Here are some ideas to help you continue to make a difference for stressed, maladjusted, troubled, frightened, and vulnerable students during school vacations. These ideas are all taken from our web site, books, e-books and workshops.

*** Extend Your Reach: For some kids, their teacher may be the only sane, sober, caring adult they know, and then summer vacation comes. To extend the reach of teachers and other school-based youth workers who provide invaluable stability, safety, direction and nurturing, use this intervention: Address pre-paid post cards to the teacher (or other key school worker) at school, and give them to the child on the last day of school. Ask the child to write or draw on the post cards then drop in the mail. Studies show that children who have a sense of connection to the community do better on almost every measure including graduation rates, teen pregnancy, delinquency, etc. The post cards can preserve a bit of that connection over the potentially lonely and difficult summer.

*** Connect Back: Before leaving for summer vacation, the teacher (or other school worker) can write up post cards from the teacher to the child, and ask the school secretary to send out the cards over the summer. The post cards (or letters or small packages) can offer suggestions for summer activities, provide encouragement or contain specific activities that the child can do.

*** Find Linkages: Prior to the summer break, research community groups that will provide a summer connection for your neglected, troubled or lonely students. Groups such as Boys and Girls Clubs, the YMCA, YWCA and Big Brother, Big Sister can provide activities, mentors, camp experiences and other key linkages. As delinquency tends to increase when youth are not involved in school or similar activities, it may be very important to structure summer vacation for youth who would otherwise be largely unshepherded.

*** Leisure Time Management:

Kids chronically claim there is nothing to do. Show that there is always something to do. Divide your youth into 4 or 5 smaller groups. Ask each group to imagine they have each been given a small amount of money; one group might be told they have $2.00, the next group might have fifty cents, etc. One group can be asked to imagine they were given no money. Now, ask each group to determine all the activities, events and hobbies a person could do with that small amount of money. Provide access to phone books, newspapers, the internet, etc. to aid the groups to develop long lists. Write up all the groups' answers and distribute to your kids. Include a wide range of activities such as visiting the library, playing hackey sack, reading, internships, sports, utilizing mass transit, volunteering, crafts, etc. Your kids will be amazed how much there is to do when there is nothing to do!

*** Reach a Dream: Discuss how Martin Luther King Jr. worked to reach his dream. Ask your students what they are willing to do to reach their dreams. Suggest that the summer months may be the perfect time to gain or perfect the skills needed to reach each dream.

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