At home summer activities for a 13 year old?

[jinkies]

My son (13) will be at home most of the summer, while I am WFH. Unfortunately, several of the things we had planned for him fell through, plus 3 different camps we had planned on all ended up scheduled for the same week, so he could only do one. As a result, he is going to have a LOT of unscheduled time this summer. 

His mental health has not been great, but he is MUCH happier when he has a project to focus on. Unfortunately he is not great at coming up with the projects on his own. I'm trying to come up with a list of ideas for him to choose from. They need to be activities that a 13 year old can complete independently at home. 

So far I have:
1. Chalk paint a nightstand that I've been meaning to paint for years.
2. Be responsible for one family dinner/week-- new/experimental recipes encouraged.
3. Bake something once/week. I'm thinking about maybe offering baking "challenges" pulled from cooking shows to give him some parameters? It's about 50/50 chance that he will think that's stupid though.
4. I'm considering printing blueprints from Ana White's site and having him build something. I'm not sure that he can do that independently, but maybe he could review things with H the night before, then take it as far as he can before he needs to review again, etc. IDK.

In addition, he needs to mow the lawn weekly (he enjoys this and has been doing it for a few years now). I also want to require some form of physical activity daily-- walk the dog, go for a bike ride, or if the weather is bad/too hot, we have a treadmill and exercise bike he can use.

Any other ideas?

He loves cars, things with motors, working with his hands, playing board games, hiking, being outside. He has an xbox but hasn't played it in 6 months (his decision bc it was bad for his mental health). He's not a big reader, although occasionally he will find a book that he loves and just devour it. Those are few and far between though.

If you have a young teen/tween who isn't in a summer-long camp, how do they fill their days?

[brooklyn]

I was babysitting at that age. And I’m totally looking for teens to play sports, swim, etc with my boys. Maybe he could find a job like that in the neighborhood?

[maudefindlay]

Could he train for a 5k? There are likely programs online he could follow.

Are you near to a city pool he could bike to on his own?

[ssmjlm]

I always end up having to modify Ana White plans, so I feel like they would be way too annoying for a teen.

If transportation wasn't an issue, could he volunteer? Animal shelter?

[jinkies]

Jun 9, 2021 10:57:58 GMT -5 maudefindlay said:

Could he train for a 5k? There are likely programs online he could follow.

Are you near to a city pool he could bike to on his own?

The 5k is definitely a possibility! That may give him more of a goal than just saying "go do a physical activity". 

Unfortunately there are very few "destinations" he can get to on his bike. There is a local park, but it is mostly just soccer and baseball fields. There is a wooded area and creek and sometimes he just goes and hangs out there and explores, but that's about as exciting as it gets.

[TR]

Are there any of those subscription boxes that have stuff he could build?

[TR]

Geocaching? I know ZERO about this other than I've seen people with kids post on social media that they did it. It's like a scavenger hunt-type thing? Maybe?

[orval]

I have a 14 yo ds and we did similar things last summer -- cooking, baking etc.
He also washed our cars(could be done weekly/every other week), painted his room and reorganized the furniture, did an online merit badge every week for Scouts, kept the hummingbird feeders clean/filled.
We live near a greenway so he would ride his bike or we would hike at a local park once a week as a family.

[TR]

Offer dog walking services in the neighborhood if he likes dogs.

[TR]

Oh! A kid in our neighborhood offers car detailing. So beyond just regular washing, he really gets in and vacuums and cleans them out.

[shauni27]

build an epic fort outside?

[alicethellama]

How about model car kits or Tinker crates? DS is 15 and has been biking with friends, keeping up with Spanish practice on Duolingo, and has gotten a few dog sitting/walking jobs in the neighborhood. Hoping to keep him busy and off video games as much as possible. Do you have a disc golf course nearby? We’ve gotten into it a little as a family, and maybe an idea for after work hours if he couldn’t get to one independently.

[jinkies]

Jun 9, 2021 11:03:30 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

I always end up having to modify Ana White plans, so I feel like they would be way too annoying for a teen.

If transportation wasn't an issue, could he volunteer? Animal shelter?

Thanks for the feedback on Ana White-- that is good to know.

That reminds me that there actually IS a nature center within bike-riding distance to our house! It looks like they want volunteers to be 14+, but my son is "known" to them because he's done a lot of their summer camps and day-off programs in the past. I just emailed them. 

Thank you!

[dutchgirl678]

My kids get Kiwicrate boxes. I think they have a summer program too. Virtual classes with Coding with Kids or Outschool or Khan Academy? We are getting our kids (13 and 10) summer work books for their age. My oldest DD wants to keep practicing her math so we are getting her math books.

I like the cooking/baking idea. We did sign DD up for a summer camp with our local parks & rec district and she is doing cooking class during that camp.

Our local library is also doing a program where kids can keep track of their reading and if they read a certain number of hours and mark it off, they can bring it to the library and pick out a free book.

[definitelyO]

Does he have friends in the neighborhood? Can you/he schedule weekly-ish bike rides?
any other kids with the same free time and maybe a SAHM to help get them places like on hikes, etc...
can you drop him off at a local amusement park with a friend

(guess most of my stuff is not-solo)

we signed DS up for tennis lessons - maybe that or golf? local swim team?

[186momx]

Does he like to build model cars?
Mow elderly neighbor's yards
water/care for plants/garden

[jinkies]

Jun 9, 2021 11:11:02 GMT -5 TR said:

Oh! A kid in our neighborhood offers car detailing. So beyond just regular washing, he really gets in and vacuums and cleans them out.

Ok, this one might be a winner. He actually just did this for me-- his own idea-- and did a great job. He really really wants to work this summer but isn't old enough. This could be a great side gig. 

We do have a neighborhood facebook page, so he could advertise there. I'll talk to him about it tonight!

[egishere]

Does he enjoy working out? Are there any gyms in your area that take teens like a bootcamp or something? ?He may like that. A lot of members at my gym bring their teens during the summer for a special student rate.

Or I like the idea of golf or tennis lessons

[egishere]

Jun 9, 2021 11:23:53 GMT -5 jinkies said:

Jun 9, 2021 11:11:02 GMT -5 TR said:

Oh! A kid in our neighborhood offers car detailing. So beyond just regular washing, he really gets in and vacuums and cleans them out.

Ok, this one might be a winner. He actually just did this for me-- his own idea-- and did a great job. He really really wants to work this summer but isn't old enough. This could be a great side gig. 

We do have a neighborhood facebook page, so he could advertise there. I'll talk to him about it tonight!

Another side gig would be cleaning out peoples trash cans if you have a power washer.  some kids in our neighborhood do that every year and they charge $20 for two cans.

[TR]

Jun 9, 2021 11:23:53 GMT -5 jinkies said:

Jun 9, 2021 11:11:02 GMT -5 TR said:

Oh! A kid in our neighborhood offers car detailing. So beyond just regular washing, he really gets in and vacuums and cleans them out.

Ok, this one might be a winner. He actually just did this for me-- his own idea-- and did a great job. He really really wants to work this summer but isn't old enough. This could be a great side gig. 

We do have a neighborhood facebook page, so he could advertise there. I'll talk to him about it tonight!

Just as a reference, the kid in the neighborhood charged $25 for a wash & interior vacuum, $50 for wash plus tire shine and interior steam cleaning and $125 for a full detail (he was a just graduated high school kid). He also had a $30 wash for golf carts, but those are REALLY common around here. Our neighborhood FB page is exactly where I heard about it.

[abs]

Fishing?

There is a young teen here that offers fishing lessons every summer. It's 30-45 minutes and it is always insanely popular.

[sandandsea]

What about building an rc car and a track for it in the back yard?

[sonrisa]

design his own board game

[Gato]

Somewhere toward the end of this squirrel obstacle course video is a promo for this guy’s home engineering challenge. My kids thought it looked really cool.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=DTvS9lvRxZ8

Do you have trees? He could build a treehouse. I had one when I was a kid (my dad built it though, out of random odds and ends) and would spend hours there.

Buy a basketball hoop? I also recall spending hours working on my shots (maybe I was a weird kid though 😄).

During the pandemic, we bought our kids e-readers, which are great when the library isn’t open or is slow to process orders like ours is. They can go through a couple free books a day that way.

[dontlook]

Jun 9, 2021 11:23:53 GMT -5 jinkies said:

Jun 9, 2021 11:11:02 GMT -5 TR said:

Oh! A kid in our neighborhood offers car detailing. So beyond just regular washing, he really gets in and vacuums and cleans them out.

Ok, this one might be a winner. He actually just did this for me-- his own idea-- and did a great job. He really really wants to work this summer but isn't old enough. This could be a great side gig. 

We do have a neighborhood facebook page, so he could advertise there. I'll talk to him about it tonight!

If he likes mowing maybe he can offer that too. A good way to stay busy plus earn money.

Does he like art? My local art studios have been offering take home art kits.

[af1212]

There are a million online camps out there now - I would maybe see if you can sign him up with one that will give him the skills during the camp portion to then do something after the camp is over - like a cooking camp or building camp or something. So gives him something to do during the actual camp hours as well as after.

Other ideas -
take a babysitting course?
Cpr/first aid course?

[af1212]

Any grandparents/aunts/cousins/family friends he could travel to stay with? I know it’s tricky during covid but that is the age I would take a short flight to stay with my aunt for a week each summer.

[CloudBee]

- one day per week have a friend come over (arrange with parents to keep it set in stone?)
- buy him whatever books he wants, and as many as he wants
- bunch o balloons
- how own cooler bag so he can go out on adventures, if there's anything within biking/walking distance
- GC to a local convenience store that's within walking distance so he can grab a treat on occasion
- water guns (super soaker / Nerf brand), my sister's teens still use them
- do you have a trampoline?
- Traxxis RC car (as much $$ as a week of camp!)
- Zoom class or Outschool (intro to karate? coding? a topic he's interested in?)
- have someone come to the house wkly for private sport (soccer?) or music lessons (plays an instrument?)
- bike upgrade or bike accessories if he can bike around town (maybe a new backpack and water bottle and a weekly summer snack allowance?)

[liveintheville]

My 11 and 13 year old boys are taking a summer class that will teach them how to code their own game in python.

[mags]

Tie dye