Summer break is approaching and it’s an excellent opportunity for students to invest in their future. Whether you have a rising freshman or a soon-to-be senior in your home, there are steps they can take during the summer months to enhance their college readiness. Let’s delve into college prep strategies tailored to each grade level.
Continue reading Maximizing Your Summer: College Prep for Every Grade Level
If you haven’t heard it yet, your student is most likely going to say those hated words, “I’m bored. What can I do?” If you need a laugh, check out this short Instagram post from my favorite “mom” comedienne, Heather Land: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cte8Yd7LDjH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Who knew we were all of those things she mentioned in her short video?
If your teen is looking for something to do over the summer, put them to work on college-related tasks to fight summer boredom. It’s never too early to start.
Here are five activities for the college bound to fight summer boredom:
Continue reading 5 College-Bound Tasks to Fight Summer BoredomGet a head start on college prep this summer. Learn everything you need to know about applying for college by getting my Parent Crash Course.
When my kids were teenagers, “I’m bored” came flowing out of their mouths almost every single day during the summer. They missed their friends. They missed the constant activity. They missed participating in all the school-related extracurricular activities. If you have kids, it’s inevitable that those words will be spoken in your household during the summer.
When you hear those words (and even if you don’t) here’s a list of summer activities that will keep your college-bound teen busy AND help their college admissions process in the future.
Continue reading Will Your Student Be Bored This Summer?
Summer is approaching and you can look forward to hearing, “I’m bored”. My grandsons say this at least once a day and I’m sure your teenager has uttered these words as well.
Here are some suggestions to help keep them busy over the summer while using the time to promote learning and family togetherness.
Enrolling your student in a summer program or signing them up for a few classes during the summer break can help keep them occupied. This will also give them a chance to socialize and make new friends. If your child is not interested in any formal extracurricular activities, there are still plenty of options for keeping them busy.
For example, you can encourage them to start a garden, join a sports team, or take up a new hobby. There are also many fun DIY projects that kids can do around the house or in the yard. Encouraging your teenager to be creative and engage in positive activities will help prevent boredom during the summer break.
Continue reading Fighting Summer Boredom
Most of us have experienced summer camp at one point in our life. We sang Kumbayah around the campfire, went on nature hikes, and played pranks on other campers. At the end of camp we went home with plenty of dirty laundry, arts and craft projects, and some new friends. Back in those days, the thought of going to summer camp to prepare for college was the last thing on our minds, or our parents’ minds for that matter. They shipped us off to camp to keep us occupied and enjoy some well-deserved time to themselves.
Times have certainly changed. Parents have recognized the need for college preparation; and they are now able to combine that preparation with a camp. That’s right–summer camp can now be more than dirty laundry and arts and crafts.
Continue reading Prepare for College at Summer Camp
School’s out for the summer and it won’t be long before you hear those dreaded words, “I’m bored.” My grandsons have already uttered them!
Personally, I never liked those words. I don’t use them myself and I taught my kids not to use them. They knew if they used them, I would find them something to occupy their time and they wouldn’t like it.
While you can’t jam college prep down your teen’s throat this summer, you can prepare for those “I’m bored” moments and take advantage of the opportunity to help them find something to occupy their time.
Here are some suggestions to crush the summer boredom:
Continue reading Summer Boredom Crushers
Summer is here and the last thing you probably want to hear about is college prep. Summer is supposed to be a time for fun, relaxation and a break from academics. But what if I told you that you can kill two birds with one stone: have fun and improve your college chances? Believe it or not, it’s possible through a variety of teen summer programs and strategies to use the summer to enhance your high school resume.
You don’t have to travel abroad to do community service and it doesn’t have to be a chore. Find something you are passionate about and spend the summer doing it. Are you interested in construction? Work for Habitat for Humanity. Do politics interest you? Work on a local political campaign. Are you concerned about the environment? Help with local environmental cleanup projects. VolunteerMatch helps you to find just the right activity that suits your interests.
It’s not work if it’s something you love. Think outside the box. Gather used books for nursing homes and recruit volunteers to read to them. Create activity books for children in hospitals and deliver them. Gather used test prep books and donate them to local libraries. The possibilities are endless. Need some ideas? DoSomething.org can get you started.
You’re going to be online anyway. Why not clean up your profiles? Colleges look at social media profiles when reviewing applicants. Boost your presence online by creating your very own personal website to brag about your achievements and your passions. If you’re an arts kids, social media could help you find an arts audience. While you’re at it, follow some colleges on any number of social media channels to learn more about them.
Continue reading A Busy Summer for Your High School Student
Summer is here. The country is slowly re-opening. Students are looking for summer activities to occupy their time—preferably not the activities of the last year like video games, binge-watching Netflix, and watching endless Tik Tok videos. Encourage them to get out and use the summer to expand their learning by taking advantage of some of these summer programs.
TeenLife reviewed all summer programs for high school students listed on their website and selected the top 100 programs with the most page views on our website. They then broke those programs into categories and arranged them alphabetically to create the list you find on this page. Use their menu to jump to each category.
Continue reading Summer Programs for Your High School Student
Every day, I come across information that is helpful for parents and students. Recently, a representative of Wheaton College contacted me about a summer program for high school students and asked if I wouldn’t mind spreading the word about it. My answer: absolutely!
For the second summer, Wheaton College in Massachusetts is offering a four-week credit bearing session for rising juniors and seniors, Discover@Wheaton Summer College for High School Students.
Over the course of the four weeks, students will work with Wheaton professors (and its President!) in one of four courses: “Lunar Exploration,” “Innovation and Social Change,” “Medicine, Bodies, and Power,” or “The History of Popular Music.”
Borrowing from Wheaton’s website about the program, here is an explanation of how it works:
What is Discover@Wheaton?
Discover@Wheaton Summer College is a credit-earning, pre-college experience designed to give rising junior and senior high school students a taste of a competitive private liberal arts college experience. During this four-week intensive program, students will sample college academic life by taking a college level course, as well as student life by participating in campus activities and trips both on and off Wheaton’s beautiful New England campus.
What makes it different?
Wheaton College is an institution known for its close-knit community, small class sizes, and personal approach. Discover@Wheaton follows this model and more, with classes that are only taught by Wheaton’s finest professors, not teaching assistants or graduate students. Thus, students will interact and build relationships with top-notch professors who are experts in their fields of study. Furthermore, this year’s “Innovation and Social Change” course will be taught by none other than Wheaton College President Dennis Hanno!
What do I gain?
Transferrable credit
Not only will students earn a college credit (four semester hours) from Wheaton, but they will also get a chance to present and showcase their work with our final showcase event for parents, participants, and the Discover@Wheaton Faculty and Staff!
Connections
The time students spend at Discover@Wheaton will open them up to a world of opportunities! Not only will they connect with other incredible students from around the globe, they’ll also work with world renowned professors in a personal and lasting form. Plus, field trips within each course will connect them to individuals and institutions that are doing dynamic work in each of the four fields.
Additionally, Discover@Wheaton is lucky enough to be able to collaborate on many events with the U.S. College Advantage Program, a summer experience that brings international high school students to the Wheaton College campus for English language emersion.
A Chance to Discover
Mirroring the Wheaton Curriculum, Discover@Wheaton provides a nurturing, yet challenging environment for students to discover their passions, hidden strengths, and amazing opportunities that their futures hold through a dynamic mix of classroom work andinspiring experiences.
The application deadline is April 18th. To be eligible for a special 30% discounted rate, interested students should reach out to the Coordinator for College High School Academic Programs, Jocelyn Saltzman, at saltzman_jocelyn@
