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Summer has begun and your student is enjoying some down time from their academic studies. Down time is good, but if you have a college-bound student, summers are also a great time to do a little bit of college preparation.
As parents, it’s our responsibility to make sure our teenagers make the most of their time in the summer and help them get ready for the upcoming school year. That’s why I have broken down the summer for each year your student will be in school in the fall by providing 10 tips for moms to follow. Just follow the links below each year to help your student make the most of their summer.
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:
Before you think I’m advocating “heads to the grindstone” this summer, rest assured these activities will not consume your or your student’s summer months. What this summer college prep will do is prepare your student for the upcoming school year and help him enter the next phase of his education thinking and planning for college.
The summer before middle school
Entering middle school is a huge transition for students. They go from one classroom to multiple classrooms, lockers, multiple teachers, and more homework. The summer before your student begins middle school is the perfect time to begin preparation for the future. Although it might seem premature to start thinking about college, it’s never too early. Your child needs a strong middle school foundation in order to take the high school courses that colleges expect of a college-bound student.
For a list of 10 tips for soon-to-be middle school parents, click here.
Summer is here and it’s a good time for parents of college-bound students to make the most of the free time. Your student will certainly be busy, especially if this is the summer before senior year.
But there are a few things you should make sure to complete during the summer that will help your student progress along the college admissions path. It’s never too early to start preparing your student for college.
Start preparing your student for independence.
Use the summer to teach some basic life skills. It’s never too early to start preparing for independence. College is the first step toward adult independence. Students will have to make their own decisions, be responsible for their own actions and deal with the consequences of their choices. Some basic life skills can make the transition to adulthood easier.
Laundry: If your student isn’t doing the own laundry, the summer is a good time to start. You would be surprised how many college students don’t have a clue on how to do their own laundry.
Budget basics: Handling money is a life skill that every college student needs to know. Open a student checking account for summer job paychecks and teach how to handle it. Students can monitor the balance on an app and learn to save and budget for any spending.
Public transportation: Many colleges don’t allow freshmen to have a car on campus so it’s imperative to be able to navigate public buses, subways, trains or ride-share services.
Basic cooking skills: Fast food can be expensive and it’s easy to save money on food while in college with some basic skills. Even many dorms have kitchens.
Once you’ve started preparing your student for independence, you can move on to some other important projects. Read about them here in an article I wrote for TeenLife Magazine: How to Use the Summer to Prepare for College.
