Summer Skills · Start Here

Train Your AI

Five minutes now makes every other card work better. Set it up once so the AI actually knows your kid.
New this summer It Remembers
1
Make a home base.
In Claude, start a Project. In ChatGPT or Gemini, use custom instructions or a saved setup. This is where the AI remembers who it's talking to.
2
Tell it who your kid is.
Age, grade, what they love, what they're good at, and the one thing they're working on this summer.
3
Paste a setup like this.
Copy, then make it yours
"You're helping my 14-year-old, James. He's going into 9th grade at a new, competitive school this fall. He loves basketball and Minecraft. Strong reader, but math slipped this year and we're rebuilding his confidence. Keep it encouraging, never babyish. When he's stuck, coach him to the answer instead of handing it over. Talk to him like a sharp older cousin, not a teacher. We also want to build up his life skills. Think calendar, money management, cooking, cleaning, laundry. All the things needed to adult. We are working on fun ways to incorporate these skills into his summer."
AI for GenXEST 1971
Card 1 · Start Here
Summer Skills · Money

Get the Bag

Real money, real stakes, their actual wants. Three ways to build money sense that sticks.
New this summer It Talks Back It Builds
1The Shark Tank pitch
A business idea, pressure-tested by a tough investor until the plan holds up.
Try this prompt
"Act as a tough but fair investor on Shark Tank. I'm 14 and my idea is [their idea]. Ask me hard questions about costs, profit, and who would actually buy this. Don't let me off easy, then tell me if you'd invest and what I'd fix first."
2Make compound interest hit
The lesson nobody got in time, made personal in 30 seconds.
Try this prompt
"I'm 14. Show me what happens if I save $20 a month starting now versus starting at 25. Use a simple chart and explain it like I've never heard the words 'compound interest.' Make the chart dynamic so I can change the amount or start date and see what happens."
3Build your own Lemonade Stand
The green-screen classic your parents played, rebuilt by you.
Try this prompt
"Build me a Lemonade Stand game I can play in the browser. Let me set my price and supplies each day, change the weather randomly, then show my profit or loss. End the game after Day 7. Then turn my results into a short quiz: show me 2-3 'what if' moments from my week and have me guess what would've happened if I'd priced or stocked differently before revealing the answer."
Ask the GenX in the house if they remember the original. They do.
AI for GenXEST 1971
Card 2 · Money
Summer Skills · Food

Run the Kitchen

Dinner is a math class nobody notices. Hand them the kitchen and let AI run the lesson plan.
New this summer It Can See It Builds
1What's in the fridge?
Snap what you've got. Get three real things you can make tonight.
Try this prompt
"Here's a photo of our fridge and pantry. Give me 3 meals a 14-year-old can cook with just these, ranked easiest to hardest, with steps."
2Cook the world
A new country each week. AI builds the recipe, plus a little geography and history.
Try this prompt
"Plan a 'cook the world' summer. Each week, pick a new country, give me one real recipe a beginner can make, plus 3 quick facts about its food and history."
3Double it, halve it
Recipe serves four, you're cooking for six. Welcome to fractions, chef.
Try this prompt
"This recipe serves 4 and I'm cooking for 6. Rewrite every ingredient amount, and show the math so I learn how you did it."
The fractions are doing push-ups. Nobody has to know.
AI for GenXEST 1971
Card 3 · Food
Summer Skills · Confidence

Hold Your Own

The skills that matter most never show up on a report card. Practice them with zero risk.
New this summer It Talks Back It Can See
1The new-school dry run
First-day nerves, rehearsed, so the real thing isn't the first time.
Try this prompt
"Play a friendly kid I've never met at my new school. Start a normal conversation. Help me practice introducing myself and finding something in common."
2Practice Spanish with the New Foreign Student
Build cultural diversity and practice your Spanish skills.
Try this prompt
"You are a new foreign exchange student from Uruguay. You don't speak English yet, but you want to try out for the basketball team. Let's have a friendly conversation, in Spanish only, about the new school, the town, and the basketball team you're hoping to join. Keep your Spanish at a Spanish 2 level, and if I seem stuck, slow down or rephrase more simply. Ask me questions too, so the conversation keeps going."
3The negotiator
Want a later curfew or a raise in allowance? Build your case on someone who pushes back.
Try this prompt
"Play my parent. I want to make the case for a later weekend curfew. Listen, then push back with real concerns. Make me actually earn it."
4Your color analysis
Upload a selfie, find the colors that actually work on you. Low stakes, surprisingly useful.
Try this prompt
"Here's a clear photo of me in natural light. Based on my coloring, which clothing colors suit me best, and which should I skip? Keep it simple."
If you want to go further, look up "best looksmaxing prompt" for detailed prompt ideas. ChatGPT excels at this.
AI for GenXEST 1971
Card 4 · Confidence
Summer Skills · Their Thing

Level Up

Whatever they're obsessed with, AI can coach it. Here it's basketball. Swap in guitar, art, or skating.
New this summer It Can See It Talks Back
1Film your jumpshot
Record a few reps. AI breaks down the mechanics like a trainer with a clipboard.
Try this prompt · works best in Gemini
"Analyze my shooting form in this clip. Look at my footwork, hip load, elbow alignment, and follow-through. Tell me what I'm doing wrong compared to elite shooters and give me two specific fixes."
2Get a real training plan
Not a generic workout. One built for your level, your gear, your goal.
Try this prompt
"Act as an elite skills trainer. Build me an intense 45-minute solo basketball workout for an intermediate player with a half-court, one ball, and cones. Break it into warm-up, skill work, game-simulation drills, and a conditioner."
3Critique my thing
Works for a drawing, a riff, a trick. Real feedback, not "good job."
Try this prompt
"Here's a video of my [drawing / guitar playing / trick]. Give me honest, specific feedback like a coach would, then one thing to practice next."
AI for GenXEST 1971
Card 5 · Their Thing
Summer Skills · Build

Make Something Real

This is the one that turns a kid from a user into a maker. They describe it. The AI builds it. They learn how it works.
New this summer It Builds
1Build it in Minecraft
Describe a contraption you've never pulled off. Get a block-by-block plan.
Try this prompt
"I want to build a hidden 3x3 piston door in Minecraft. Explain step by step where to place the sticky pistons, redstone repeaters, and dust so it opens from a hidden lever."
That's logic gates and circuitry in disguise.
2Code your own game
Describe the game out loud. Watch it get built. No coding class required.
Try this prompt
"Help me build a simple game I can play in the browser. It's about [their idea]. Ask me questions until you understand it, then build it and tell me how to change things."
3Write a book for someone
They write the story. AI turns it into a real illustrated book for a little brother or a friend.
Try this prompt
"I wrote this story. Turn it into an illustrated children's book for my little brother, with a picture described for each page. Keep my words, make it feel like a real book."
AI for GenXEST 1971
Card 6 · Build
Summer Skills · Learning

Get Unstuck

Summer slide is just forgetting in slow motion. A tutor that knows your kid stops the leak. Worth noting: All three major AI tools have a built-in tutor mode that asks questions instead of handing over answers. Look for Learning Mode in Claude, Study Mode in ChatGPT, or Guided Learning in Gemini.
New this summer It Remembers It Talks Back
1Coach, not answer key
Stuck on a problem? AI walks you to the answer instead of handing it over.
Try this prompt
"Here's a math problem I'm stuck on. Don't give me the answer. Ask me what my first step would be, then guide me one step at a time until I get it."
2The obsession bridge
Every problem rebuilt around what they love. They think it's basketball. It's algebra.
Try this prompt
"Give me 5 word problems about basketball stats that secretly teach me to solve for x. Make them feel like real games, not homework."
3A tutor that remembers
Set it up once. It tracks where they struggle all summer and circles back.
Try this prompt
"Be my summer math tutor. Quiz me a little each time, remember what I keep missing, and bring those topics back until I've got them."
AI for GenXEST 1971
Card 7 · Learning
Summer Skills · Run Your Life

Get It Together

The summer falls apart without a plan. Let them build their own, so it's theirs to keep.
New this summer It Can See It Builds
1Snap your schedule
Photograph the practice or camp schedule. Have AI add it straight to your calendar. You'll need to connect your calendar. If unsure, ask the AI!
Try this prompt
"Here's a photo of my basketball schedule. Add these to my Google Calendar, then read them back so I can double-check every date and time."
Always check the events. AI gets dates wrong sometimes.
2Brain dump to a plan
Everything rattling around in your head, turned into an actual week.
Try this prompt
"Here's everything I want to do this week: [list it all]. Build me a realistic day-by-day plan with time for fun, not just chores."
3The morning launch
A simple routine that gets you out the door without a fight.
Try this prompt
"Build me a simple 6-step morning checklist so I can get ready on my own. Keep it quick, and let me earn something at the end of the week."
AI for GenXEST 1971
Card 8 · Run Your Life