Donuts. And saving money (or maybe that’s just me dad).
This deal is pretty sweet- Two free donuts for all dads on 6/20/2021 at either Mary’s Donuts location (Santee or Lakeside).
You have to bring your kiddos with you.
Sign up for this deal here.
san diego
San Diego Summer Fun on a Budget
It’s time for kids to finish up school, and be let loose on the world.
Now that places are reopening at 100% capacity, there are a lot more options for summer adventures.
Free Music Lessons from Staump Music School.
$1.00 Movies all Summer with Regal Cinemas
Free Summer School Lunches (Gotta keep them fed this summer). Lots of locations have events or activities nearby, so you can have fun and have a free lunch!
The splash ground at Santee Lakes is GREAT! It’s only $2.00 per kid (on weekdays, $3.00 on weekends) to play and if you park outside the Santee Lakes, you don’t have to pay to park! Take a picnic and it’s a great frugal outing! We go at least once a week in the summer and it’s always
a GREAT time!
If you are looking to beat the heat and need something free, check out the Waterfront Park downtown. They have a great splash pad area for kids, a really fun playground, and a big grassy area for picnics. Only downside- no shade trees.
Balboa Park still offers Free Tuesdays at various museums in the park. Another free activity in Balboa Park is the Botanical Garden and Lily Pond. Right next door is the Spanish Art Village, which is fun to explore as well. Pack some snacks and make a day of it.
San Diego County has great parks, as do most of the cities in San Diego County! Our favorite parks include Big Rock Park in Santee, Kennedy Park in El Cajon, La Mesita/Junior Seau Park in La Mesa, Harry Griffin Park in La Mesa (great for little kids).
I also find lots of local events and free fun stuff by checking the “Events You May Like” section on Facebook Events.
Free Music Classes from Staump Music School
We received this email from the school district yesterday, and I wanted to share this free deal with y’all.
If you are looking for something fun for the kids to try this summer, Staump Music School is offering a free month of voice, guitar, piano, or ukelele.
Have you been thinking about enrolling your child in music lessons? Now’s your chance to try it 100% risk-free!
What is a 30-Day Lesson Pass?
Their 30-day lesson pass is good for four 45-minute class sessions throughout one month! In other words, you will have one 45-minute group class each week for four consecutive weeks.
How do you sign up for a lesson pass?
Visit Staump Music School’s website here and complete the form.
Your child will get to experience the joys of music for an entire month, completely risk-free! We want to make sure your child truly enjoys their class & has so much fun they want to keep coming back!
This is a really fun opportunity, and if your kiddo has expressed interest in learning an instrument or singing, this is a great way to see if this is something they can get into and enjoy without committing to a lot of lessons (or money).
Earn $100 in Gift Cards from Bitmo Perks!
Wow. this is a great deal, and pretty easy! I’ve written about Bitmo before, and while I don’t use it as much as other cashback/money-saving apps, I still feel like it’s a good app. One thing I love is that there isn’t much you need to do besides signing up, link your bank card/credit card and start shopping. You can use other cashback apps at the same time too. I frequently double dip with Dosh, Drop, and/or Ibotta with Bitmo.
I am all about double-dipping to save money and score deals!
Speaking of deals, Right now Bitmo is offering bonus points when you refer new friends. 20,000 bonus points (that’s a $20 gift card) for everyone that joins, connects a card, and does a transaction within 14 days of sign up.
You can repeat this offer 5 times. That’s $100 in gift cards in your pocket.
Oh, and your friends get a little something for signing up too!
2021 Summer Lunch Programs for Kids (And Other Free Food Resources in San Diego)
I have been working on this post for weeks, making phone calls and researching. I wanted to get this post up as soon as I could. Unfortunately, there are still some areas that haven’t posted their plans for free summer meals for kids.
Santee School District will be providing summer drive-thru meal distribution from June 14 through July 30, Monday-Friday, from 10:00-10:30 am, at Pepper Drive and Rio Seco schools. Extended school year (summer school) and students attending Project Safe will be provided with food.
San Diego Unified School District has partnered with San Diego Parks and Recreation to have food available at neighborhood schools and Recreation centers throughout the city of San Diego. The complete list of locations can be found here. Times vary by location.
Grossmont Union High School District will be providing lunch for kids 2-18 all summer. Kicking it off, they will be giving out meal boxes on Monday June 7 from 11:30 to 1:30 on a first come first serve basis in the same area where lunches are distributed. Summer meal distribution starts on June 14th 11:30-1:30 Monday through Friday.
Other school districts may be offering free lunches this summer, but currently there isn’t much information available.
If you don’t find any facilities near you offering free lunches, I recommend contacting 211, they may have more updated information.
- The California Department of Education has a list of all of the schools that are participating in the extended school year and/or summer lunches. Here is the list for San Diego.
- The USDA has a nationwide database that is accessible here (for my readers not in the San Diego, CA area).
And the San Diego Food Bank is continuing their neighborhood distributions– Lots of produce and goodies are available each week. No proof of need or residency requirements.
There are all sorts of organizations looking to help families in need.
Even if you are not in dire need, if you need help stretching your budget, these resources are here for you!
Talk Back: How are you stretching your food budget this summer?
Rockin’ Jump San Diego: 90% Savings are Back!
This deal just came through on my email and I had to share. We love Rockin’ Jump SD, in fact, we were just there a few weeks ago to celebrate a friend’s birthday.
If you aren’t familiar with Rockin’ Jump, here are the deets: Rockin’ Jump is San Diego’s largest indoor trampoline park and offers something for everyone. In addition to the huge free-jump trampoline arena, attractions include an awesome four-lane Warrior Course with Three Lane Warp Wall, two dodge-ball courts, two basketball slam dunk lanes, two-lane stunt-bag jump area, four-lane rock climbing wall, X-Beam jousting, an all-new 18 hole mini golf course and now a new arcade with over 25 of the most popular games to play and win prizes. It is a great place to play and jump and get all the kids (and adults) wiggle out.
Rockin Jump’s popular punch card offer is back. Huge savings for your family and great family fun for the summer!
For only $49.99, the cards include the following:
- Two (2) – 90 Minute Jump Passes
- One (1) – 120 Minute Jump Pass
- One (1) – All Day Jump Pass
- One (1) – 50% Off Any Jump Time
- Two (2) – 60 minute Jump Add-on’s
- One (1) – 50% Off 120 Minute Jump Time
- One (1) – FREE Large ICEE
- One (1) – $1 Dollar Large ICEE
- One (1) – $10 Large Pizza
- One (1) – $3 Cafe Cash
- One (1) – Free 60 Minute Open Jump Campanion Pass
- One (1) – Buy One Get One Free 90 Day Pass
- One (1) – 30% OFF ANY Party or Group Event
Fine Print:
- Can not be combined with any other offer
- Punch Card is non-transferable
- May Not be Re-sold
- May not be redeemed for cash
- Valid only at Rockin’ Jump San Diego
- Lost or stolen cards will not be replaced
- Rockin Jump reusable Grip Socks are always required and not included ($3 at the park if needed)
You only have until June 7, 2021 to purchase your card(s). To buy your card(s), click here.
Free Food Resources for June 2021 (San Diego County)
A new month means that it’s time for the monthly update of free food resources in San Diego.
You can still find resources here for Central and East County, and Here for North County.
If you are located outside San Diego County, call 211. If you are not familiar with 211, here is their website and it can point you in the right direction.
Neighborhood Distributions for June 2021 can be found here. Enter your address (or just your zip code) and the map will show you all of the distributions in your area or closest to you. You can filter by the days of the week to find food when you are available.
These Distributions are primarily fruits & veg, however, some locations may also distribute canned goods, dairy, and bread.
Super Pantry Locations can be found here (this listing is countywide). The San Diego Foodbank website also has resources for Diaper banks, free food resources for seniors, and more.
I will be posting Free Summer Lunch information for kids 2-18 in the coming days.
If you know of other resources, please leave a comment! And feel free to share this post with anyone you may know in need.
Bitmo Perks: Now Earn Points at Costco & Sam’s Club
This is a great deal! I’ve written about Bitmo before, and while I don’t use it as much as other cashback/money-saving apps, I still feel like it’s a good app. Any way you can save money (legally) is a good idea in my book.
Now through the Bitmo App, any time you shop at Costco or Sam’s Club and pay with the linked debit or credit card, you’ll earn points that you can redeem for gift cards.
I earned a $5 Bath and Body Works Gift Card last month, just by doing my usual shopping. I used the gift card in conjunction with a deal available in the BBW app, and I saved $30 and earned a free product!
I am all about double-dipping to save money and score deals!
Speaking of deals, Right now they are offering bonus points when you refer new friends. 20,000 bonus points (that’s a $20 gift card) for everyone that joins, connects a card, and does a transaction within 14 days of sign up. It’s quick and easy!
Legoland California- THE LEGO® MOVIE™ WORLD is OPEN!!
The kids and I spent the day at Legoland California yesterday and enjoyed all of the fun and frivolity of Lego Movie World.
Lego Movie World has three new rides: Emmet’s Flying Adventure Ride, Unikitty’s Disco Drop, and Queen Watevra’s Carousel. There is also Benny’s Playship for the kids to play and get their wiggles out, or they can create at Build Watevra You Wa’Na Build zone. And there is a Splash pad right in the middle of it all for kids (and grown-ups) to cool down!
THE LEGO MOVIE WORLD will be included in the price of admission to LEGOLAND California Resort. Guests can purchase tickets and reserve their spot through LEGOLAND California’s reservation system for their desired Park visit. For more Resort information, operating schedule and to make reservations, visit: www.legoland.com/california.
I love that Legoland has hand sanitizer stations all over, they have social distancing set up in lines and on all the rides. All Model Citizens (employees) are masked up.
If you are looking to do Legoland on a budget, check out my post here.
Do you have someone in your party that has a disability? Check out my post about the Assisted Access Pass and how we do Legoland with our kiddo with ASD.
Looking for Swim Lessons this Summer?
Now that things are starting to open back up in California, and it looks like pools may be reopening on June 15th, I’ve been looking into swim lessons for Bitty Bird.
I can’t be the only parent looking for information on swim lessons and getting kids’ water ready.
My usual go-to is the swim lessons held at our local high school, facilitated in part by Heartland Swim. They are NOT offering swim lessons this summer, however, the Grossmont Union High School District pools will be open for swimming. You can find the schedule and prices here.
The City of San Diego has private, semi-private, and group swim lessons at several of its pools. The prices are pretty decent. The prices and more info can be found here.
If you live in El Cajon, you’ve got some really excellent swim lesson options. Visit the Rec Center brochure online (swim is on page 19) here and take a look at all of the classes. Anyone can take classes, but El Cajon residents (of the incorporated city) can get killer discounts.
La Mesa has limited swim lessons. They also currently require a parent to be in the water with each student.
The Kroc Center offers swim lessons. Information can be found here.
The YMCA offers swim lessons at many of its facilities. Currently, they are offering private/semi-private lessons only. You do not need to be a YMCA member to take lessons there, however, the rate is cheaper if you are. The list of San Diego, CA area YMCAs that offer swim lessons can be found here.
I also did some digging for parents of kids on the Autism Spectrum. Aqua Pros offers classes specially designed for kids on the spectrum! More information and class prices can be found on their website.
These are just a few of the options available. There are of course private swim instructors and private companies that offer private or small group lessons. The ones listed above are for more of the price-conscious in mind.
Talk Back: If you or your kids have had great swim lessons, leave a comment and let us know where! The more options, the better!
Hewes Family Fun 