What's up for this summer?

[FloridaLisa]

Care to post what your family or teens are doing for the summer? Travel, camps, work, family fun?

 

This will be our first experience not having all kids here for summer vacation. :crying: On the bright side, ds1 will be on a 2-month mission trip to Cameroon. Dd1 is studying Latin :001_smile:, taking a speech to NCFCA Nationals and looking for a job. Ds2 will be studying Latin to catch up with dd1 and keeping up with all of the yardwork from Ds1.

 

What's on your calendar?

 

Lisa

Edited May 26, 2009 by FloridaLisa

[Veronica in VA]

Ds will be commuting to his summer job at a water company. Dd will be working as an apprentice at a CSA and possibly working for her Certified Nursing Assistant as well.

 

Veronica

[MamaT]

My main goal for this summer, other than relaxing and going to the pool, is to ruthlessly go through each room of my house and get rid of as much as I can! I can't take the clutter anymore. I'm going to do a little redecorating as well to spruce things up.

 

We have a week-long trip to Florida to visit family and a week-long trip to the beach. We'll try to squeeze in a couple of weekend camping trips. We have to go out of town a couple of times for gym/track meets.

 

Of course I will also be getting all of my preparation for school ready for August.

 

My children's activities (see my siggy) will continue throughout the summer, so that is what they will be doing other than trips.

[Nan in Mass]

First piece of summer:

 

My oldest is on a training ship arriving in Pueto Rico today. My middle one is scrambling to finish his work and graduate so he can go to the freshman summer sailing program in (gulp) a week in preparation for trying out for the sailing team. My youngest has just gotten back from Europe and is trying to remember his math. He spent the spring walking from RI to DC and then Geneva up into Germany. Now he had to finish his math book.

 

Middle piece of summer:

 

Oldest and middle go bang around Europe, hopefully staying out of trouble. Middle one has traveled quite a bit but for work, not fun, so we want him to have a chance to see some of the sites of Europe. And we're tyring to give the older one some extra education because his college is focused on vocational stuff. The youngest will go sailing with my husband and me and the animals, crewing for his grandparents during the day on their boat.

 

Last piece of summer:

 

Oldest will try to earn a bit of money. Middle one will continue sailing at college and do orientation. Youngest will work with grampa learning to cruise on his little boat. My husband will be working so hard that he might as well not be there. I will be trying to adjust to the first Aug. in my life since I was about 10 not spent sailing and only having one child.

 

-Nan

[Storm Bay]

Easy. My dh will be working a lot since it's his busy season. My eldest dd will be swimming on a summer team which started last week and lasts until mid-Aug. She'll have a number of meets, including some with harder competition than she's done before (for the experience). My other two will do five weeks of swim lessons. We also do school-light.

 

As for me, I'm planning to meet at least one WTM member this summer for the first time. I hope to learn Geometry, or at least enough to check dd's proofs next year. Not that I'm particularly keen on it at the moment, but I missed it in hs.

 

No travel plans this summer, but since we travelled in the summer each of the past 4 years, I think that's okay. Plus we had a trip in February (paid for my my dp--dear parents.)

[TravelingChris]

WE are starting summer now with swim and dive team practices and meets until the end of July. Both girls are continuing last year's school although they will slowly be switching classes. My dh is leaving for three weeks in June and one of those weeks, my older dd will be on a mission trip to Newark,NJ. THen the older one will be attending a four week Fine Arts day camp which will net her an extra half credit or so. I am looking for something else for the younger. WE will go on a trip back to Florida in mid August so that the older one can get a drivers license and I have yet to plan a vacation around that.

 

THis is our first year living in megalopolis ever with three kids and we plan to take advantage of concerts and plays available locally.

[Jane Elliot]

We just got back from a fantastic family vacation in Banff, sort of a senior trip for the twins.

 

We'll have all the usual farm work. Haying always takes up a good bit of our summer.

 

And, they'll continue helping their uncle remodel an old apartment building. They learn a lot doing this -- like learning to put down ceramic tile, a skill they'll put to good use for me in my bathrooms this weekend.:001_smile:

 

One of the twins has been and will continue volunteering a day or more a week with a friend who's a dentist. He'd like to go into dentistry, so this is a good opportunity for him.

 

Two of the boys are heading to Worldview Academy for their third year, and one of the twins will be interning at the same camp.

 

We hope to get over to Glacier Nat'l Park (only 3 hours away) and do lots of hiking and camping there and around home.

 

Best of all, 20yodd comes home in July after two years of school in the Philippines. She has completed her program and will be taking her exam in Seattle in August.

[AnitaMcC]

Care to post what your family or teens are doing for the summer? Travel, camps, work, family fun?

 

This will be our first experience not having all kids here for summer vacation. :crying: On the bright side, ds1 will be on a 2-month mission trip to Cameroon. Dd1 is studying Latin :001_smile:, taking a speech to NCFCA Nationals and looking for a job. Ds2 will be studying Latin to catch up with dd1 and keeping up with all of the yardwork from Ds1.

 

What's on your calendar?

 

Lisa

 

Dd will continue her Kung Fu training/tournaments. She will also be learning piano and continue with guitar, drums, clarinet lessons. She will be starting her homeschooling.... she wants to start Italian and algebra 2.

 

14yr old Ds will be taking a few robotics courses offered through the community college. He will be starting his homeschooling also... for summer he will work on algebra 2 and geometry, Latin. He will do a bowling summer league, continue with Kung Fu, and boy scouts. He will also start learning piano.

 

The younger two boys will do summer school at home... mainly just reviewing math, writing, reading skills. They will also do scouts and Kung Fu. They may do a program or two through the park district.

 

All four will participate in the summer reading program through the library. And we will be taking a vacation here and there. Dd has a tournament in Kentucky June 12-13 and one in Iowa August 1-3, so we may try to do a few camping trips to save on motel costs. We will likely go to New York to visit family in mid August.

 

Otherwise just a graduation party for niece (graduated college) and the twins (8th grade) end of June, then the usual July 4th party we always host and lots of swimming in our pool (if it actually gets hot enough this summer).

 

Anita

[laughing lioness]

My oldest was here for a week, left Tu for Romania/Hunagary. Will return here at the end of June to stay for a month. Return to KY early Aug to take another intensive and start back at college the next week.

My 2nd is finishing up Latin/Logic and Math, going to the Black Hills as a Camp Counselor, maybe getting a p.t. job if it fits. Going back to OH/KY with older sis to hang out. We'll meet them there mid-Aug.

My 14 yo would like to do TP survival. We haven't signed him up yet, though. He'll also be doing some p.t. jobs, reading lots, seeing friends.

My 9 yo will go to Black Hills camp, read a lot.

6 yo will be hanging out with me :)

We're all going to OH mid-Aug to celebrate my in-laws 50th for a week-end, down to TN to see friends and my dad and my dh wants to make it to Atlanta to see a biz associate.

Add in a lot of gardening/canning/drying/freezing plus reading, getting together with friends and soaking in the great outdoors and the summer will fly by.

It's so fun to read what everyone else is doing!

[FloridaLisa]

Best of all, 20yodd comes home in July after two years of school in the Philippines. She has completed her program and will be taking her exam in Seattle in August.

 

Yeah! :party: Does that mean all 12 will be under the same roof for a couple of months at least?

 

Sounds great!

Lisa

[FloridaLisa]

I will be trying to adjust to the first Aug. in my life since I was about 10 not spent sailing and only having one child.

 

::sniff:: Yeah -- I do not think I'm going to like it one year from next August when I have my first out of the nest. I know it's inevitable so I'm savoring the moments now!

 

Lisa

[mcconnellboys]

My older son just received his life guard certification and has his first job at a local pool. He's just gotten his intermediate license and is driving himself around some now (mostly to every fast food restaurant in town - YUCK!) He's swimming on our neighborhood summer swim team for the first 6 weeks of the summer, as well as swimming long-course (metered pools) with his year round team. We're doing several college visits this summer, too, and he's working on his college apps so we can have all those ready and in by October for early decision next year. He's got summer reading to do, too, for a couple of his classes next year. Oh, and he's already talked me into taking him and a friend to two out of town concerts this summer (how did *that* happen?).....

 

My younger son is also doing summer swim team; trying out for next year's soccer team next week; and doing a couple of theatre camps later in summer. I'm also signing him up for several beginner sports courses this summer, for the first time, because we don't want him watching so much TV, playing so much on the computers of neighbors, etc., etc......

[Jane in NC]

We're doing several college visits this summer, too, and he's working on his college apps so we can have all those ready and in by October for early decision next year.

 

Since ED is binding, I was under the impression one would only apply to a single college by this method. Is that not correct? (Or am I misinterpretting your plural "apps"?)

 

A family friend who is a retired high school counselor offerred to help my son organize part of the material on his Common Application. I hope that he'll start working on his essays when the 2010 application comes out in July.

 

My son has a job as a teaching assistant at a summer science school. This is his second and last year in the job. He is still trying to finish his school work but an archaeological field school is getting in the way of Latin and math. Sigh...

[Jane Elliot]

Yeah! :party: Does that mean all 12 will be under the same roof for a couple of months at least?

 

Sounds great!

 

 

Lisa

 

Sadly, it will be less than a month as the twins leave for college in mid-August. And, oldest dd will be living in the guest house with a few friends as they study together for their certifying exam, so it's technically not even under the same roof. Ah well. It will be a quick, busy, happy but teary few weeks anyway, and I will savor every moment.

 

This was a great idea for a thread, Lisa.

[mcconnellboys]

Oh, Jane! All the terminology is so confusing, isn't it? I found this little blurb on Wiki and I'm linking it:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_decision

 

Early decision is a process whereby kids apply by October and hear back by December. It just helps you get your ducks in a row for scholarships, other funding modes, etc. It helps to decide where you'll go if you're looking to participate in a sport, too.

 

Early action is the one whereby you can only apply to one school and if they accept you it's binding.

 

Hope that helps!

[kate in seattle]

Our summer seems boring compared to all the activities I've read about so far.

 

Oldest ds - well, he's 35 and will just live at his house and go to work

Oldest dd - will work at the coffee stand, see if she can get job back at Red Robin for the fall, read Herodotus with me and work on math, which she has successfully avoided for most of her 20 years.

next ds - will be flying out June 24 for the AFA academy. big party on June 20th to celebrate his graduation from CC and leaving for Academy

next dd - finishing Algebra I, doing Marine Biologoy, some pre-reading for Ancients and learning to sew from a pattern (has done all her 'own' stuff so far), art

youngest dd - math, Swimming Creatures of the 5th day, reading. gymnastics, art

 

We (two youngest girls and I) just decided today we would have one day to 'do' our little town (library, Farmer's Market, Trader Joe's) and we would try to hit the free movies once a week. Add in some field trips for Marine Biology and me working three days a week and the summer is gone.

 

We will all be traveling to Colorado Springs for Labor Day, as it is Parent's Weekend and our first chance to see ds.

 

Of course, my "to-be-read' pile is sky high and I want to clean out the homeschool room, lcreate esson plans for the co-op classes I will teach next year, maintain the garden, have some peoplle over for dinner, keep up with the laundry, spend some time at the beach . . .

[imeverywoman]

the rest of our Apologia science.

 

We'll hit the pool daily, as well as the free movies for my littlest one. Perhaps, a week of sleep away Bible camp. Who knows?

 

Fun thread!

[FloridaLisa]

Our summer seems boring compared to all the activities I've read about so far.

 

But these are sometimes the best summers because you really get to relax deep down and do lots of this.

 

. . . my "to-be-read' pile is sky high and I want to clean out the homeschool room, lcreate esson plans for the co-op classes I will teach next year, maintain the garden, have some peoplle over for dinner, keep up with the laundry, spend some time at the beach . . .

 

Congratulations on your graduating son! My oldest has a friend from church that began the AFA last year.

 

Lisa

[Storm Bay]

Our summer seems boring compared to all the activities I've read about so far.

 

Oldest ds - well, he's 35 and will just live at his house and go to work

.

 

 

My ds doesn't think that being a Boeing mechanic is boring, although he wants to be a Boeing engineer right now (he's 8 and wants to be a pilot, too ;)).

[Cheryl B in VA]

DS 17 -- It has been a bear trying to find his first job in our heavily populated area. Husbands office finally agreed to hire him as a copy boy 3 days a week for the summer. All the money goes to us, though, to pay for his missions trip to El Salvador for a week in July. In August he heads to Orlando for a week to participate in the Assemblies of God National Fine Arts competition with the church youth choir. He will also study for and take the freshman English CLEP. He starts his senior year in August.

 

DS 14 -- Is also going on the missions trip to El Salvador. First trip without his parents and first trip out of the country :crying:. In June he goes to a camp in PA for a week. He has been there every summer since he was nine. He loves basketball (he is already 5'11" and still growing) and will be playing in the summer league at the Boys and Girls Club. And he will be doing Algebra 1 and history through the summer.

 

DS 10 -- Because of two trips and two funerals in Feb/March I really slacked off on his schooling. He will be doing school through the summer. He will also go to camp with the church for five days and play basketball.

 

I would also like to go on a few field trips this summer. We are studying the Civil War so there are a few VA battlefields on my list. We will also head into D.C. to visit some museums.

[Musicmom]

Oh, Jane! All the terminology is so confusing, isn't it? I found this little blurb on Wiki and I'm linking it:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_decision

 

Early decision is a process whereby kids apply by October and hear back by December. It just helps you get your ducks in a row for scholarships, other funding modes, etc. It helps to decide where you'll go if you're looking to participate in a sport, too.

 

Early action is the one whereby you can only apply to one school and if they accept you it's binding.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Actually, it is Early Decision that is binding. (The wiki article does explain it correctly; it's just backwards in the above post--so easy to mix the two terms up :)) Anyway, I've read a lot of college websites recently regarding Early Decision and they all warn in VERY stern terms that you can only apply Early Decision to ONE school, and it is binding. It seems to me I've even seen an Early Decision form (I think in the Common Application materials) that you would have to sign agreeing that if admitted, you will immediately send a deposit and withdraw all your other applications.

 

Early Action on the other hand is not binding. But I haven't seen this option offered much (only at MIT so far). Most selective schools seem to offer only Early Decision. And I wouldn't be surprised, in this electronic age, if schools have a way of finding out whether you've applied ED to more than one school.

[Kareni]

DS 17 -- It has been a bear trying to find his first job in our heavily populated area. Husbands office finally agreed to hire him as a copy boy 3 days a week for the summer. ...

 

 

Boy, isn't that the truth! My teen daughter has been searching mightily for a summer job with no success thus far. Our area has a high unemployment rate (13.6%); therefore, competition is fierce even for jobs that historically might have gone to younger wage earners.

 

I'm glad to hear that your son has his position lined up.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Storm Bay]

Actually, it is Early Decision that is binding. (The wiki article does explain it correctly; it's just backwards in the above post--so easy to mix the two terms up :)) Anyway, I've read a lot of college websites recently regarding Early Decision and they all warn in VERY stern terms that you can only apply Early Decision to ONE school, and it is binding. It seems to me I've even seen an Early Decision form (I think in the Common Application materials) that you would have to sign agreeing that if admitted, you will immediately send a deposit and withdraw all your other applications.

 

Early Action on the other hand is not binding. But I haven't seen this option offered much (only at MIT so far). Most selective schools seem to offer only Early Decision. And I wouldn't be surprised, in this electronic age, if schools have a way of finding out whether you've applied ED to more than one school.

 

 

I heard or read somewhere not to rely on wikipedia. I wish I could remember where and/or who, but apparently it gets abused due to it's open nature, and not just by people who don't know any better.

[freeindeed]

My ds16 will continue working at our local Mexican restaurant two nights a week, and he's also applied for a daytime job with the city. Other than that, he'll probably be doing his summer reading and spending time with his friends.:001_smile:

[JennW in SoCal]

Ds 17 is graduating in June and will be enrolling in c.c. shortly thereafter. His most important activity this summer is focusing on learning to drive! This is his 2nd time with a learner's permit, and waiting the extra year already seems like a good thing. He is volunteering for a church drama program and working with the tech crew in a community theater group. And having his wisdom teeth taken out!

 

Ds 14 also is facing oral surgery for wisdom teeth and 2 other impacted adult teeth. Poor kid! He is going to DM a D&D group (be the dungeon master for a dungeons and dragons group;)). He is also waiting to hear if he has been accepted to a volunteer group at the San Diego Zoo. He and I love to share and discuss books, so we're building a list of titles to get to. I'm also taking him to Blizzcon (the convention put on by the folks who create World of Warcraft) in August.

 

I'm going to read and get some serious house projects taken care of. I hate having workers and contractors come during the school year so I'm going to see how much we can get done over the summer.

 

We're spending a few days at Disneyland in celebration of ds's graduation and will be attending Comic-con in July. We're all looking forward to lots of movies, too, like Harry Potter. No competitive swimmers here, just swimming in the backyard with our golden retriever!

[Jane in NC]

Ds 17 is graduating in June and will be enrolling in c.c. shortly thereafter. His most important activity this summer is focusing on learning to drive! This is his 2nd time with a learner's permit, and waiting the extra year already seems like a good thing. He is volunteering for a church drama program and working with the tech crew in a community theater group. And having his wisdom teeth taken out!

 

 

 

Ugh...my son is also having wisdom teeth removed. Not exactly a summer highlight, but we figured that it was better to schedule this procedure when there were no academic deadlines or test dates.

[Moira in MA]

We'll be spending June finishing up the school year.

 

My eldest will be playing Ariel in the Tempest this summer -- Nashua Theatre Guild -- she's excited.

 

Both the girls will be reading their way through 9 other Shakespeare plays with Dr McM at Scholars Online Summer Shakespeare I. This is my eldest's third year doing this and my youngest's first.

 

dd2 and her dad are planning on doing some backpacking in the White Mountains or maybe along the Appalachian Trail. I'm hoping this will be an opportunity for dd1 to get in her driving hours -- we *still* have 20 hours to go before she is eligible for the test and we've been working on this since last summer.

 

We're also trying to fit in trip to Canada to check out McGill and Dalhousie which are on dd1's college short list. Like others we'll be trying to get things prepared for applications in the fall -- dd1 will be writing some Latin papers that are required for her UK college applications.

 

I'm planning to work on finding out what I want to do next -- I'm out of a job in 3 short years.

 

~Moira

[Kareni]

...

We're also trying to fit in trip to Canada to check out McGill and Dalhousie which are on dd1's college short list. Like others we'll be trying to get things prepared for applications in the fall -- dd1 will be writing some Latin papers that are required for her UK college applications.

 

 

 

Moira,

 

Sounds like you have an eventful and fun summer in the works. I thought you and your daughter might find the following articles of interest as they deal with a young man choosing a Canadian university.

 

Sleepless nights: On picking a university

 

Picking a university: down to the shortlist

 

and

 

The long road to my final choice of university

 

You mentioned too that " ... dd1 will be writing some Latin papers that are required for her UK college applications." That sounds intriguing. What is the nature of the Latin papers? Would these be something like A-level tests or more along the line of essays?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mcconnellboys]

Oh, that's right, LOL! I can't keep them straight when talking about them. It's early action that we'll be using, not the binding one. Most of the smaller liberal arts schools we're looking at offer this, so maybe it's a smaller school thing....

[mcconnellboys]

I'm actually not relying on Wiki, just used it to provide a description. I'm relying on my son's high school guidance counselors and those from about a dozen colleges that we've spoken with thus far. You're right that Wiki is often not reliable, but it is accurate about this particular topic.

[Kareni]

Here are a couple of good posts from one of my favorite college advice blogs, AdmissionsAdvice.com:

 

Early Decision Admissions: Questions & Answers

 

and

 

Early Action Questions & Answers

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Michelle in GA]

My oldest ds will be taking a few summer classes at college.

 

My next ds just got his Red Cross Life Guard certification.He will be a CIT(counselor -in-training) at a camp in the NC mountains for a month, where he hopes to get waterfront duties. He will also swim for our neighborhood swim team in June.

 

My dd will also swim for the team and practice driving,as she just get her Learner's Permit.

[Mommyfaithe]

Easy. My dh will be working a lot since it's his busy season. My eldest dd will be swimming on a summer team which started last week and lasts until mid-Aug. She'll have a number of meets, including some with harder competition than she's done before (for the experience). My other two will do five weeks of swim lessons. We also do school-light.

 

As for me, I'm planning to meet at least one WTM member this summer for the first time. I hope to learn Geometry, or at least enough to check dd's proofs next year. Not that I'm particularly keen on it at the moment, but I missed it in hs.

 

No travel plans this summer, but since we travelled in the summer each of the past 4 years, I think that's okay. Plus we had a trip in February (paid for my my dp--dear parents.)

 

YUP!! Us too...but older ds's will be working with dad. DD who still lives home is a swim instructor/ life guard...she will work at the pool. I will be working in my office at home and the kidlets have school. I work full time, so they school year round.

 

So....for us...it is work, swim, school......I am going to learn Geometry too...I found ds's Geometry book fascinating...go figure...so I am planning to use it myself this summer. (Oh, He used Jacob's and I plan to use it and Life of Fred.)

 

 

I will also be helping ds to re-test into a higher level of math so he doesn't need to take high school math in college:tongue_smilie:

 

That's about it...oh...and we will be re-modeling our kitchen...YAY!

 

~~Faithe

[Moira in MA]

Interesting articles, thanks for posting them. But, as dd has just said, a classics department will be small no matter where she goes.

 

The essays are for classics at Oxford (Classics - How to Apply):

 

As part of your application you will be required to submit two essays or commentaries, normally in areas relevant to Classics. They should preferably not be short time essays or exercises answering questions on a short passage of text.

 

Written work is required in some subjects to allow candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their analytical, reasoning, language and writing skills, as appropriate for their chosen degree course. Written work should have been produced as part of normal school or college work, usually be no more than 2,000 words, and marked by a teacher. It may be typed or handwritten – as long as it is legible – and photocopies are acceptable, but work must be original marked work not re-written or corrected for Oxford entrance. It should be sent unfolded, with a completed cover sheet.

 

Isn't your dd planning on classics?

 

Moira

[Kareni]

Interesting articles, thanks for posting them. But, as dd has just said, a classics department will be small no matter where she goes.

 

The essays are for classics at Oxford (Classics - How to Apply):

 

Isn't your dd planning on classics?

 

Moira,

 

Thanks for sharing the information on the required essays.

 

Yes, my daughter does plan to major in the Classics. She'll be college bound this fall.

 

One larger Classics Department to which my daughter applied was at Holy Cross in Worcester, MA (for all I know, it's in your back yard!). The department there is amongst the largest in the US with 10 or 11 faculty members. There are also two full tuition scholarships for incoming Classics majors that are renewable for all four years. It's definitely worth a look. My daughter did visit. If you or your daughter have any questions, feel free to send my a personal message.

 

Regards,

Kareni