With an economy in recession and gas prices on the rise, many families are taking a “stay-cation” instead of a “vacation”. Even if you are going to go on a “real” vacation, (i.e. driving hours in a car with children asking “Are we there yet?”), there are learning opportunities everywhere this summer and why leave the field trips just for the school year?
We are going on a field trip each week of summer and I have determined these trips the following ways:
What interests your child and where could you go to answer those curious questions they ask? We have a field trip scheduled at the Water Conservation District because my daughter wanted to know where all the water went as the tub drained. We are also going to a mining operation because the kids wanted to know why a big hole was in the earth.
What things do you like to do? I love to hike and I have found several easy hikes that are short and good for children, as well as some challenging ones to hike with my older kids. I want do something I enjoy and see if they might enjoy it as well. If you want to increase the potential for enjoyment, be sure to take plenty of breaks, water and treats, especially if you are hiking with teenagers--emphasis on the treats! Playing games as you hike also makes it more fun. Ask the kids to find 5 things that start with the letter “s”, and hope you don’t see a ssssssssssnake! “Geo-caching” is another way to have fun hiking and learning how to operate a GPS.
What will strengthen their testimonies? Visit local church history sites. We live by many and rarely visit them. Take a day or two or three and visit some.
Girl's camp, Boy Scout camps, youth conferences and Especially for Youth events will strengthen testimonies. Encourage your teens to attend and then do all you can to help them get there. Many good activities compete for our time and energy but sometimes we, as parents, will need to stand and advocate not only for our children, but also our beliefs. These events are more significant than work, dance, sports or other activities that may conflict. Teens will gain strength as they watch you stand up for them and their spiritual activities.
Visit sites that are meaningful to you and your family. Go on a tour of important places in your life. I love to take my family to the university I attended and show them my dorm, go to a basketball game and get ice cream. An added bonus is the opportunity to show them that at one time I was young and fun.
Visit the cemetery where your ancestors are buried and tell their stories while gathered around the headstone. My father-in-law loved Snickers candy bars, so we buy those and eat them together at the gravesite while reminiscing. Take crayons and paper and have the kids do rubbings of the headstones.
When was the last time you visited a local museum and learned (remembered) the history of the your area? Do you know who the founding fathers are of your city? Are there any mysteries? What about uncommon trivia? What about a children’s museum with activities centered just on them?
How many parks are in your city? Make a plan to visit a different one each week. Create a grading rubric and have the kids rate each park. At the end of the summer, take a thank you card and your data to the city offices. They would appreciate a note of gratitude and the feedback.
Kids of all ages love field trips. You know their interests, abilities and desires. Use that knowledge to plan an outing. Active learning is fun and better than another t.v. show, video game or DVD. There is so much to see and learn about in the world.
Take a field trip!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
You're Hired!
You're hired! Donald Trump says that to his apprentice but your teens may not be hearing those words or seeing any signs that say "Help Wanted" this year. In the current economy, teens in my area are seeing fewer and fewer opportunities for summer jobs. Some of those jobs usually taken by teens are hiring more adults (who have lost their jobs) and some businesses are simply not filling positions.
How can your teen learn a few life lessons and make some money without having a summer job? That will require some creativity. Here are some of my ideas. Hopefully they can serve as a springboard to your own creative solutions.
The Punch Pass-I'm a huge advocate of teen entrepreneurship and like to support those youth who start their own businesses. This summer in order to save a few bucks, most of us have resorted to mowing our own lawns, washing our own windows and staying home more often. However, a teen interested in starting their own lawn mowing, window washing or babysitting business could hand out punch passes, not only to advertise their business, but also to give an additional incentive. Would you be more interested in having the neighbor boy mow your lawn if every 5th mow was free?
The Chore File-Let's face it. If they don't get a job, you will be paying for everything from their entertainment to their school extracurricular camps, so hire them yourself. A good friend earned extra money from her parents by selecting an extra chore from a file box. Each card listed the chore and the money to be earned. Payment was dependent upon the satisfactory completion of the chore--inspected, of course, by mom and dad.
Another idea is to give them most of the responsibility for a family project and pay them to do it. Some suggestions are the laundry, including the washing, drying, and ironing; cooking meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner; the planting, weeding, watering and harvesting of the garden; deep cleaning such as washing walls, shampooing carpets, and cleaning light fixtures.
If you work and they watch the younger children, pay them to do so. Expecting a teen to babysit younger siblings and not pay them for it is selfish and fosters ill feelings in the teen. Occasional babysitting is a part of being a family member, but everyday tending is a different matter. That responsibility and work deserves a paycheck.
Enlist Support from Grandparents-Your parents may have the means to pay grandchildren for good help. I believe that grandkids should help their grandparents often without expecting any money, but I always appreciated the opportunity to help my grandparents with a project and earn some extra money.
Volunteer-This option doesn't include any money for your teen at the present time, but may earn huge dividends in other ways. Most college scholarships are awarded to students who excel in one of three ways: academics, leadership or service.
Some students have opportunities to travel to faraway places and build schools or wells and that is impressive. But equally as impressive are those teens who give sustained, meaningful service in their communities. What do I mean by sustained? Service that goes beyond the one-night young men or young women service project. Service that continues for weeks, months and even years that may have begun as a simple one night project but became more than that.
What does your teen enjoy doing? What are they good at? What careers are they considering? Answering those questions can be a starting point for finding service opportunities that would be meaningful for your student and help their desire to serve last longer than one night.
Go to Summer School-Many school districts offer courses for credit during the summer months. Summer school is fabulous way to take some required courses that would allow a teen to take additional electives during the school year. My niece and nephew have both done this by attending classes at their local school and taking online classes from the Utah Electronic High School. Applied Technology Colleges also allow high school students to take courses for credit.
Work is a blessing and a part of the plan of salvation. In order to teach the plan to your teen this summer, you may have to hire (and maybe fire) them. Best wishes for a great summer. Only 82 more days until school starts again!
How can your teen learn a few life lessons and make some money without having a summer job? That will require some creativity. Here are some of my ideas. Hopefully they can serve as a springboard to your own creative solutions.
The Punch Pass-I'm a huge advocate of teen entrepreneurship and like to support those youth who start their own businesses. This summer in order to save a few bucks, most of us have resorted to mowing our own lawns, washing our own windows and staying home more often. However, a teen interested in starting their own lawn mowing, window washing or babysitting business could hand out punch passes, not only to advertise their business, but also to give an additional incentive. Would you be more interested in having the neighbor boy mow your lawn if every 5th mow was free?
The Chore File-Let's face it. If they don't get a job, you will be paying for everything from their entertainment to their school extracurricular camps, so hire them yourself. A good friend earned extra money from her parents by selecting an extra chore from a file box. Each card listed the chore and the money to be earned. Payment was dependent upon the satisfactory completion of the chore--inspected, of course, by mom and dad.
Another idea is to give them most of the responsibility for a family project and pay them to do it. Some suggestions are the laundry, including the washing, drying, and ironing; cooking meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner; the planting, weeding, watering and harvesting of the garden; deep cleaning such as washing walls, shampooing carpets, and cleaning light fixtures.
If you work and they watch the younger children, pay them to do so. Expecting a teen to babysit younger siblings and not pay them for it is selfish and fosters ill feelings in the teen. Occasional babysitting is a part of being a family member, but everyday tending is a different matter. That responsibility and work deserves a paycheck.
Enlist Support from Grandparents-Your parents may have the means to pay grandchildren for good help. I believe that grandkids should help their grandparents often without expecting any money, but I always appreciated the opportunity to help my grandparents with a project and earn some extra money.
Volunteer-This option doesn't include any money for your teen at the present time, but may earn huge dividends in other ways. Most college scholarships are awarded to students who excel in one of three ways: academics, leadership or service.
Some students have opportunities to travel to faraway places and build schools or wells and that is impressive. But equally as impressive are those teens who give sustained, meaningful service in their communities. What do I mean by sustained? Service that goes beyond the one-night young men or young women service project. Service that continues for weeks, months and even years that may have begun as a simple one night project but became more than that.
What does your teen enjoy doing? What are they good at? What careers are they considering? Answering those questions can be a starting point for finding service opportunities that would be meaningful for your student and help their desire to serve last longer than one night.
Go to Summer School-Many school districts offer courses for credit during the summer months. Summer school is fabulous way to take some required courses that would allow a teen to take additional electives during the school year. My niece and nephew have both done this by attending classes at their local school and taking online classes from the Utah Electronic High School. Applied Technology Colleges also allow high school students to take courses for credit.
Work is a blessing and a part of the plan of salvation. In order to teach the plan to your teen this summer, you may have to hire (and maybe fire) them. Best wishes for a great summer. Only 82 more days until school starts again!
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