Mine will likely spend at least 3 weeks with grandparents.

Anonymous wrote:Curious how all these middle schoolers get to and fro the pool and whether or not there is a parent around for all this hang out time. I have to imagine there is at least one parent working from home or a stay at home parent?

Last summer my rising 8th grader had a fair amount of down time. He also did 3 weeks of camp and we went on vacation for a week. Dh was working from home but that won’t be the case next summer so we will have to figure something out.

We had a summer babysitter just to drive kids to the pool and home a few days a week until we moved to a neighborhood where they could bike it. Now their older brother drives (under duress).

Summer for our rising 7th grader - 2.5 weeks in HI, virtual algebra I class, swim, hang with friends, 2 weeks overnight camp.

Summer for our rising 9th grader - 2.5 weeks in HI, virtual algebra Ii class, swim, hang with friends, start cross country training at the HS in August

Anonymous wrote:Curious how all these middle schoolers get to and fro the pool and whether or not there is a parent around for all this hang out time. I have to imagine there is at least one parent working from home or a stay at home parent?

Last summer my rising 8th grader had a fair amount of down time. He also did 3 weeks of camp and we went on vacation for a week. Dh was working from home but that won’t be the case next summer so we will have to figure something out.

Mine ride bikes or take the bus. In a big group it’s pretty safe, they figure it out. In my kids friend groups most kids have a parent home at least some of the time (teachers, wfh, or flexible schedules).

Camps, hang out with friends, babysitting. Mine are 11 and 14 and I was surprised how quick the summer goes

Anonymous wrote:Curious how all these middle schoolers get to and fro the pool and whether or not there is a parent around for all this hang out time. I have to imagine there is at least one parent working from home or a stay at home parent?

Last summer my rising 8th grader had a fair amount of down time. He also did 3 weeks of camp and we went on vacation for a week. Dh was working from home but that won’t be the case next summer so we will have to figure something out.

Our pool allows kids this age to be unsupervised during the day. My kids can ride bikes to the pool or walk.

The weeks when they have no camp and they are free styling, we will leave the kids alone for a couple of hours at a time as needed but generally one parent is working from home or off work.

Anonymous wrote:Curious how all these middle schoolers get to and fro the pool and whether or not there is a parent around for all this hang out time. I have to imagine there is at least one parent working from home or a stay at home parent?

Last summer my rising 8th grader had a fair amount of down time. He also did 3 weeks of camp and we went on vacation for a week. Dh was working from home but that won’t be the case next summer so we will have to figure something out.

Our pool is walking distance and DD can also walk to a small shopping center where her friends would meet. I am also permanently changing my schedule to keep some WFH time.

Anonymous wrote:Curious how all these middle schoolers get to and fro the pool and whether or not there is a parent around for all this hang out time. I have to imagine there is at least one parent working from home or a stay at home parent?

Last summer my rising 8th grader had a fair amount of down time. He also did 3 weeks of camp and we went on vacation for a week. Dh was working from home but that won’t be the case next summer so we will have to figure something out.

I SAH, and carpool with other parents. We all help each other out. I drop off and another will pick up. The kids do not hang out at homes with no adult present.

Our pool is walking distance.

Anonymous wrote:Curious how all these middle schoolers get to and fro the pool and whether or not there is a parent around for all this hang out time. I have to imagine there is at least one parent working from home or a stay at home parent?

Last summer my rising 8th grader had a fair amount of down time. He also did 3 weeks of camp and we went on vacation for a week. Dh was working from home but that won’t be the case next summer so we will have to figure something out.

My middle schooler bikes to the pool and is there with friends and no adult supervision. There is a parent at home though.

Curious how all these middle schoolers get to and fro the pool and whether or not there is a parent around for all this hang out time. I have to imagine there is at least one parent working from home or a stay at home parent?

Last summer my rising 8th grader had a fair amount of down time. He also did 3 weeks of camp and we went on vacation for a week. Dh was working from home but that won’t be the case next summer so we will have to figure something out.

Mine are going to overnight camp. Then pool time, too much screen time, movies and chilling out. The school year is tough. Summer should be fun.

I’m going to send my middle schooler to the Middle School camp Fairfax County offers. Last year was a nightmare. The novelty of the pool wore off after a few weeks and none of the neighborhood kids or school friends were available much. So it was a lot of video games and boredom, minus the weeks we went on a family trip.

We will do tennis camp or lessons, go to the pool, play video games, hang out with neighborhood kids, hopefully read a little, go to grandparents house for a week, 2 week family vacation, maybe a baseball camp.

I learned last year, after 5th grade, that general camps aren't fun anymore at his age. Unless it's a skill he wants to develop, he's not interested, and I get it.

Both parents work full time, but I have a flexible summer schedule and can work from home quite a bit so he won't be alone that often.

Younger brother (age 8) will continue to do camps, mostly SACC in fairfax county.

I spent all summer at the pool at that age, and at friends' houses. I had a SAHM so no aftercare/camp necessary.

swim team
pool
a couple specific interest camps