Your child's first SUMMER break after starting REAL school... Finding affordable childcare and things for your kids to do over the summer.
For those of your single Mommies who have not yet had to deal with this, please don't leave it for the last minute, especially if you can avoid it. And for those who live pay check to pay check, you can't act soon enough.
So just as you thought you could relax after the frenzy and MAD RUSH of getting your poor little baby into the "right" Preschool of Kindergarten class, in rolls the summer!!! and for those of us who must work as single parents which I'd like to think is 99% of us, you must have childcare in place.
I guess I learned from hearing other Moms tell me what their big plans were for the summer over those painful and boring soccer practices...or at least started paying attention to what was in store if I didn't plan accordingly.The main thing is to start saving up or setting money aside to pay for summer camp because it gets expensive.
Luckily, for Charles his godmother also helped me research and look into different summer camps around the city, and she came across the Zimmerman's Children Museum summer camp and while at first when I applied they told me they did have sufficient enrollment in order to do a summer camp for 2014 they did several months call me back and tell me that they were in fact going to have a camp, so I asked after any possible scholarships, and sure enough Charles qualified and got two weeks of full scholarship one week was for Rock, Pop Music and the other was Art & Architecture, and he had a blast. My only issue was that had I been working at the time, the camp only goes til 3PM and that wouldn't have worked out for me especially since they did not offer extended hours. Just be aware most summer camps go from 8AM tip 3PM some start at 7AM some at 9AM but few offer extended hours which will take you til 6PM at the latest, and you will be required to pay extra. Also, always ask about scholarships, I spoke to the Director of the Parent Center at Charles school and she told me how all her kids went to summer camps for free and all over the nation not just in LA, one of her daughters even attended a Princeton University summer camp and it was all paid for, she said had it not been that way she would have never been able to afford to send them.
So my advice, start early, don't be ashamed to ask or apply for financial aid you never know what can happen if you don't try...
Just last night I attended the Single Moms Group- Moms in Motion! and I learned about this resource center called: Child Care Resource Center, here is the website:
http://www.ccrcla.org/servicesandprograms
I haven't contacted them yet, but I already browsed their site and noticed they even have job openings for Moms seeking employment, so check it out. Charles and I have been blessed that his Auntie Laura paid for his summer school and had that not been the case I probably would have lost what little mental health I still have left...
So just as you thought you could relax after the frenzy and MAD RUSH of getting your poor little baby into the "right" Preschool of Kindergarten class, in rolls the summer!!! and for those of us who must work as single parents which I'd like to think is 99% of us, you must have childcare in place.
I guess I learned from hearing other Moms tell me what their big plans were for the summer over those painful and boring soccer practices...or at least started paying attention to what was in store if I didn't plan accordingly.The main thing is to start saving up or setting money aside to pay for summer camp because it gets expensive.
Luckily, for Charles his godmother also helped me research and look into different summer camps around the city, and she came across the Zimmerman's Children Museum summer camp and while at first when I applied they told me they did have sufficient enrollment in order to do a summer camp for 2014 they did several months call me back and tell me that they were in fact going to have a camp, so I asked after any possible scholarships, and sure enough Charles qualified and got two weeks of full scholarship one week was for Rock, Pop Music and the other was Art & Architecture, and he had a blast. My only issue was that had I been working at the time, the camp only goes til 3PM and that wouldn't have worked out for me especially since they did not offer extended hours. Just be aware most summer camps go from 8AM tip 3PM some start at 7AM some at 9AM but few offer extended hours which will take you til 6PM at the latest, and you will be required to pay extra. Also, always ask about scholarships, I spoke to the Director of the Parent Center at Charles school and she told me how all her kids went to summer camps for free and all over the nation not just in LA, one of her daughters even attended a Princeton University summer camp and it was all paid for, she said had it not been that way she would have never been able to afford to send them.
So my advice, start early, don't be ashamed to ask or apply for financial aid you never know what can happen if you don't try...
Just last night I attended the Single Moms Group- Moms in Motion! and I learned about this resource center called: Child Care Resource Center, here is the website:
http://www.ccrcla.org/servicesandprograms
I haven't contacted them yet, but I already browsed their site and noticed they even have job openings for Moms seeking employment, so check it out. Charles and I have been blessed that his Auntie Laura paid for his summer school and had that not been the case I probably would have lost what little mental health I still have left...
Comments
Post a Comment