Building Executive Functioning Skills at Home This Summer
Building Executive Functioning Skills at Home This Summer
Simple ways to help your teen boost time management, organization, and follow-through—before school starts.
Summer offers a welcome break from the hectic pace of the school year—but it’s also a golden opportunity to help your teen build the executive functioning skills they’ll need to thrive when classes resume. With fewer academic demands and more flexibility, teens can practice planning, staying organized, and following through on tasks in a low-pressure environment.
Here are some simple, effective ways to build these skills during the summer months:
1. Create a Weekly Structure—But Keep It Flexible
While summer should feel like a break, a completely unstructured day can make it harder for teens to stay focused or productive. Work with your teen to build a loose weekly routine that includes time for activities like reading, exercise, creative projects, chores, or a summer job. Just having a general sense of “what happens when” helps strengthen time awareness and self-regulation.
2. Set Mini-Goals
Whether it’s reading three books, learning to cook five meals, completing a summer program, or building a portfolio of art, summer is a great time to work toward meaningful goals. Help your teen break the goal into smaller steps and decide on a timeline—this builds planning and task initiation skills. Then check in weekly to celebrate progress or troubleshoot setbacks.
3. Practice Managing Projects
Executive functioning grows through doing. Encourage your teen to take on a personal project—organizing their room, launching a small business, or planning a family outing. Let them handle the logistics (with guidance if needed): making lists, setting deadlines, and solving problems as they arise. These experiences mirror the kind of planning they’ll need in school.
4. Build in Reflection Time
At the end of each week, invite your teen to reflect: What worked? What was hard? What do you want to do differently next week? This builds metacognition (thinking about thinking), a key part of executive function.
Bonus Tip: Let Them Lead
It can be tempting to direct everything, but teens learn best when they make decisions and experience the consequences—both positive and negative. Offer support and encouragement, but step back and let them practice independence.
With just a little structure and intention, summer can be a powerful time to help your teen grow—not just relax. The executive functioning skills they build now will set them up for a stronger start to the school year.
Weil College Advising offers one-on-one support in executive function coaching and learning strategies for high school students. Whether your teen needs help managing time, organizing tasks, or building better study habits, we’re here to help them start the year with confidence.
Want to learn more? Let’s chat!
