Summer Life Skills for Tweens and Teens

I love our summer rhythm. With co-op completed for the year, the days are ours to fill how we please and it reminds me of the early days of homeschooling when simple pleasures could count as school- read alouds, cooking together, nature walks, etc.

Our summer school days are lovely. We start around 9:00 after everyone has eaten breakfast and gotten dressed. We alternate between art study, crafts, read aloud, self development, history, and math (always). Surprisingly (or not?) the girls seem to enjoy and appreciate this dedicated, low key together time as much as I do. Well, once Kaitlyn has mentally woken up that is, which can take a minute and a cup of “coffee” (creamer with a splash of coffee that tints it just barely off white).

A few days ago Hailey and I tackled the craft bins and homeschool room, creating an oasis for creativity to flow and connection to take place. Just like the Berenstain Bear’s Messy Room book (a classic from my childhood and one they’ve always loved, too), it really is so much more enjoyable to have an orderly space.

This week we’ve had art card competitions (1 point for the painting title, 1 point for the artist), made bracelets and UV resin jewelry, gotten halfway through Murder on the Orient Express, and worked on solving for x. But there’s been more than that, too…

Hailey learned to make pickled red onions. Kaitlyn learned tomatoes don’t like getting their leaves wet while being watered. They both learned how to distract Earl with grubblies when it was time to go collect eggs.

I love the life stuff.

Hailey is entering high school in the fall and I just feel more and more aware of it with each passing day. I’m not stressing about it because I’m firmly made up my mind that I will enjoy every season of my life, but I do hear those back of mind questions begin to surface, asking things like “have I taught her enough? Prepared her for life best I can?” I listen to those answers then feel really lucky I have 4 more years to pour into her under our roof.

And this brings me back full circle to why I love the summer season so much. There is time to play in the kitchen, to wander outside, to have relaxed conversations about important (and unimportant) aspects of life. During this season there is time for them to earn money (pet sitting being at the top of the list currently) and learn about investing it. It’s time for all the life stuff that sometimes gets pushed aside when research papers and sports practice are filling up their days.

We had a friend of mine’s kids over yesterday for the afternoon and Hailey helped me pull together some fun activities to do. We made soap, oil lamps, and herb infused honey (as always, I highly recommend Attainable Sustainable for kids of all ages).

It was so cool to have her by my side, helping create a fun experience for the younger kids. She’s very much still a kid herself and enjoys these crafts and activities as much as they do, but to see her step up to the role of helping plan and implement was pretty awesome.

Add learning how to be a great babysitter/camp counselor/future mom to her life skill summer list.

If you’re looking for some basic life skills to focus on during the summer, here’s a jumping off point of some things I threw together that I want my teen and tween to know how to do. It could be fun to create a check list and have prizes when they hit certain milestones, or keep the list to yourself and simply incorporate it into your days.

Around the House

• Do a full load of laundry from start to finish
• Change their sheets and make their bed
• Clean a bathroom
• Put away groceries in the correct places and load/unload the dishwasher correctly
• Help care for a pet or garden (for a full day, like see the full care routine)

In the Kitchen

• Make their own (healthy/balanced) breakfast or lunch
• Follow a simple recipe
• Learn to bake bread
• Cook one family dinner
• Assemble a simple appetizer to share with friends

Out in the World

• Order their own food politely
• Make a phone call or send a clear email
• Grocery shop from a list (and learn grocery store secrets like comparing cost per ounce instead of just the cost on the tag)
• Plan a meal or gathering or craft and stick to a given budget
• Practice tipping at a restaurant

Personal Responsibility

• Master personal hygiene like consistently wearing deodorant, a simple face cleansing routine, washing hair and caring for it independently, etc
• Learn time tracking to see how they spend their time during a day
• Add commitments and activities to a calendar
• Pack their own bag for the pool, sports, or a trip
• Set a personal goal for the week or month and track their progress (running X number of days per week, reading X number of pages per day, etc)

Safety & Common Sense

• Know how to handle a minor cut, burn, or bug bite
• Learn how to be aware of surroundings in public places
• Understand and practice safe behavior around pools, lakes, and oceans
• Learn how to recognize unsafe texts, links, or messages
• Learn how to safely use kitchen appliances (unplugging the mixer before reaching in, etc)
  

I understand they learn a lot of this by just doing life with us, but sometimes a little intention with these things help assure me that we’ve practiced them.

What about you? Is summer a more relaxed season for you? What life skills do you think are important for kids to learn and practice while they’re growing up?