My son’s hair is now longer than mine. This would be fine if he did a better job of controlling his locks. Instead he’s nearly looking feral these days. But in other ways he’s become a far more civilized creature than he once was. He’s gotten better at controlling his impulsivity but I worry it won’t be enough for him to blend in at his new school. Especially after talking with a friend last night who happens to be a 5th grade teacher. Only time will tell. But I feel like I don’t have enough of it. For now I’m just scrambling to figure out a plan for this coming summer.
The City of St. Paul Parks & Rec board is not on top of things. Their summer 2010 program schedule hasn’t been posted yet. And other options out there aren’t so promising. The cost of the YWCA’s childcare seems exorbitant. We have free passes to go to the Bakken Electricity Museum this week. While looking at their site I noticed they have a summer day program for kids Parker’s age…but it is only one week long and that one week runs a whopping $275. Ouch.
Speaking of museums, the Dead Sea Scrolls are coming to our Science Museum. And on opening weekend, March 12th-14th, there will be free bus rides to and from the museum. They too have summer programs for kids. But again, they seem to be too short in duration and over-priced. It’s too bad because a lot of the offerings for 9-12 year olds are things I know he (and I) would enjoy. Like “Design a Computer Game: Create Your Own Adventure Game” or “Light Art” and “Godzilla Meets King Kong” or “Animation Dance Party” but this is the one that really caught my eye:
Wonka Week
Over five days you will explore the chocolate factory, from the waterfall to the glass elevator. Discover lick-a-bility, snozz appeal, chew-a-lotto, and wheresitgo in the physical plant. In storeroom three, search the world for the most fantastic ingredients. Experiment with drips and drops. Call up the squirrels in the shelling room to add nuts to your own candy creations. You don’t need a golden ticket for this camp!
Age(s): 7-12
Fee: $320, $280 Members
The boy still claims he wants to be Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder-style) and run his own chocolate factory when he grows up…despite showing very little interest in actual cooking.
Hey working parents with kids, what do you do with your rugrats in the summertime?
Bonus: Another beloved singer-songwriter takes his own life. Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse, RIP.
Plus: My favorite asian grocery is now on Facebook and Twitter. The boy and I popped by yesterday to re-stock on rice noodles, spring roll wrappers, paratha, soy sauce and loose tea. And to gaze longingly at the Pocky and other non-vegan goods with great packaging.
And: This cartoon made me snort out loud.
5 Comments
summer plans were always a huge stressor for me when my daughter was growing up. the costs are RIDICULOUS and as a single mom, my income was usually somewhere from barely getting by to getting by. a lot of programs offer financial aid and i spent huge amounts of time in the spring tracking down which and applying, applying, applying. non-profits like museums and city parks and rec were most likely to have this available, and some of them help out even if you’re not total poverty-line income. major pain in the ass doing all that paperwork but my daughter was able to do some fun stuff i totally wouldn’t have been able to afford otherwise. we have a really good summer camps info day, maybe there is something similar there?
that is really cool that the Dead Sea Scrolls are coming. i am not religious but that stuff is fascinating.
p.s. a lot of them also do NOT publicize that they offer financial aid, it might not be on the brochure/ad/site, it is definitely worth asking if they do if you see something especially interesting.
This had been much less of a stressor for me, with my son’s school being a year-round program. But still, there were always a few weeks out of the year I would have to scramble to figure something out. Even when their childcare program is open it is $50/day!
I’ll have to see about any financial aid. I feel like I make just slightly too much to qualify for help for anything.
Switching from the charter school to a public school program has been a tough decision. Made tougher still by their announcement today - that the school found a site 1.8 miles from my workplace. Whichever route I choose I feel like I’m just rolling the dice.
And thank you for the single mom commiseration. I’m usually all right with it but sometimes it’s a tough gig and I feel like we haven’t got any sort of safety net.
It’s definitely worth applying, there have been times when I was making more than I thought I’d get help with and…it’s really arbitrary how much they can [and do] do.
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