Summer camp. Arts classes. Internships. Specialty Sports Camps. College Prep Programs. Travel programs. SAT summer prep classes. Employment. Volunteer work.
The list of options for what teens can do in the summer can go on and on.
As the list gets longer, the frustration grows proportionately. How is a family to choose?
Especially when taking into account an inordinate amount of factors, such as: the family’s work/life balance as parents juggle their own work schedules and vacation time, funds available at a time when resources are at a premium (pre-college), taking into account your teenager’s specific interests, thoughts about experiences that would help advance career goals, to name a few.
No wonder why the process is so overwhelming. How do you choose what to do? What takes priority?
Think about the questions below to help focus your search:
- Should the summer be a time for study or for having fun?
- Does my child need to have time programmed or less structured?
- Is there an opportunity for down time?
- What options will tend to influence character development and leadership abilities?
- Are internships available that would help inform future career choices?
- What opportunities are there to do community service?
- What are the needs of the family regarding contributing to the family’s income?
- Are there opportunities that will stretch skills and enable growth in a new area?
- Can the summer be an opportunity to advance skills in a sport, interest, or activity–or help determine not to pursue the activity?
Consider this question:
When high school is a faded memory — what activities will have made an impact?
Try thinking through summer activities with those goals in mind, despite how tempting it might be to fulfill short-term needs.
If you are thinking about what would be best for the college resume, college counselors and admissions officers have told me that after reading thousands and thousands of applications, they can see through the haze of shallow but well-intentioned lists of extracurricular activities that have breadth but no depth.
So, it will help your teen maximize the time they will be putting into a summer activity by thinking about the big picture and the grander purpose of these activities. The point of any worthwhile experience is to advance development, ideally add to their character, and be something that will have long-term meaning.
Photo credit: wikipedia
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