The Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena offers more than 50 programs at five different locations in the Pasadena area. All activities and programs are included in the membership price. This includes swim team, swim lessons, homework assistance, use of the libraries and technology centers, art classes, and more.

Transportation is available during the school year for $50 per month.

The Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena also has a day care facility at the Scott Child Development Center. Full-time care is available for children ages two to five for $650 per week. Financial aid is available; contact details are below.

The national organization, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, of which Pasadena is an affiliate member, has been serving youth since 1860, and is ranked number one among youth organizations by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

The Burbank Community YMCA offers two heated indoor swimming pools, a basketball court, youth fitness center, two racquetball courts, a spa, and a child care center.

Classes include gymnastics, swimming, dance, karate, and boxing. Swim classes are held daily for swimmers of all levels and ages, from parent and baby (six months-three years) through adulthood. Recreational swim, lap swimming, and training sessions are also available.

The Junior Lakers Basketball League has winter and summer sessions; the costs is about $90, plus membership fees. Call 818.845.8551 ext. 269 for information about try-outs.

The Child Development Center is a nationally accredited child care center for toddlers, pre-schoolers, and after-kindergarten care. Financial assistance is available. For more information, call 818.562.5461.

The Adventure Guides Program uses nature as a backdrop. Parents (acting as guides) and their children embark on a series of adventures through hiking, camping, and crafts to build character and strengthen the parent/child bond.

Gymnastics birthday parties are offered on Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm-4pm for children ages three and up (membership is required). Parties include a fully decorated room, invitations, birthday cake, tableware, 45 minutes of gymnastics fun supervised by the Y's coaches, goody bags, free trial class coupons for each guest, and a YMCA gymnastics t-shirt for the birthday child. For more information, contact Megan Hocking 818.845.8551 ext. 281.

Cordon Childcare accepts children from newborn up to ten years old and offers a pick-up service for kids in school.

CREST - which stands for child care, recreation, enrichment, sports, together - is a unique program collaborating between the City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, offering fun and exciting before and after school options right at the school site.

Throughout the school year, before and after school homework assistance and activities are available for kids in grades K-3. For students in grades K-8, enrichment classes and youth sports programs are offered. In addition, several of the schools offer free after-school unstructured supervised playground time. On school breaks, CREST offers various camp programs.

Financial assistance is available to qualifying low and moderate income families. CREST is a part of the City's Human Services Division.

Part of the Santa Monica Malibu School District, Edison Language Academy is a Spanish immersion, bilingual elementary school serving kids from kindergarten through fifth grade. Kids are taught approximately 80% in Spanish.

Students can continue the Spanish language track in the Santa Monica school system. John Adams Middle School and Santa Monica High School both offer classes in Spanish for Edison graduates.

Edison is a magnet school; it accepts applications from outside its district, giving first priority to families in Santa Monica.

Culver City's El Marino Park occupies three acres in the Sunkist Park neighborhood. The park has a playground, various sports areas, picnic areas with barbecues, and a recreation building.

An after-school program is available at this site, as are several kinds of classes, camps, and other children's programs.

Global Groove offers both a cultural adventure camp and an after-school program that expose kids to cultural arts, music, dance, and culinary traditions as a means of self discovery.

Camp activities offered include Capoeira, flamenco, African drumming, didjirdu, surfing, swimming, guitar, art, acting, and much more. Children participate in a Carnival every two weeks to show off their new skills to parents and visitors.

The after-school program provides transportation from westside schools and a creative environment where kids learn about cultures from around the world. The weekly program includes homework help, music, dance, art and cooking. Students may attend anywhere from one to five days per week.

Jeanne's Daycare offers a caring, educational environment for children from newborn to school age. Pick-up and drop-off service to local schools is also available, as well as after-school care.

The setting features a huge play yard, swings, bikes, trikes, art projects, field trips, and other age-appropriate activities.

Jeanne's also offers evening and overnight care for kids from eight months to school age. Caregivers provide homework help, fun activities, a healthy dinner, bedtime stories, bedding, and breakfast. The service costs $10 per hour or $60 overnight.

Kids Klub hosts specialty camps offering a variety of activities, including an Extreme Sports Camp, Horseback Riding Academy, and a Drama Camp.

The expansive facility also offers infant, preschool, afterschool, evening, and weekend drop-off care, and extra-curricular classes. See the website for details.

Kidz in the Bizz provides transportation and child care for children in the entertainment industry; families not in the entertainment industry are also welcome to use the company's services.

Childcare can be provided in your home or office, 24/7, evening and overnight, weekends and holidays, and for out-of-town travel.

An experienced coaching team can help prepare children prepare for auditions, as well.

The company is bonded and insured.

Lima Family Child Care is a family-run day care facility that caters to both English and Spanish-speaking children.

Oak Knoll Kinderhaus Montessori School is an authentic Montessori school, following a curriculum designed by Maria Montessori and using Montessori-credentialed teachers primarily through the Association Montessori Internationale.

Instruction begins at 18 months and extends through 12 years (7th grade). Toddlers and preschool students attend school at the main campus in Pasadena; children in kindergarten and older grades attend school on the campus in La Ca-ada.

Each classroom is divided into areas of learning, such as Practical Life, Language, Sensorial, Mathematics, Art and Culture (including music), and Science.

Parent participation is required each month at Oak Knoll; parents can choose a variety of ways to get involved, including weekend painting projects, construction, materials preparation, or sewing items for classrooms. Children get lots of hands-on practice with daily activities, like snack preparation, watering plants, feeding classroom pets, and washing tables after meals.

Before- and after-school care is available.

Outdoor play and outdoor classroom time are important components of Oak Knoll's curriculum. The Lake Avenue campus has a dirt digging area, a garden courtyard, fruit trees, and a covered canopy that has misters in hot weather. The playground equipment is fairly basic, consisting of one climbing structure and slide.

A 10% sibling discount is available.

Orange Grove Park features a lighted softball and soccer field, two lighted tennis courts, picnic tables, and a small playground.

Orange Grove Park Recreation Center is 9,500 square feet facility and sponsors a wide range of programming for families, including day care programs and the summertime Camp Med for kids ages five-12, Parent & Me Musical Fun for Tots and dance lessons from Miss Claire, gymnastics, drivers' education for teens, and art classes like drawing and painting, animation, and photography.

Located in Palms Recreation Center at Palms Park. Servicing neighboring schools Notre Dame, Overland, Clover, and Charnock, the city of Los Angeles' Department of Parks and Recreation provides before and after-school child care by qualified, trained personnel in a state-licensed child care facility.

The goal of the Child Care Program is to provide a safe, caring, and academically challenging environment in which children may develop their self esteem, creativity, learning, and social skills through the use of age-appropriate activities and materials.

The program is designed for the elementary school age child, and can incorporate middle school children. The program provides an atmosphere appropriate for individual and group study, physical activity, and cultural programming in a recreational setting.

Activities include arts and crafts, tutoring, sports, cooking, and drama. Other specialized classes are available. For information please call the nearest center.

The preschool is for potty-trained children starting at age three.

Additional $50 per month between 7-8 am for before school care for Overland only. They will walk your child over to the School.

Located just off the Santa Monica Freeway at Overland Avenue, and next to the Palms Rancho Park Library, this Park is a favorite among kids.

Palms Park boasts two tot lots with swings, climbers, and slides, a large picnic area, a basketball court, and a large meandering green pasture where children may run or play ball.

The Recreation Center has kids' classes year round, rooms available for rent, and summer and winter camp programs.

The Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks maintains this 28-acre park and sports center as a recreational facility for the public.

Rancho Cienega boasts the Jackie Robinson football field, and four baseball diamonds with lights. It also offers an outdoor basketball court, a soccer field, twelve tennis courts, a gymnasium, and a child care facility.

An indoor pool, volleyball fields, and a playground are also part of this huge facility.

The facility offers a CLASS Parks youth development program for teens.

The Santa Anita Family YMCA has been providing youth and family programming to Monrovia residents for more than 50 years. The 34,000-square-foot facility has an six-lane indoor lap pool and a gymnasium featuring six baskets, one full court, two junior-size courts with height-adjustable baskets, and two volleyball courts. The center also houses a Family Center with computers and Internet access.

Licensed after-school care (until 6pm) is provided for children in kindergarten through grade five; the center also provides care for school-age children on school holidays and teacher in-service days.

Summer day camp is popular here, and kids can take advantage of all kinds of classes, including swimming lessons, karate, and sports like basketball and indoor soccer.

Known for over 50 years as the the Hollywood-Los Feliz Jewish Community Center, this facility survived a loss of funding to be reborn as the Silverlake Independent Jewish Community Center. The center offers full preschool, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten programs, including early drop-off options and supervised afternoon nap facilities. There is also a Parent and Me class for toddlers between the ages of 14 and 30 months. Other programs include a weekly Shabbat program, periodic children's concerts, and a gym offering various movement classes from dance to karate.

The Firehouse School is indeed housed inside a former firehouse, and its large, front-facing firehouse doors are regularly decorated with children's artwork, lending to its palpable "neighborhood feel."

The school accepts children ages two up to kindergarten age and is licensed and fully accredited. Children bring their own lunch, but a mid-morning and a mid-afternoon snack and drink are served.

The preschool program sets mornings aside for an educational session led by qualified, experienced teachers. Computer instruction, dance, and gymnastics are offered, and outdoor playtime and learning, storytimes, music, videos, cooking, and field trips also take place regularly.

The kindergarten program emphasizes reading, phonics, social studies, math, science, Spanish, and art. Socialization and independence are also encouraged.

Year-round preschool and daycare The Learning Cycle is family owned. Nancy DeJohnette specializes in helping children from disadvantaged families.

Valley Beth Shalom, the venerable Encino synagogue, has developed one of the city's most extensive lineups of private-education programs. While the schools follow Conservative Jewish practice, VBS and its first-rate facilities offer a lot to students of all backgrounds. However, temple membership is required to attend the schools.

In general, the programs celebrate all major Jewish holidays and most US holidays (Christmas, St. Valentine's Day, Easter, and Hallowe'en are not observed). The school calendar runs from September through June. School hours are 7:55am to 3:15pm. Extended day care and after-school programs are available.

Starting with its Infant & Toddler Program, VBS provides classes for children and their working parents, grandparents, or parents with physical disabilities. The Toddler and Transition classes are not only beneficial in helping children separate from their caregivers, enrollees often have a better chance in being accepted into the preschool program.

The Valley Beth Shalom Nursery School boasts accreditation by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs and the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles. The program, directed by Audrey Freedman-Habush, is designed for children between the ages of 2 1/2 and 5.

Emphasizing creative expression, Jewish identity, and an exploration of the child's world, the nursery school keeps the atmosphere fun and nurturing. The classrooms are fully stocked with age-appropriate materials and experienced teachers. The play area includes top-of-the-line equipment and teacher supervision.

The Harold M. Schulweis VBS Day School, founded in 1978 and named after the synagogue's renowned head rabbi, combines secular and Judaic studies. Among the curriculum highlights are a literature-based reading program, a hands-on science program, and a performing-arts program.

Students ages 5 though 12, covering kindergarten to sixth grade, can avail themselves of the Hebrew-learning lab, daily hot (kosher) lunches, science and arts fairs, and a P.E. program that features sports, fitness, and dance.

Parental-involvement is encouraged via an active parent organization. VBS also offers middle-school placement counseling.

The VBS Hebrew School offers religious and language training to children not already enrolled in the day school. Students from grades K-12 can attend the one to two-day per week classes.

VBS has a Parent Education program that includes numerous workshops in parenting kids from toddlers to teens.

In addition, the synagogue hosts many family-oriented events throughout the year. Check our calendar for information about concerts, fairs, and more.

The Valley Cities JCC in Sherman Oaks hosts a variety of programs for the community, including a nursery school and after-school care for kids in grades kindergarten through eight.

Weddington Park is a neighborhood park that local moms love. A clean, quiet spot, the playground has lots of slides and a toddler area. There is also a handball wall, and the park is lit in the evening.

The park also has barbecue pits and tables as well as a baseball diamond and basketball, handball, and volleyball courts. The recreation center has an afterschool program and various arts and crafts classes for kids.

The park is divided into North and South Weddington Park, with the river dividing the two. Most of the facilities are on the north side.

The West Valley YMCA serves families in Calabasas, Canoga Park, Encino, Hidden Hills, Reseda, Tarzana, West Hills, Winnetka, and Woodland Hills. A Childwatch Program is free to members.

Swimming lessons are offered in the heated, indoor, five-lane pool, starting at age six months and continuing up through adults.

Kids' programs include ballet, aerobics, karate, arts and crafts, and gymnastics. There is also a Youth Sports Program for ages five and up, offering year-round basketball and soccer stressing healthy competition, skills, and teamwork (everyone plays).

Family Fun Nights, held every month, offer pool activites, games, snacks, and an inflatable pirate ship.

Parent/Child Program monthly activities are offered as either Y-Guides for boys or Adventure Princess for girls.

The facilities at Westchester Recreation Center include a swimming pool, playground, baseball diamond, tennis courts, basketball courts, an indoor gym, a craft room, barbecue pits, and an auditorium. The facility offers several sports programs as well as after school and camp programs, too.

The Westside Jewish Community Center has been serving the community for over 50 years. The JCC hosts a variety of programs for the community, including an early childhood center with preschool and kindergarten programs, gymnastics classes, swim classes, a basketball league, and SAT preparation courses. Members can also use the facility's swimming pool year-round.

The JCC also offers a summer camp, which is often available for school breaks as well.