Hello everyone this is my first time posting and I am wondering what the kids are doing for summer. I appreciate the summer info already posted. MY D18 has participated in Stem programs the past 3 summers and one program in NJ. The stem program was free called TXprep from the summer of 6th grade to 9th grade. I am looking for programs closer to home around Texas. I’d appreciate any ideas.
Thanks
Thank you so much, @RoonilWazlib99! I really appreciate the help! Unfortunately, DD is interested in science, but not in engineering. 
I will have her check this out anyway. Thanks again! (My brother lives in Seattle, so that would be a great excuse to visit!)
@jcc I totally understand. I’m really looking for something for my D because I’d like her to spend some time on a campus, away from home, explore some different ideas (like maybe engineering!), and to start to get the feel for what it will be like to be away. She’s never even gone to camp!
@Halomama18 - Welcome! My son will have a different summer this year than the past couple. This will be the first year he is not participating in some sort of academic program/camp, even if it was only for a week or two in the past. In terms of non-family activities/vacations, he will spend four weeks in a leadership program at a summer camp where he was a Counselor In Training last year (and where he has gone for summer camp since we moved to the area four years ago). He LOVES the camp, had a blast as a CIT last year, and is really looking forward to taking the next step toward becoming a full-fledged counselor! Aside from that, he has XC practice and a week-long XC camp with his team. Last, but not least, he is going on a high adventure backcountry backpacking trek with the Boy Scouts at Philmont Scout Ranch for 10 days in August. Should be fun!
Not sure what DD’s plans for the summer are yet. All of August is booked (even though school doesn’t start until after Labor Day) because pre-season workouts for her sport start then. School doesn’t let out until late June and we’ll probably take a quick family trip at that time. In July she is going to a 3-day conference related to one of her hobbies. She might do a 2-week summer program at the end of July but we’ll have to work out logistics with the conference. She also usually flies out to California to visit my parents so we’ll have to figure out when that will work. Maybe we’ll combine that with a family vacation somewhere west to kill two birds with one stone. The summer programs would be away from home so she can experience independent life for a bit.
DS did a 4-week summer program at Michigan (2 back to back 2 week programs). Focus of the program was STEM although there are lots of non-STEM programs out there. When I was in high school I went away for basically the entire summer at Harvard and earned college credit for Biology while there. I still recall that experience fondly. I was living in a dorm with other teenagers, learning exciting new stuff, and exploring new surroundings. Great fun.
My DD has already said she wants to sleep most of the summer. Nice try, but definitely not.
I am hoping she tries to get a job, but besides that she will repeat what she did last summer. Volunteering at the local animal shelter (probably 150+ hours last summer) and band camp.
@RoonilWazlib99 thanks for the link - hopefully it’ll help @suzy100 or someone else - unfortunately kids here go back to school in the fall on August 1st! She has applied to a couple programs, but they’re fairly selective so we’re still looking. Thanks again!
@Halomama18 - check out Tulane. They have some programs that your D might be interested in.
We finally got out PSAT scores and I’m very happy, now we just need to win the Power Ball lotto and we’re good;-)
School starts in early August here as well, and band camp starts a couple weeks before that. So, August is booked. S’18 has lots of balls in the air at this point, but whatever works out will, I’m sure, be fun and busy. When things are firm, I’ll le the group know.
@3scoutsmom! So happy for your family! Hard work pays off!
Thanks everybody. Looking at a lot of programs online and most of them have deadlines coming up fast.
Anyone else planning college visits over spring break? We are going to the west coast, so I want to get some visits in now because doubt we’ll be back.
Will be doing some repeat visits to 2 schools that D16 has been accepted to over Spring Break and am trying to convince D18, who did not visit the first time round, that she should to go. Making several “local and in-state” trips during the next couple of months for extra-curricular events and have asked multiple times if she would like to visit “X” school while we are there…Am not having much luck. I think she definitely has her head buried in avoidance right now. I am not going to push until this summer.
We’ll be hitting OU for a repeat visit with DD16 and having DS18 tag a long and then stopping to visit UT Dallas for DS18 on the way Over President’s Day Weekend. Just sent email to their NM office requesting a visit, curious how they will respond to a request for a visit for a high school sophomore.
Spring Break will be fun at the beach, no college visits or worries at all, our last family trip before dd16 leaves home for college.
@labegg and @3scoutsmom at first I thought maybe I posted this on class of 16 thread!!
Our intent for this trip was to visit distant family, but then I thought about it more and…
Summer trip planned for Europe I hope (depends on where D16 goes to school)
@ Booajo looks like many of us are in this again for our 2018 kids (I’m also in it for high school class of 2020 - my kids are nothing if not evenly spaced!) at least we’ll be so much more experienced this time!
DD got her PSAT result too, not bad for the little preparation she did. Now need to work on improving it. She got her learners permit after failing written test once. I am more scared with her driving than she is, she being my first child. she was excited initially to drive, now she slowed down. we haven’t started looking for summer programs yet. we exposed her to engineering, Math and filming last year, she didn’t like any of them. I am not sure what else is available in state. I am not willing to spend 3-5 K for out of state programs. Any recommendations on how to improve SAT scores? or any links?
My husband is taking our son on his first college tour over April vacation. I’m home with our younger two and the puppy!
Our son made the list of schools he wants to visit, but he had to cut a couple to fit into the week that they have. His final list for this first trip is:
Georgia Tech
NC State
Duke University
University of Virginia
Virginia Tech
Johns Hopkins
University of Maryland
It will be packed, but as we are near Seattle, he needed to get a bunch in on this trip to the southeast.
I’m so curious to see what he will respond to in terms of school size, location, facilities, etc. This is all new to us.
@sonoran my DS18 is my second child to go through this PSAT/SAT/National Merit, the first is NMSF very likely NMF.
1st do the Khan SAT Prep, it’s free! makes sure kids not only understand why an answer choice is correct but why the other choices are incorrect. Khan has a lot of material, do it all!
2nd if you your kids have issues with critical reading or grammar you can’t beat Erica Meltzer’s books, she has has two new books out for the new SAT, If you child has issues with math look for the new PWN the SAT Math book that should be coming out soon and google for the the blog, lots of free info there.
3rd Read non-fiction and original source historical documents and work on increasing vocabulary we did Wordlywise through 9th grade when they were homeschooled but I just have them do the Readers’ Digest Word Power Vocabulary quiz now.
If only I could use his 10th grade PSAT for National Merit I’d be so happy.
For summer my DS18 is going on an exchange program to China for the first part of the summer and will be taking a DE class at the local CC and working on his Boy Scout Eagle project the second part of the summer, oh and hopefully getting his drivers licences soon!
DD18 got dragged to several college visits with her older brother so she has already been on many college tours, including a few on the west coast when visiting grandparents. She finally put her foot down when we were planning his big tour trip spring break of junior year. She and DH went to London instead LOL.
Since then we’ve been on a few campus visits. We visited a couple of places this summer while on a short vacation for example. We’ll go on the big college tour road trip next year and visit others on an ad hoc basis.
This year’s spring break is reserved for a sunny beach somewhere where I can get an umbrella drink 
. I’m over winter already and we haven’t even had our first snowfall!