ideas for summer activities

[Professor]

I need some ideas for summer activites for my 13 year old sister.

Since my mom got diagnoised with cancer, she won't be able to drive her or interact with her, so she is going to have to amuse herself. I don't want her to sit on the computer all summer.

She is signing up for softball in the evenings, but for the mornings/afternoons I need ideas. Here's some of mine:

-The Ceramic Arts Cafe- the kids paint ceramics. They can get a membership where they get free hours, or don't have to pay for the time they spend there just the stuff they paint.

-High school camps- they offer volleyball, badmitton, swimming and rockclimbing. Those are the ones that sound interesting. I'm just not sure of availability.

-Humane Society Volenteer- You have to be over 18 or with an adult. She would go with her older sister. They then would take the train into a different Chicaogo suberb to eat dinner and I would pick them up on my way home from work.

She would get to these places by riding her bike, occasionally getting picked up by me.

Any ideas for other activites are welcome.

[Alonzo]

humane society

[Muser]

I'm really sorry to hear about your mom, Professor - I'll be wishing all the best for you and your family.

You have some great ideas going already; just remember to temper them with some good old-fashioned downtime, too - some "do-nothing" time can be healthy and restorative, as well.

That said, is there a YMCA facility close to you? They offer up some fantastic activities for kids of all ages throughout the summer (some free, some not).

[cronic]

I know in the summer months, when I was that age.. ( even tho we had a pond )
We took swimming lessons and worked are ways up from beginner to intermediate to advanced then into life guarding..
It was something fun to do and it taught me more.

If ya have a pool close by! I guess if ya don't then my idea isn't much help

[lily]

All those sound like good ideas, only thing I can suggest for her age is sleepovers. She's with her friends, they are doing things kids her age should be doing and it will keep her mind off of things. I also don't want to sound like I'm intruding, but she wil also remember the time she spent with your mother, helping or just talking, asking questions, going through old photos, and getting to know her better. They will be closer when your mother is better.

[Buck Laser]

I wonder if you shouldn't be careful about overloading her with activities. Our grandchildren are so busy with lessons, teams, play groups, summer reading assignments and so on that it seems like they don't have much time to just be kids anymore. I know that kids probably can't be left unsupervised the way we and our kids were, but my daughter and daughter-in-law look exhausted all the time from transporting the kids from one appointment to another. Boredom when I was a kid led me to some wonderful discoveries as well as some shameful activities.

[Professor]

I don't think I will overload her. I'm not signing her up for all of those, just probably one of them, in addition to softball which is only twice a week. That was she has something to do everyday, but still her mornings/afternoons/evenings/whatever it happens to be that day off.