Volunteering can be an invaluable experience for your child that
broadens his perspective and helps him get ready for college and
a career. It's not too early for your child to begin a lifelong
commitment to helping others. Whether your child builds houses
for the homeless or mails flyers for a local politician, she
will experience the real world through hands-on work. She can
use this experience to explore her major or career interests.
Your child may be able to get academic credit for his volunteer
work through service learning. This is a teaching method that
integrates hands-on learning (through service to the community)
into the school curriculum. It's available in some high schools
and colleges, as well as in earlier grades. Your child can find
out if his school offers service-learning by visiting the Learn
and Serve Web site. Your child can send a signal that she would
be an asset to a college community. Colleges pay attention to
life inside and outside the classroom. Extracurricular
activities reveal a