Choosing summer activities for high schoolers can often be daunting; they're too old for summer camp but not old enough for real internship programs. They're old enough to need educationally-stimulating activity but young enough to still enjoy their two months of freedom. It's also very important for colleges to see how teens are spending their summers in preparation for their academic careers. Fortunately, there are a variety of fun and fulfilling summer programs to choose from. Prime's very own Spencer Frankston is a summer experience expert, having attended three unique summer "teen tours" focusing on language, history and travel. He understands all of the various offerings and organizations that lead these summer programs and can help guide your teens through choosing opportunities based on their personal interests, academic goals and candidacy for higher education programs. It's always best to solidify your teen's summer plans as early in the academic year as possible to ensure they have access to the most competitive summer programs. Whether your child will be a rising sophomore or senior at the end of the school year, teen tour consulting can help ensure your student gets the most out of their summers while relieving the stress of scrambling when spring rolls around.
Common summer activities include:
Academic-focused: Summer at universities where your student can take classes and obtain college credits in subjects while trialing majors they believe will be appropriate areas of study. Many opportunities also exist for students to focus on music and the arts.
Adventure-focused programs: For the adventure-seekers, providing your teen with the opportunity to see the world and stimulate their senses of adventure through action-packed daily activities, like hiking world wonders or learning to dive in coral reefs. These programs typically attract rising sophomores and juniors and are popular as starter summer activities before exploring more academic-focused programs as they grow older.
Language-focused immersion programs: These typically involve home stays or local university programs in a foreign country where the teen is fully immersed in a foreign language and will pick up on the local vernacular much faster than by taking courses in school at home. These programs typically provide a balance of language and cultural activities as well as guided excursions to explore the country on weekends.
Culture and travel-focused programs: Programs where students will visit many cities or countries in a one-month span and typically involve a variety of history, culture and adventure packed into one trip.
Athletic-focused programs: Programs where students can focus on their sport of choice, a variety of athletic activities or even teach sports to children in foreign countries
Volunteer-based programs: Trips to parts of the world focusing on sustainability, charity or local development. A few popular programs: turtle and reef development programs, teaching English to local children, building houses abroad, etc.
Religious programs: Trips to countries like Israel, the Vatican and others for teens to learn more about areas of religious and cultural significance.
