Anonymous wrote:What do you do in summer with your 13-year old?

My 6th grader is 12 this summer. Next year he will be 13 and all of the favorite camps he does with his younger brother (10) have a cutoff of 12 years old.

FCPS' Institute for the Arts. Free bus transportation and goes up to rising seniors in high school.

https://www.fcps.edu/academics/summer-learning-programs/camps-and-institutes-institute-arts-ifta

Anonymous wrote:Get a job

Not many places these days hire 13-year old boys....

It's not 1980.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what my 13 yo DD did last summer--Volunteered at dog and cat shelters, 2 week sleep away camp, sports camps, babysitting, art classes, sat on the couch, slept in, and hung out with friends at the pool all day

What shelter let a 13 year old volunteer? Our local shelter is 18+.

+1 Every place I’ve checked is either >18 or it’s 14+ with a parent.

There are other camps with higher age cutoffs. Sleep away camp is a great option as well. He can also be left to his own devices. On days when my DS (who’s just younger) is home alone during the summer, he has a blast. He does his chores, takes the dog to the park and then for ice cream or coffee. He reads a bit then usually goes out for the afternoon. Sometimes he meets a friend at the pool or for a game of tennis. He sometimes takes the bus to the JCC and there’s usually someone there to play with. Last summer, some of our neighbors even hired him to walk their dogs, so he was very excited to have his first business. There are also days (about once a week) he comes to my office and does file clerk type work, and we pay him for his time.

4H and FFA offer camps for Middle-High School.
Many colleges offer camp programs for middle- high school aged kids.

Anyone have any great art classes/camps to recommend?

Anonymous wrote:This is what my 13 yo DD did last summer--Volunteered at dog and cat shelters, 2 week sleep away camp, sports camps, babysitting, art classes, sat on the couch, slept in, and hung out with friends at the pool all day

What shelter let a 13 year old volunteer? Our local shelter is 18+.

Look harder. Here in Anne Arundel County, the rec and parks has a camp for teens, up through grade 10. I'm sure other camps do something similar.

Specialty camps like iDTech.

Anonymous wrote:Sleepaway camp.

This. My DS will be 13 this summer and he will be at camp for 5 weeks. The rest of the summer will be a combo of volunteering at his old summer camp and staying home alone plus a week at the beach.

This is what my 13 yo DD did last summer--Volunteered at dog and cat shelters, 2 week sleep away camp, sports camps, babysitting, art classes, sat on the couch, slept in, and hung out with friends at the pool all day

See if his favorite camps will take a 13 yr old as a volunteer "counselor in training". That's what my oldest did when he turned 13.

My younger (13 this summer) does sleepaway for 2 weeks and a couple local camps that take kids through age 15.

Sleepaway camp.

Get a job

What do you do in summer with your 13-year old?

My 6th grader is 12 this summer. Next year he will be 13 and all of the favorite camps he does with his younger brother (10) have a cutoff of 12 years old.