Getting Ready for Summer Break: Tips and Tricks for College Students

Offered here are some great tips and tricks for students to plan their summer break in a productive way..

Your child is older and they are coming home for summer break from college and your whole routine will change a bit in your household. Most college students have arranged jobs for the summer so most likely, you won’t be seeing too much of them between working and their social lives. This is an exciting time for parents because they get to see their child who has matured into a legal adult and they are proud of this nice young lady or man in their lives. You still have to be prepared though, because college students still might bring home some drama since they are used to living on their own now. Be prepared to offer advice if your college student is confused about classes for the fall term, a relationship that ended or anything else they might want to sit down and talk about.

Your college kids have just been through two semesters of studying, exams, reading, cramming and group work. They deserve a break and they earned it. Have they talked to you about what they are doing for summer break? Are they going to travel, work, relax or try something new? No matter what they choose to do, the summer break is the best opportunity for them to check out activities that they can’t do during the school year.

Summer Break Ideas

Learning a new skill that’s different from their major is great for their resumes. They might be interested in learning how to build websites or taking a foreign language in case they are planning on traveling abroad for a semester.

A new hobby or a current one is always another good idea and classes are offered in their communities for the summer. You can probably pick up some pamphlets during the end of the school year and show them that these are the classes offered in your area. Classes might be sewing, painting, self-defense or other things that they didn’t have time to explore in high school or college.

An internship is a good idea for them to use the knowledge they learned during their year in school, even if the internship doesn’t pay. This is still a great way to learn about business or industry and use the practical work experience they learned for the summer on a resume. Sometimes, this works out so well that they figured out what career they are going to go in to after graduation.

College kids also can work for the summer either full time or part-time. This helps students acquire different skills and they also can brush up on communication, organization, time management, and some administrative skills. They are plenty of full and part-time jobs open for college students during summer break. They might even find a job that corresponds with their major.

Volunteering for good causes are wonderful opportunities for them to participate in if something is available in your community. They can find these volunteer programs through research programs and many non-profit organizations that need help. This might include festivals, events for non-profit organizations and different community groups need volunteers as well.

If a chance comes up for your college student to travel overseas to study, encourage them to go and learn to develop the skills that they won’t learn anywhere else. This helps them become more independent and confident, expands their horizons, meet new friends and learn how to survive without the luxuries of home. Education abroad can teach them to look for the best currency rates for exchanging American dollars to seeing how people live in houses and sometimes huts, where there is no running water and bathrooms as they know it.

Encourage your adult child to read some books they might be able to get a jump on before the fall semester starts. Reading is a good tool for vocabulary and sentence development. Reading encourages people to talk more precisely and use stronger words with a distinct pronunciation, instead of their accent and drawl, depending upon where they live in the United States.

You can always ask them if they want to check out their own city with you for the summer. Take your student along and look at your city from the view of a tourist and what choices do you have for learning new things in your city? Look for historical landmarks and secret news that you never knew about with your student. This can be a great way to catch up and bond and also appreciate each other and the city you both live in.

Your college kid might love the outdoors so there are hiking and climbing clubs to join, water rafting with friends if your area has some great rivers to raft on, camping or they could even train as a summer camp counselor for many girls and boys that go camping for the summer.

Your student might be ready to get a permanent job if they have graduated. There always are their resumes that could use some updating whether they graduated or not.  Summer break is great to update their experiences, extracurricular experiences, volunteer work, leadership roles and clubs they belong to on campus.

College kids can also plan a lengthy bike ride with friends to get some sun and exercise and have some fun. College kids are young so the majority of them are very motivated, so have them check out the local cycling clubs in your area and they might find something they really enjoy doing for summer break.

Your college child might just decide it’s time to look at all of their social media pages and start cleaning out and editing their pages to make sure they look professional for potential employers. This is an important job because they want to be able to make sure that potential employers can see a good image they are portraying. In addition, they might want to clean up their computer, get rid of some pictures that they don’t like, and go through hundreds of emails if they haven’t had time. It’s a good way to stay organized before the fall semester starts.

Nature

Parents know their kids best so your college kid might really be interested in nature so they might enjoy a summer night relaxing outside and star gazing. They might include their friends to look at the stars and the moon with them.

Beaches are always fun for any age group when it comes to summertime. Suggest they take a trip to the beach or a lake with friends and swim, raft, canoe, kayak or water ski if someone has a boat. Make sure they take some pictures so they have a memorable way to keep those photos to show their children.

Horseback riding is always fun in the summer especially if you had your child take riding lessons. If they have boarded their horse or you happen to own a farm, this is a great time for them to catch up on riding and grooming their favorite animal. Some kids are into racing and barrel jumping. There are always events for horsemanship going on in the summer so make sure you collect some information for your college student before they come home for the summer.

Relax and take a Break

Make sure your college kid gets enough rest during the summer. They may be an adult now but they still enjoy their parents watching out for them. They are moving and living a fast-paced life now so after a full year of studying, college kids need time to get off the merry go round. They need to take a break from school and work at times. It’s important for them to take the time during the summer to avoid becoming burnt out. They will also be ready and motivated when fall comes and college starts.

A good balance of everything is the key, so make sure that you can help them plan their summer vacation with a direction if they ask for help. There are plenty of activities that offer great enrichment, productivity and the best is a lot of fun playtime and free time.