Summer Activities for Teen/pre-teen

I'm in a similar situation because I have two boys who are 10 and almost 14. I will be following the answers here. Do you belong to a church or is there one nearby you feel comfortable with? They often have reasonably priced summer activities for all ages and volunteer opportunities for your older son. The county library usually has programs too. Are they involved in sports? Our local high school runs sports programs for kids of school age from K to high school. I would also check with your local parks and rec department and your school district's community education catalog. We have a Summer in the Park program that is staffed by high school and college kids. Your older son might even be eligible to assist with something like that. My younger son enjoys classes at the Science Museum and the Zoo, but they aren't cheap. Is your older son a good swimmer? He could take a lifeguarding course and look for a lifeguarding job. Even your younger one could take the Red Cross' class called "Guard Start." Does your older son have any interest in babysitting? People in my neighborhood are often looking for part and full time sitters during the summer, and some kids enjoy boy babysitters better than girls because they play with them more. Good luck!

Look into the YMCA - they have relatively affordable options. Also, most summer programs, ranging from the Science Museum to the MN Zoo to the Park and Rec services of Mpls have financial aid available so that students can still attend their camps. You should definitely check into that.

Your 15 year old is also old enough to work. He can apply for a job at a summer camp, have somewhere to go, something to do, and can be making a little bit of money this summer!

Good luck!

I would look into the Minneapolis Park & Rec summer youth programs. http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=19

check out minneapolisparks.org you can pick any park and they have a great list of things you can check out. It gives you age range suggestions.