My child's friends wanted a last hurrah before parting ways for middle school. A handful of them…read moreregistered for Urban Adventure. Because the summer camp runs weekly, with several rotating and parallel themes, the kids were able to land on the same interest and available week. Shocking, I know! The camp's extensive schedule works for vacations and professional work hours. Even though some kids had already attended previous summers, each of them enjoyed the experience differently when friends were involved. They can escalate to be the most rambunctious bunch or wander as cerebral or silly, chatty tweens. The social pace was great, and this camp has a seamless inclusion vibe. For some weeks and cohorts, the group veers younger, like 2nd- to 5th-graders, and some older, like 5th- to 8th-graders. Mike, the camp director, does a great job with the groupings paired with an experienced counselor. We were lucky to have school teachers as lead. Given this was my child's first experience with Urban Adventure, he absolutely loved the exploration and riding public transit (BART, SF MUNI - bus, trolley, and metro, AC Transit, Cal Shuttle, Ferry). Going up to the ferry observation deck was exhilarating and inclusively fun with friends who could access the elevator. Although my child has been to many of the museums and features when he was younger, he barely recalls them at all. We did so much pre-pandemic and, over time, lost those family events to sports purgatory. So glad my child got to re-experience with his peers. Lastly, my child has suddenly shown a burst of independence in reading maps, following directions, examining transportation timetables, accounting for museum and business hours, and actively thinking about plan B, C, or other contingencies. He was so excited to demonstrate that he ended up giving my husband an Urban Adventure experience today. The kid sent a slurry of calendar invites with the various SF locales. While they play local tourists, I actually have time to type up a long-winded review. My child attended both Biology/Natural Science and Technology/Physical Sciences. Many thumbs up!

My kid loves Urban Adventures--it's his favorite. Honestly, I picked the camp because of an easy…read moreshort commute/parking (IYKYK), reasonable start/end time for working parents, and consistently strong reviews. They're efficient, on top of things, easy drop-off/pick-up in terms of parking, simple sign-in/out, and lots of variety. They communicate well in advance with comprehensive info which eliminates a lot of the unknown. My son's favorite one is art. I almost don't want to tell people since camp sign-up season is crazy and the popular camps sell out FAST. My son is neurodivergent and manages to find a buddy each year on his wavelength. They also go to wheelchair accessible sites. It's also great seeing the kids have a blast in the daily private photo links.

My very picky, opinionated daughter loves Alameda Makering and Ms. Deneese. This is our second…read moresummer and she's gone to a couple pop-up workshops throughout the school year, and she comes home beaming with pride on all the incredible, high-quality crafts and delicious cooking she's done that day. Ms. Deneese curates every class with creativity and thoughtfulness. We highly recommend Alameda Makering, especially Ms. Deneese.

My daughter has a great time at Makering camp! She loves all the crafts and comes home excited to…read moredo them with me. The baking activities are also really fun and have led to us enjoying the recipes at home.

We attended Gymboree Play & Music at Lakeshore for a year, from when my daughter was 18 months to…read more30 months old, and it was such a wonderful experience! The teachers are fantastic--Ms. Leah in Play & Learn and Ms. Muna in Music class were both patient, energetic, and great at leading activities that kept the kids involved while fostering social and motor skill development through Gymboree's catchable bubbles. The classes struck the perfect balance between structured routines and free play, making them ideal for school preparation at an early age. At some point last year, a new owner took over and made some really thoughtful improvements that elevated the space. They spruced up the otherwise plain walls, added a baby gate to prevent little ones from running in and out of the play area without their adult, and even replaced the circle time carpeting. These small but meaningful upgrades made the environment feel even more welcoming and safe. One of the things we really appreciated was the flexibility in choosing which class to attend. Most of the time, we could just drop in, which was incredibly convenient. That said, for busier days--especially when it was raining--it was a good habit to book a class in advance through the app to make sure we had a spot. At first, it took about a month for my daughter to feel fully comfortable, which I think is completely normal. She started by observing and then gradually joined in after watching her peers interact. It was amazing to watch her growth--learning problem-solving skills (like navigating play structures, balancing, and safely calculating jumps), improving her motor skills, and practicing taking turns and following directions. A big plus is that the play area is always so clean and well-maintained--much better than the park. And while socks are usually required in indoor play spaces, I appreciated that kids could go barefoot here, which helped with my daughter's stability and movement. My daughter loved it so much that she would sing the songs at home and even ask for parachute time outside of class! Now that she's moved on to preschool, I do wish there had been a transition class to help bridge that next step at a younger age. Otherwise, our time at Gymboree was truly special, and I highly recommend it for little ones and their parents looking for a fun, social, and enriching experience.

My baby loves Gymboree! We has so much fun singing (the instructor sings great!) and especially…read moreloves the bubbles. It's clean, fun, and always a great time

This place is awesome. It's very unstructured: kids can choose to participate in scheduled…read moreactivities, pick an activity room instead, or even just spend the day roaming around playing with their friends. We haven't gone this year yet (I'll update when that changes!) but last summer, they had: * Baking: kids could learn to make the baked good of the day, from pies to pizzas, and help with baking lunch for the camp; * A sewing room: bins of fabric and notions, supplies for hand sewing, sewing machines and an instructor on hand to teach kids how to use them, patterns, and stuffing; * A fashion show where kids who got really into that sewing room could show their work off; * An arts and crafts room, with regular projects as well as the option to just come in and make whatever you wanted; * A STEM room with robotics, stop motion animation, and other cool supplies; * Sports, bubbles, etc outside; * A dance room with music playing and cool lights; * I think also a quiet room where you could just chill out and read or decompress; * And a different bounce house each week! The food looked great. There were a lot of options, from pizza to salad. The food changes each year, depending on who they can get to cater it. All of it sounded amazing, which helped a lot. Because my kid has struggled with separation anxiety disorder, and maybe agoraphobia. Finding a camp he'd actually be EXCITED to go to was the key here. He put in a lot of emotional work to make it in the door. We spent many days just driving up and sitting in the car outside, talking through his feelings, sometimes getting out for a little while, before the day he decided he could go in. And I cannot thank Steve & Kate's enough for providing a structure where that's POSSIBLE. Very few camps have drop-in policies. With most places, you have to sign up five or six months in advance, because they're on focused topics and have limited space. Even with more general camps, you can rarely sign up for just a day at a time, or let them know at the last minute that you're coming -- understandably!!! At Steve & Kate's, not only can you just show up the day of camp and register there if you need to - you can also show up at any point in the day, and they'll still let you in. That's HUGE. That's HUGE even under normal circumstances. When you can't tell in advance whether your kid will be able to go in, or will have a series of panic attacks in the car until you take him back home, BUT you really need to practice going to a place like camp before you try to go to Actual School, that's EXCEPTIONALLY HUGE. He can practice going, and test his own boundaries, and gently move out of his comfort zone, at his own pace, WITHOUT ME PAYING FOR A CAMP HE DOESN'T END UP GOING TO. And without holding an empty spot that some other family needed! In accessibility terms, that is HUGE. On top of that, my kid - who values kindness very highly, especially in adults - was super impressed by how KIND everyone there was. The first day he went, he had trouble getting lunch because the kids were crowding instead of lining up (or the line collapsed into a crowd) and he couldn't figure out how to get to the food. He spoke very highly of one staff member who noticed he wasn't eating, gently asked if he needed help getting food, and then brought him pizza. He said everyone was kind, but that one was SUPER kind. I also noticed, while waiting to pick him up, that lots of other kids were clearly on friendly terms with the staff. I heard kids talking about different staff members very positively, and I saw kids mobbing different ones to ask them interesting questions or joke around with them. I was personally very impressed by the staff's kindness too. I reached out to the camp ahead of time to tell them about my kid's struggles. They scheduled a time for us to tour the campus while it was in session, see all the different areas, ask any questions, and talk about anything they could do to support him. Just really super-nice people all around. I also loved having the option to check him in online the night before, or the morning of, if I was pretty sure he was going... and the refund policy that gives me back the money for days he doesn't go! Even though he was really excited about the sewing room and stop motion animation in particular, he spent most of the time just making new friends and hanging out with them. And I think that's great. He loved his time there. The time he spent practicing going, and actually going, made it so much easier for him to start school in the fall. 1000/10 stars. Love this place. It was about $100/day, which feels like a lot but is really just on the slightly high end for camps. Well worth it for the flexibility and the range of activities available, even without the accessibility. Absolutely delightful and fantastic, kinda wish they had one just for grownups!

Steve and Kate's is an absolute lifesaver. It's easy to deal with, and I love the flexibility of…read morebeing refunded for unused days if something comes up My son is 5 and has been attending since he was 4. He loves it. They typically have a bouncy house plus activity rooms. There's also group events where kids can win prizes. I don't think Steve and Kate's is particularly academic, but there's definitely lots to keep kids occupied. My son really looks forward to it. He's very proud of the pillows he has "made" from the sewing room, and loves the marble run when it's an option. While there's a limit to the lunch accommodations (and my son brings a packed lunch), they were able to get some dairy free puff pastry so he could be included in the cooking lab, and dietary needs and restrictions can be printed on the campers tags so there are no mistakes. We've had a positive experience with Steve and Kate's Emeryville.

I am so impressed with Head over Heels. It is clear to me that they care for children, rather than…read morejust profits. I have had only pleasant interactions with them, their facility is beautiful, and they value all the right things. They really went above and beyond in my interactions with them this week and I am infinitely grateful!

Our twin three year old boys have been doing a weekly class with Coach Gio for the past year, and…read morethey frequently attend the No School Day camps. HoH has been great for them to learn the basic of gymnastics and build body awareness. It's a large and well equipped facility, and the community of parents and coaches is very welcoming.

We reserved the Busy Bee space for a 3-year old's birthday party, and it was perfect. The place is…read morevery clean, has a ton of activity options for small kids. There is a separate room to serve snacks, drinks, and cake; bathroom is clean and convenient.

I hosted a birthday party for a toddler at Busy Bee. Would definitely recommend! A couple of things…read morethat stood out: - Booking/ planning/ prepping all went without a hitch - The play area is great, fun, and spacious. The party room where you would have food/ drinks is right nearby, so it's super easy to monitor kids and transition from one are to another (unlike other places where party room is more disconnected from play) - the center is located in a large shopping area. Which meant easy parking for guests and tons of options to order snacks/ food etc nearby so you wouldn't have to lugg stuff from home - I called several similar places in East Bay, and Busy Bee was by far the most uncomplicated wrt managing guest lists, number of attendees etc. Most importantly: kids LOVED it and were super tuckered out after that!

My daughter spent a week at summer camp at Glitter & Razz and talked about it for 6 months. She…read moreloved everything - the drama, the art, music. And the staff is incredible. The fact that they can corral 20 4 - 6 year olds and write, create sets and costumes and perform an original play speaks volumes about their talents. My kid loved it so much she begged for a G&R birthday party. Our first drop-off party, Lynn and Andrea lead the kids in creating their own play. The kids got to be whatever character they wanted and Lynn made it gel into a story that the kids performed 2 hours later. WOW! Love G&R and can't wait for next summer.

This WAS a great camp experience for my daughter. Unfortunately the women who started the camp sold…read moreit to Chrissy Mulvihill and it did not continue as the loving and inclusive community that it had been. My daughter had looked forward to continuing to be part of Go Girls. from being a camper to being part of Leadership Team and then a junior counselor. Instead she was rejected by the Director in a very hurtful way. I can no longer recommend this camp experience.

Whenever I mentioned that my daughter was going to Fairyland Summer Camp people gushed about how…read moregreat the camps were. And they were right! Topaz, Fairyland's Community Engagement Manager, is kind, organized, and patient. In fact, she probably deserves a promotion and commensurate salary increase. Hers is not an easy job and still I never saw her flustered and she was especially skillful at handling parents and kids alike with care. We were originally waitlisted for Maker's Wonderland and Farm to Table. To my horror, the email notifying us that our daughter had been offered a spot for both camps went to spam. Thankfully our neighbor tipped us off and I wrote to Topaz right away and she managed to get our kid in for three weeks of camp. And she couldn't have been nicer about it. My daughter made butter from scratch, performed skits, and made a good friend at Fairyland camp (and both our families are better off for it). I highly recommend these summer camps for their super staff, excellent Oakland vibe, and engaging activities for kids.

Fairyland Summer Camp (FSC) is an absolute gem! It is a unique and valuable experience for young…read morechildren. The activities at this camp will inspire, encourage and stimulate their minds and creativity. It is awesome that my children get to spend the day outdoors in a safe environment and with caring staff members. Most of all, they are given the time and space to be themselves and PLAY.... after all, play is the primary way children LEARN. The Education Specialist Shana, is a genuine, intelligent, and professional Leader. She has a positive and loving energy that is contagious. My children have attended FSC for 3 years and I always see her connecting with all the campers and parents. My children really, really enjoy their time at Fairyland Summer Camp and I am a happy and grateful Mother.