<p>NewHavenCTmom, I’m glad your daughter is enjoying her summer program. Her distress calls cracked me up. My DS is 3rd of 6 so he had to grow up pretty fast. </p>
<p>S’14 just finished a three week StarTalk Chinese program on a college campus. He loved it and has decided he wants to continue studying Chinese in addition to finishing up his h.s.'s Spanish options this year. I was glad since he had originally wanted to study Arabic but didn’t get into the free Arabic program to which he applied. Now he just has conditioning for cross county season and reviewing for the fall ACT. Mostly he has been working on composing a piano piece and goofing around online with a little reading thrown in. I don’t have any money for summer programs, either, but we were lucky this year that two of our kids won StarTalk scholarships at different universities.</p>
<p>@mathmomvt… I totally agree with the suggestions that Slitheytove made. I bet an office, library, business would scoop him up! Especially since so many kids in this generation have NO attention span and can’t stay on task to complete anything! </p>
<p>@Apollo6 I looked into the student conservation association and it looks like a wonderful program for teens! They go out in groups of 6-8 teens with team leaders to the national parks and build trails, bridges, rock walls, clean graffiti off of the Grand Canyon etc… It may be something to consider for next summer. It is free, the only thing you pay for is transportation to the site. I was even in touch with one of the northeast recruiters yesterday and she was very patient and answered all of my questions during an hour long chat. I am not sure if your DS enjoys camping/wilderness but it looks like a great place to spend part of one’s summer! thesca.org is the website…
The application process begins in September. </p>
<p>I bumped into 3 kids who are doing Startalk/mandarin here in CT that program is becoming so popular! Is there a chinese cultural center in your area? There is one here in New Haven and they were looking for volunteers to help out in various capacities. I wonder if there is one in your area that might be iso a volunteer for the summer</p>
<p>I have come across lots of cool summer programs, which give merit aid and that are free but my brain is fried and all of them are escaping me right now! When my brain is functioning again, I will post them for those of you that are interested…</p>
<p>Thanks @NewHavenCTmom and @SlitheyTove for the encouragement. He’s good with computers, so some place that could use some computer help might be a possibility. Library is a good option as well. </p>
<p>With his ADHD he hyper-focuses on what he wants to focus on, and it’s unclear to my H and me whether he would want/be able to focus on what an employer told him to at this point. If he enjoyed it, yes… so I guess the trick is finding him something he enjoys.</p>
<p>I asked a long while back on CC about summer programs that were free and did not find much of relevance to my son, but would love to see your list if you have a chance, @NewHavenCTmom</p>
<p>mathmomvt–Your son sounds interesting. I like the idea of going with what interests him. It is all good. I presume he learned something from his experience volunteering at that camp last summer. Sometimes it takes a nudge like that for kids to begin to get it. </p>
<p>We shot our wad on a music camp for our son. Other than that, he is taking a math course on-line. The jury is still out about whether it was a good idea…</p>
<p>NewHavenCtMom-I love your suggestion of the volunteer conservation program. Our S would love that. I’ll keep it in mind for next year. Thanks.</p>
<p>For the summer, DD-14 does all day theater camp for seven weeks. During the evenings on Tu., W, and Th, she has band. Tu. and W, she has cheerleading in the afternoons, and on day each weekend, she is part of a volunteer program at the zoo. Somehow, she’s got to fit her summer assignments in there (Grapes of Wrath, Stealing Lincoln’s Body and three chapters of Honors Chem. assignments).</p>
<p>And how the heck did I let her convince me to allow her to foster three kittens from the animal shelter? She obviously doesn’t have time to scoop the litter boxes? HAHA!</p>
<p>My son rediscovered his … gameboy? He’s been playing one or two games the past several days. … Meanwhile, we learned that he can go to a three-day, track and field camp at one of our state’s private universities. He’s very psyched about getting the chance to work with collegiate coaches. Now, getting him to read for his summer assignments is a chore.</p>
<p>Too funny about the gameboy. My sophomore boy started playing his again last spring when Pokemon Black and White came out. He has a renewed interest retro game systems also. He played the Gamecube yesterday and bought a Nintendo 64 used. He is kicking himself for getting rid of all the games.</p>
<p>I think he found a good balance for this summer.</p>
<p>Summer stuff includes working on his summer health class-online version so he doesn’t have to take it during the school year. He also has some math summer work that he is leaving until Aug.
He is suppose to run everyday for X-country and track his mileage. He also has official practice starting Aug. 1 at 7am.
He should be playing more tennis for next spring but it is hard for him to train for 2 different sports at one time. </p>
<p>Mostly being a typical teen. Sleeping late, hanging with friends, boating with his grandparents, etc. It is a good life.</p>
<p>Happy Birthday DS’14 - who turns 15 today! Wow - I just can’t believe how time is flying by. We are taking DD’12 is on a college tour of some east coast schools next week. We live out west, so we are bringing DS’14 along to get his college views started. I trust everyone is having a fun summer!</p>
<p>DS’14 just finished his summer English assignments: two books assigned to next years class, plus six question (3 each book), one-page answer per question. The toughest part was getting started. Will head east with him and DD’12 to visit family and visit colleges. Bringing DS’14 along to get the process started, get him thinking of what he may want in a college. He can weigh in as his sister has to make some decisions pretty soon.</p>
<p>My son just finished a four-day, track and field camp at one of our state’s private universities. Every morning, he ran nearly four miles (no biggie since he is a distance guy). Pigged out on pasta at the all-you-can-eat lunch (and it was good, too). Went swimming every day, and the coaching staff had the kids do some workouts in the water. He also learned some new stretching exercises that he plans to do before cross country or track meets. </p>
<p>Well, the books’s read, but that paper needs to be written next week. We leave for a few days of vacation, and when we get back band/percussion camp has already started. Somebody better get a move on . . .</p>
<p>momreads – sounds like he’s getting a lot of good exercise! </p>
<p>glido – congrats on your S getting summer reading done! S has not even begun…</p>
<p>I want to make over S’s room (which is half the size of D’s, who will soon be away at school). Switching rooms, while it makes sense, may be more than I’m ready to take on right now, mostly because her stuff would never fit into his room, and we have zero basement/garage/attic storage. </p>
<p>I was wondering – has anyone figured out how to “loft” a kid’s twin bed at home (like they do at college) so he could get storage underneath? Now that he’s wearing men’s L, one pair of shorts takes up a whole dresser drawer…</p>
<p>DD’14 is cramming for Science “Test-Out” next week, so she can move directly into Chemistry. Next week’s test covers all the material from sophomore science (Intro to Chem, Intro to Physics) - a lot to learn in a short time. I think she has read one of the four summer reading books, but I don’t know if there are any papers assigned with them… </p>
<p>Now she needs to decide if she can fit Drivers Ed into August.</p>
<p>MImamma- my S is taking an on-line math course this summer. I am thinking it is a mistake. The course work is not difficult, it is the tech piece that has been problematic. He doesn’t have a lot of time to finish it and complete summer reading…Let me know if your D is able to do it all.</p>
<p>Cayuga - S3 took an online math class during the second semester this year (full year credit). It wasn’t an easy format at all. The material wasn’t difficult, he had trouble with the lack of a classroom experience. It depends on the kid, but this turned out to be a big hinderance for him. He powered through, earning an A but is was not easy to do with his other classes and ECs, so I can relate. He debated doing it during the summer and he decided against it. I think both have advantages and disadvantages. He was very glad to be done! Good luck to your son!!</p>
<p>Class~I have a similar dilemma switching rooms, have started the process but it has been slow going. </p>
<p>D’14 is in the middle of band camp right now. It’s her first year marching and she is really enjoying it. She is going to have to really organize her time this fall. School starts for her in 2 WEEKS! Can’t believe summer is almost over and she still has 3 chapters of APUSH to outline and one more summer reading book/paper.</p>
<p>Big sister heads off to U as a freshman in 3 weeks so we are busy getting all the dorm “stuff”. My dining room is starting to look like a Bed, Bath & Beyond store!</p>