Students of all ages can start developing work skills and experience this summer that will help them assess their strengths and challenges and give them the chance to address them early on. Middle school students have many working opportunities that they can get involved in during the summer. They should be encouraged to try a variety of jobs so they can learn what they do well and pick up transferable skills like responsibility, communication, punctuality, and time management.
If a student has a passion for animals, they could potentially become a zookeeper, veterinarian, or wildlife photographer. This summer, have your student volunteer to petsit while neighbors are on vacation, be in charge of feeding and cleaning up after family pets, or walk dogs at the animal shelter.
Whether high school students are required to earn their own money or not, they should have a job during the summer. Volunteering, part-time work, and odds-and-ends jobs like babysitting, housesitting, and household chores all help young adults start creating a work ethic that they will take with them to their independent years in college and their career.
Encourage students to get a head start on developing job skills, getting to know themselves, and maybe even making some money, by getting them involved this summer. Below is a list of common jobs from www.careerkids.com for students of any age.
- Babysitting
- Pet sitting
- Yard workers
- Bicycle repair
- Camp counselor
- Referee and umpires
- Computer tutoring or training (this can be a good resource if you live near a retirement community)
- Garage sales
- House sitting (pick up mail, packages, feed animals, water plants while neighbors are away)
- Car washing/detailing
- DVD rental (if the family has a large collection)
- Recycle pickup (they make their money when they take the recycling to the service center)
- Library pick up and return
On May 10, student success expert Maureen Breeze will be presenting the webinar, Summer Learning: Fostering Analytical, Practical, and Creative Intelligence. Parents, educators, counselors, and administrators who work with grades 5-12 and want learn more about why summer time is a great time for learning are encouraged to attend.
