Summertime! Ummm, what now?

If your daughter or son is in 9th through 11th grade, their finals are almost here, and then hooray!! Summertime! You can sit by the pool, sip some lemonade, get a tan.....

Yes, that's YOU. But what about your high school student? What are some things that can benefit your child during the summer? Does every second of every day have to be about college planning? Do our kids have to lose their childhood experiences and become college drones at age 14?

No they don't.

BUT. A summer of couch-potatoing isn't the best thing for a host of reasons either. So what should your restless teen do in the summer that (1) doesn't cost an arm or a leg and (2) might actually help them in the long run with a college admissions dream and (3) help them grow as a person?!?

Number (3) is the most important aspect of all. Number (3) is the key for our kids. Number (3) is what will make our kids happier, better people.  What can help our kids find their passions, find what moves them, find their life-long interests?

First - summer is a time to relax from the stresses of the school year, yet feel accomplished about something different. There can be so much stress about projects, homework, AP classes that summer can relieve.

If your daughter or son is a rising 9th or 10th grader and does not need to work, let them find their passions. Have them volunteer in an animal shelter if they love animals; live near parks? your daughter can volunteer for park clean-ups. Does your son have an ear for foreign languages? There are inexpensive online programs that can teach Chinese/Japanese/German, etc.  Finding a passion and working at it is important. It allows your child to feel accomplished at something they choose - unlike school, where choices are usually limited and very prescribed.

But about work - a summer job can be the best way to spend the summer of all. Not  40 hour a week job (if at all possible), but a job where responsibility is learned, working with a boss and maybe customers - all of these are lifelong skills that offer maturity and poise beyond their years. And when it comes to college admissions, a summer job is NOT a detriment.

Now about that ever important summer for rising 11th graders. This is probably the most important summer in regards to an application for college. If your child is interested in doing a summer program at a college in a subject that is interesting for them, great!! But if you want that summer program to be meaningful for a college application there is a rule of thumb: the more expensive the program, the less competitive it is to get into, so the less meaningful it is on a college application. There are many programs that are inexpensive - THOSE are the programs that will turn heads on a college application. (there are exceptions to this rule, of course. Interlochen, a music/theater/creative writing summer program is very competitive and expensive. There are other examples!!)

Make summertime meaningful. Not hectic, not boring. It's a time for your teen to find themselves.