Are you looking for our Summer Goals Checklist? Continue to the bottom for your FREE copy!
Summer break is finally here!
The summer is a fantastic opportunity for students to pursue interests, work on college goals, and get involved in activities they would never have time to do during the school year. It’s also a great time to work on academic skills or any subjects they may have struggled with this past year.
When students are intentional about their time, they can often fit far more into the summer than they thought possible — both for enjoyment, and personal growth.
A lot of students have a hard time thinking through their goals for the summer, so it can be useful to have a place to begin. Below are a few ideas to get your student started!
What to focus on this summer
There’s so much students can do over the summer! Here are some ideas to get them thinking….
College lists & applications
If your student is a rising senior and hasn’t finalized their college list, then checking out colleges and finalizing the list of colleges where they’ll be submitting applications would be a great project to focus on over the summer. A lot of colleges offer in-person tours over the summer, so your student might be able to visit some of the colleges they’ve been wanting to see. This is something younger students can work on, too — in fact, many students begin working on their college lists as early as their freshman or sophomore year.
Summer is also a great time to prepare for the SAT/ACT without also trying to balance all of the homework and tests during the school year.
For rising seniors, this can also be a good time to start working on college essays. College essays require much more self-awareness and introspection than many students are used to, and the writing style is very different from what they see in their classes. A single, well-written college essay can take 10-14 hours to complete, so students who wait until the school year to start often find it challenging to fit this into their already busy fall schedule. Students who get started over the summer have a big advantage!
Exploring interests & careers
Taking a strengths-based approach (which focuses on what an individual is inherently great at, rather than trying to “fix weaknesses”) with students can be great for building their confidence, and increasing feelings of competence & accomplishment. It’s also relatively easy to get students motivated to build on their strengths, because these are areas they’re already interested in. As an added bonus, activities that give students a chance to further develop their strengths can look great on college resumes, and give students a better idea of what they might want to focus on in their careers. They could take the “develop existing strengths” approach described above, and work on improving their knowledge & expertise in their field of interest through reading books, working on projects, or taking online classes.
The summer can also be a great opportunity to explore potential career interests. If your student already has a potential career in mind, summer can be a great time to get more experience in the field by finding an internship, part-time job, or volunteer work in that field. They can also reach out to professionals who work in that field to ask what it’s like. Informational interviews are a great way to learn more about a role or industry and make some new connections.
Learning goals & bridging the knowledge gap
Many students enjoy spending summers taking classes in areas that aren’t offered by their school. There are a lot of online courses that are available for free or at a very reasonable price on Coursera, Udemy, or Skillshare, just to name a few.
If your student struggles with a particular subject in school, summer is a great time to catch up so that they don’t feel behind in the fall! They could consider working with a tutor, or take advantage of free online resources like Khan Academy or IXL to help them get ahead.
Unplugging & digital detoxing
We love recommending digital detoxes to students so they have some time away from screens over the summer. Whether it’s for a few hours or a few days, it’s a good opportunity for them to take a break from their phone, computer, social media, and video games.
Extended screen time can negatively impact sleep, self-confidence, social skills, and lead to chronic stress, and even addiction. A digital detox is a great way for students to “reset” their brains and break their reliance on technology.
Instead of just turning off screens, they could plan to incorporate other activities like going on a hike, taking the dog for a long walk, reading their favorite book, or meeting up with friends. You could even try a family digital detox, and plan a weekly phone-free family game night. By substituting screentime for another activity, they can start to create new habits that are not dependent on their devices.
How to help your student make the most out of summer
No matter what activities your student wants to try this summer, the most important thing is for them to be intentional with their time.
A lot of students have a hard time thinking through their goals for the summer, so we’ve created a printable Summer Goals Checklist to help start a conversation with your student about what would make this an awesome summer for them!
It includes ideas for activities your student can pursue this summer, as well as 5 tips for accomplishing the goals they set, and a summer calendar to help them visualize how they want to spend their time during the next few months.
Seeing the whole summer on one page often helps students realize that they don’t have as much time during the summer as it feels like they do! So, taking some time to map out their plans at the beginning of the summer can help them to make the most of it and really enjoy this time off.
If your student would like some feedback on their summer goals or help creating a plan to accomplish them, coaching might be a great fit! Sign up for a FREE parent consultation here.
Fill out the form below to download your free copy of our Summer Goals Checklist!
Join 11,000+ parents helping their students earn better grades with less stress!
About The Author
Dr. Maggie Wray is a certified ADHD Coach & Academic Life Coach with a Ph.D. in Neurobiology and Behavior from Cornell and a Bachelor’s degree in Astrophysics from Princeton. She founded Creating Positive Futures in 2012 to help high school and college students learn how to earn better grades with less stress. Her team of dedicated coaches is on a mission to empower students to develop the mindset, organization, time management, and study skills they need to achieve their goals.