 4 weeks of camp.</p>
<p>lots of camps have CIT ( counselor in training) programs-they are usually for a couple double sessions- so won’t take up the whole summer but can give valuable experience.</p>
<p>What are her interests? It seems to me that this is what should determine how she spends her summer. What are her favorite activities during the school year? Is there something she’s been wanting to explore that she hasn’t had time for? Is there a particular career she dreams of? Is she leaving this entirey in your hands or has she expressed a desire to participate in a particular activity or kind of program?</p>
<p>Would she be interested in taking a class at a CC. Many CCs allow bright motivated students to enroll. Other than that volunteering at a hospital or nursing home could be wonderful experiences. You mentioned that your daughters friends from school do not live close by. We had the same situation, and we would take turns driving kids to and from our home. It is pretty common when kids don’t attend the home school. She will probably ask for more sleepovers than the kid who has friends in town.</p>
<p>agree with all the posters that there are many volunteer opportunities and some paying opportunities for 14 year olds. In my town, a 14 year old can be a summer camp counselor, front desk at the pool or summer enrichment program, to name a few jobs that pay. They can also volunteer at our local Girl Scout day camp, which includes transportation.</p>
<p>Animal shelters often love teen volunteers who interact with dogs and cats to socialize them. Many 14 year old girls adore horses and you might see if there is a place that will trade stablehand hours for riding time (ie, a work experience – not just another experience you pay for). </p>
<p>I would not have a 14 year old with too many unsupervised hours. It’s the age when booze, drugs and sex start to have a magnetic appeal for some. </p>
<p>A 14 year old can (with much eye rolling and complaining) do signficant work at the house – to include paint scraping, painting, weeding, mowing and laundry and cooking. If your day is too full and hers is too empty, then you need to tilt the field a bit. </p>
<p>Also check into the county 4H program. Our county has a TV station and teens can work there and get AV training. We also have several awesome summer theater programs. </p>
<p>This is a critical age – she will walk away from this summer with either the notion that she’s entitled to being entertained or that she is a capable worker. You are correct to give this summer some deep thought.</p>
<p>My D will be doing a few things this summer including 2 weeks away at a relatively expensive academic program. But the rest of the summer she will be: volunteering for a week at Vacation Bible School, spending a week with our youth group doing community service projects, coming with me to her sister’s college orientation, spending a few days at a local journalism camp. I’ve tried to stagger it somewhat so she has some chill time, followed by a chunk of program. She’s had a busy year & I want her to be able to sleep late, read at will and hang out with her friends, but I want her to be busy enough not to be “bored.”</p>