Ideas for summer - not achievement oriented

[Anonymous]

I am looking for ideas for my 15 year-old daughter who is extremely high achieving (academically and athletically) and is stressed out. She puts so much pressure on herself to be perfect. She is in therapy, but I’m looking for something for her to do this summer. That’s completely outside of her achievement oriented bubble. A job would be good, but she doesn’t have transportation since we were forced back into the office (my husband and I government employees). We don’t live in the DC area so she can’t take the metro. She could get some help from my parents, but they can’t drive her too far. It doesn’t have to be all summer - she could do an experience at last 2 to 3 weeks and I would just take the time off to drive her if need be. Any ideas?

[Anonymous]

OP again- it doesn’t have to be a job. It could be a volunteer or travel experience. I just want her interacting with people outside of her school bubble and ideally helping others.

[Anonymous]

Is she into outdoors stuff? It’s probably joint late to find an adventure trip like backpacking or something similar.

Other options:
One that wouldn’t require transportation would be to find a family in the neighborhood in need of a mother’s helper. When my kids were very small and I wasn’t working, I was desperate for another set of hands to do tedious crafts, play with the toys I didn’t like, or bring some enthusiasm to long days at home.

what’s your yard like? Does she like being outside? It’s late in the season for all of the prep work, but I know a kid that age that took over part of their parents’ yard for a vegetable garden.

Can she find a Girl Scout camp to volunteer at? The one closest to us provides transportation to and from camp each week, even for HS volunteers. It doesn’t require you to be a lifelong Girl Scout- you just register as one when you sign up.

[Anonymous]

Her school probably maintains a list of volunteer opportunities. It's getting very close to summer, she should get the list and start reaching out ASAP. It might sound contradictory, but it takes a lot of work to manage a volunteer program well, and so the best ones usually fill up early.

[Anonymous]

Sign her up for an Overland Camp or Maine Teen Camp or something similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is she into outdoors stuff? It’s probably joint late to find an adventure trip like backpacking or something similar.

Other options:
One that wouldn’t require transportation would be to find a family in the neighborhood in need of a mother’s helper. When my kids were very small and I wasn’t working, I was desperate for another set of hands to do tedious crafts, play with the toys I didn’t like, or bring some enthusiasm to long days at home.

what’s your yard like? Does she like being outside? It’s late in the season for all of the prep work, but I know a kid that age that took over part of their parents’ yard for a vegetable garden.

Can she find a Girl Scout camp to volunteer at? The one closest to us provides transportation to and from camp each week, even for HS volunteers. It doesn’t require you to be a lifelong Girl Scout- you just register as one when you sign up.

+1 I did this the summer I was 14 and it was a good way to spend my summer time.

[Anonymous]

Is there a NOLS or outward bound experience she could do? Does amigos de las americas still exist?

[Anonymous]

Can she get a job at a food place near where you work so she could commute with you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is she into outdoors stuff? It’s probably joint late to find an adventure trip like backpacking or something similar.

Other options:
One that wouldn’t require transportation would be to find a family in the neighborhood in need of a mother’s helper. When my kids were very small and I wasn’t working, I was desperate for another set of hands to do tedious crafts, play with the toys I didn’t like, or bring some enthusiasm to long days at home.

what’s your yard like? Does she like being outside? It’s late in the season for all of the prep work, but I know a kid that age that took over part of their parents’ yard for a vegetable garden.

Can she find a Girl Scout camp to volunteer at? The one closest to us provides transportation to and from camp each week, even for HS volunteers. It doesn’t require you to be a lifelong Girl Scout- you just register as one when you sign up.

+1 I did this the summer I was 14 and it was a good way to spend my summer time.

+1 I WFH and am looking for this exactly - fun older kid to engage my young kids. Could be flexible hours and good pay for that type of job.

[Anonymous]

Babysitting. With parents back in the office, I’d think this would be an in-demand job?

[Anonymous]

Sounds a lot like my daughter in high school. Her first “real” summer job was washing dishes for the restaurant of a small seasonal hotel. She absolutely loved it. It was gross and stinky but the camaraderie of the back of the house and working with all kinds of interesting people outside of her usual high school bubble made it fun and positive. She was 16 so may be a little bit easier to get hired than for 15 but food service spots are always so understaffed might be possible to find something to get a permit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there a NOLS or outward bound experience she could do? Does amigos de las americas still exist?

Most of those require you sign up far more in advance, in my experience. Think January.

[Anonymous]

I did a 3 week scuba diving trip at this age and it has since been a lifelong hobby and social activity distinct from my normal crowd. Not cheap, but a wonderful experience.

[Anonymous]

Look around for any animal sanctuaries near you. That would be a great volunteer opportunity that also gets DD outside.

[Anonymous]

Have her walk into the library and say she'd like to volunteer over the summer, how can they use her?