Ideas for things to do - summer before 11 th grade

[daisyd]

DS had worked a summer job at the pool last year. I'd assumed he'd be returning it this summer. But he seems to have changed his mind. He says he'd prefer not to work this summer. He'll be doing driver's ed. Some of his friends are doing college summer courses. He's not sure he wants to try it though. He's been into debate, Computer Programming, World Politics and Economics. Any suggestions for summer activities? I'm drawing a blank on ideas. TIA

[SnuggleBuggles]

Can he volunteer somewhere? Tutor, work on a political campaign (maybe voter registration type activities?), help at a food bank… My oldest did a really cool week of service around that age. They did a day at a shelter, a day building with Habitat for Humanity, worked at the food bank and some other places. He loved the experiences he had and he found ones that he connected with more.
I would encourage him to work very part time though vs quitting all together. 8-10 hours leaves plenty of time for other activities.


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[essnce629]

I would actually encourage him to keep the job or find another job. I think having a job teaches so many life skills that a lot of young people are lacking nowadays. The teen summer employment rate is so much lower now than it was 20 years ago (from 50% to about 30% or less).

[gatorsmom]

I would actually encourage him to keep the job or find another job. I think having a job teaches so many life skills that a lot of young people are lacking nowadays. The teen summer employment rate is so much lower now than it was 20 years ago (from 50% to about 30% or less).

I totally agree with this. There is so much to be learned from teenagers working. Now might be a good time for him to shadow or work in an area he is curious about. And managing the money he earns is a great lesson too. At a minimum, even if he hates the job, sticking it out at a job he doesn’t like will provide motivation to find something he does like and succeed at it.

Even with a part time job of 20 hours per week, he will still have enough time leftover to take a college class or do a 2 week summer course. Lots of universities offer them, even online ones.Now is a good time to enroll in those courses. My daughter is currently a sophomore and just turned in her application to study for 2 weeks this summer at a university she wants to attend after she graduates.

I’ve also heard of high schoolers getting their Phy Ed class done during the summer to lighten their load during the school year. Our school doesn’t offer world languages (besides Latin), so summer is when I had my kids take foreign language classe through an online academy. My twins took a two week, online game creation class through another university a few years ago. I think it was through the North Carolina School of Math and ScienceS

Whatever he does make sure you keep a list of all these extra classes and activities to list on his college applications.

[mom2binsd]

My high school kids had jobs each summer, not 40 hrs a week, but made money to pay for their fun stuff, their constant need for Panda, Starbucks etc, golf, clothes (DD) and all of their friends had jobs. Still plenty of time to do other things, I think having a job helps them with so many time management skills etc.

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[chlobo]

Around here, life guards are in high demand so I would encourage him not to give up on that. Maybe shorten his hours?

[daisyd]

Thanks all. I'm struck by the unanimous vote for a summer job. I'll talk to him again about it. His boss reached out to him and he hasn't turned down the pool job yet. He is a quiet and hardworking kid. His experience was that the other kids slacked off, didnt turn up for work etc and he had to do a lot. Also they kept scheduling him for times when we'd told them we're on vacation, had dr appointment etc. They gave him a hard time when he was out sick with Lyme disease. He was planning to just go in to work while sick rather than navigate the miscommunication between his boss and his supervisor for the day

I'll help him look for other jobs/volunteer opportunities as well

[gatorsmom]

Thanks all. I'm struck by the unanimous vote for a summer job. I'll talk to him again about it. His boss reached out to him and he hasn't turned down the pool job yet. He is a quiet and hardworking kid. His experience was that the other kids slacked off, didnt turn up for work etc and he had to do a lot. Also they kept scheduling him for times when we'd told them we're on vacation, had dr appointment etc. They gave him a hard time when he was out sick with Lyme disease. He was planning to just go in to work while sick rather than navigate the miscommunication between his boss and his supervisor for the day

I'll help him look for other jobs/volunteer opportunities as well

If he is one of their best and most dependable employees, he could use that as leverage to get the hours and treatment he wants. I would think they won’t want to lose him as an employee. He should be very direct with his employers and explain that he knows he’s one of their most dependable employees. He will happily come back to work there if he gets his specified weeks off for family vacations and some other preplanned events. He needs to tell them ahead exactly the dates he wants off. He should send this in an email which he will save if they try to change the arrangement. Copies of their agreement should go to all managers and supervisors involved. It would be a FANTASTIC opportunity for him to learn negotiation skills. It would be so good for his self-confidence too.

[SnuggleBuggles]

If he is one of their best and most dependable employees, he could use that as leverage to get the hours and treatment he wants. I would think they won’t want to lose him as an employee. He should be very direct with his employers and explain that he knows he’s one of their most dependable employees. He will happily come back to work there if he gets his specified weeks off for family vacations and some other preplanned events. He needs to tell them ahead exactly the dates he wants off. He should send this in an email which he will save if they try to change the arrangement. Copies of their agreement should go to all managers and supervisors involved. It would be a FANTASTIC opportunity for him to learn negotiation skills. It would be so good for his self-confidence too.

It’s good idea but my kids have worked at multiple pools over the years and it’s a quirky environment. Most of the pools are managed by basically senior lifeguards. Their priority is staffing and requests are just requests, not guarantees. Some try harder than others to accommodate requests. They have all used scheduling software where you input your availability, an email wouldn’t do anything. It’s not bad to have a paper trail though if they’re punitive with absences (ds1 was scheduled while we were multiple states away on vacation, which they knew about; as a result, he barely got any hours the rest of the summer…it was the worst pool of them all). Pools around here are just less formal and, like I said, just kind of unique in operation.


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[daisyd]

If he is one of their best and most dependable employees, he could use that as leverage to get the hours and treatment he wants. I would think they won’t want to lose him as an employee. He should be very direct with his employers and explain that he knows he’s one of their most dependable employees. He will happily come back to work there if he gets his specified weeks off for family vacations and some other preplanned events. He needs to tell them ahead exactly the dates he wants off. He should send this in an email which he will save if they try to change the arrangement. Copies of their agreement should go to all managers and supervisors involved. It would be a FANTASTIC opportunity for him to learn negotiation skills. It would be so good for his self-confidence too.

I agree with this in principle. They are too disorganized for me to believe it will actually happen though. DS just wants to walk away. And I understand why knowing the folks involved.

On the bright side, I found a lead for another pool and I'll look into that.