Getting Teens Connected

A family recently asked me for ideas to help her homeschool teen plug in with other teens.  Connecting with other friends is relatively easy when our kids are young.  We just attend events or groups as a family and everyone easily finds someone else to connect with for that activity.  If it’s a good match, phone calls are exchanged and a friendship ensues.  However, once teens get to be teens, there are far fewer planned group outings where they are likely to instantly connect.  Once this shift occurs, teens might have to be more intentional about making connections on their own.  They are now individuals vs. the “Johnson” family or a tag-along to something mom organized.

A great place to start is to find a hobby or interest and search out a group that sponsors outings related to that interest.  Here is my short list:

• Book Club — teen or mother/daughter (at a library, your local book shop or start one with just 2 others and let it build)
• Join Big Brothers/Big Sisters and do activities with another pair of Big Brothers/Sisters
• Attend an ethnic cooking class — sponsored through Community Ed or even an ethnic shop in the cities
• Attend a church youth group ~ it does not have to be in the church you currently attend.  Lots of teens cross over churches
• Take a language study course
• Join 4-H or Civil Air Patrol
• Get a part time job and make friends through other employees or even regular customers
• Join a theater group like at Lyric Arts in Anoka
• If 11th grade and on campus for PSEO, join the Psychology club, Chess Club, write for the college newspaper
• Volunteer at a summer camp and meet other volunteers
• Play an instrument? join a local community band
• Volunteer at a place other teens volunteer, like your local library, nursing home
• Take classes from a local shop, like sewing, quilting, jewelry making, T-shirt screening or photography and meet others sharing your same interest
• Take dance lessons
• Get involved in a service project like community hunger, Habitat for Humanity, animal rescue