<p>Oldest son, the musician, has always spend summers at music camps and festivals. There is not really much down time in that field. Son #2 spent a summer working 60 hours a week at a water park, next summer volunteering for the state natural resouces department doing some data collecting, and his third summer doing research at his school. Son #3 spent last summer working in a plastics factory and will likely head back there this summer as he wants to earn money to go overseas for January term in a year.</p>
<p>There are lots of good ways to spend the summer, different for every kid depending on goals. I don't believe that any one option is inherently better than another.</p>