I've been to Vasona many times and seen the sign for YSI, though I finally ventured in today!…read more This place is somewhat of a hidden gem; while it offers a chance to learn more about endemic species in our area, it is also very small. For that reason, I would say it's great to come here but I wouldn't go out of my way for it. COST: $6 for parking, but no cost to enter! PARKING: there is a spacious lot right next to the entrance. AMBIANCE: clean, uplifting, and cozy. There are many educational toys and books, which complement the somewhat small selection of animals to see. Would come back, but would be best to combine this with a walk in Vasona or a trip to the Oak Meadow merry-go-round or train.

Every child should be treated equally, my son was told he will not be given a shirt because he had…read moreparticipated in another class this summer, just because we are a returning customer my son had to experience this, when I asked Allyson(the director of the program) she said that's how things are done here and your son is not getting a shirt. Amazing

Amazing classes and instructions! My son absolutely loves the art he gets to create. Highly…read morerecommend it.

Our daughters are 7&8 and have really enjoyed the Drawn2Art after school classes. The work they…read moreare doing is beautiful and I know they also are fond of the teachers. We have been with them for over a year and I'm sure we will continue as long as possible.

We love Peppertree! We were so nervous to put our baby in daycare and our friend referred us to the…read morePeppertree Ranch House. As a mother and an educator, she is a highly trusted source. As soon as we toured the facility, we knew it was the right place for our family. Our son started in the infant room, advanced to the toddler room and then twos room. Every room and every teacher has made him and our family feel loved and cared for. Stephanie and Danna do an amazing job with coordinating everything. They go above and beyond to ensure that each child's individual needs are met. They have also provided much needed support with our toddler challenges. I am always so impressed how they are able to help locate missing items. Our son has learned so much since being at Peppertree and enjoys all the different activities. The school also hosts super fun events and activities for families to enjoy together. If you are looking for a great daycare/pre school, look no further!

During the transition period, my husband and I began looking for childcare elsewhere. Also, there…read moreare many horrific red flags outside the scope of this review that solidified our decision to leave. TLDR; awful transition period, abysmal communication, inaccurate accounting, bare minimum care, 60-90 days notice to leave. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRANSITION PERIOD: -We were forced to do a "transition period" that required one of us to babysit our daughter at PepperTree everyday for 2 weeks. This was not communicated to us until we were literally about to drop her off. Danna never apologized for failing to communicate. -Danna kept me waiting outside of her office as she texted away. She was "texting parents", but never gave us her number. -At one point during the t.p., Danna insisted I repeat what she said verbatim to comfort my baby. It was a gross overstepping of boundaries; I was already comforting my daughter in my own way. "60" DAY NOTICE AND LAST MONTH'S PAYMENT --The contract has a "60 day" notice policy for withdrawal, and the 60 days begin on the first day of the following month from when you give notice. Not even quitting a job requires so much notice. Other daycares, including our new one, require only 2 weeks notice. So, the "60" day notice is truly a 60-90 day notice. This was a huge headache, especially if one of these events were to ensue: a sudden change in jobs, a family emergency, a move, wanting to leave, or wanting to enroll in a different place for preschool. -You pay for the last month when you sign up. At other daycares, you pay for the first month. The contract, under the guise of customer service, says you can "use as much or little of that payment towards the last month" as you want. They keep your money for so long. It's very unclear how, if at all, considering their disorganization and lack of accounting skills, records are kept. COMMUNICATION: -When we met Danna for our scheduled appointment, she mistook us for another family -Emails go unanswered -Feedback goes in one ear and out the other -I had to ask Danna several times after the t.p. What our balance was. When she did get back to me, the amount was $500 higher than it should have been. If my husband and I weren't organized with these things, we would have paid them $500 extra (and I don't even want to imagine how getting that money back would have been). -It was never clear when Parent's Night would be and how to sign up. It seemed to only have happened once during our time there (and that was advertised via an email literally the night before). - It is not always clear who you are emailing, even if you email Danna since different people manage her inbox. -Danna never seemed concerned about our daughter's laser skin surgery treatments until we said we were leaving -Once Danna argued with me that our daughter's dry skin was HFM. The pediatrician confirmed it was dry skin, but Danna never apologized or refunded me for her mistake even after getting a letter from our doctor. Our daughter had to miss 2 days because as a result. -Calendar was received all but once halfway through the month for which it applied -Danna was diligent to call us when our daughter was sick and had to be picked up; however, when my daughter was injured, we were only called once. No follow up email, nor voicemail. VACCINATIONS: -Pepper Tree was cited by the state in 2023 for failing to furnish proof of immunizations for 8 out of 8 staff. Danna said everyone was vaccinated, but they just didn't have proof (obviously this is logically possible but very suspicious to me as someone who works in infectious diseases). Do better. -We were never asked to submit updated proof of vaccinations for our baby (and other daycares do this as children age) OTHER: -The office's papers are extremely disorganized, with papers scattered all over. -I saw staff were on their phone on more than once when children were right in front of them -We received several emails about contributing to the teacher's staff appreciation week fund. While we had no problem with this, we found that receiving 3 emails within 9 days asking for $100 for lunch (from each family!), a charcuterie board, and something small like a beach towel was distasteful, obnoxious, and avaricious. It was also strange to get an email saying many people "asked" if they could pay via Zelle, and to do so to Jeff (whom we NEVER met, heard from, and know nothing about...) -Staff to child ratio is higher than required, but only twice was circle time or singing done based off the notes we got daily. We expected a little more attention and enrichment for babies (even 2 stories a day, some music, some games, etc). -Technology is extremely outdated here -We never thought our daughter learned anything (despite Danna giving the impression that sign language was taught consistently), nor did we ever receive feedback on her growth.

Ms. Shannon coached my daughter's FLL team four years ago, and we've been hooked on robotics ever…read moresince. She is an inspiring educator who brings out the best in every child she coaches. Now that our kids are older, we've moved on to FTC and are inviting Ms. Shannon to coach our new team. Can't wait for another exciting season under her guidance!

Our Kids really loved the class! Coach Shannon has made STEM and robotics fun and intuitive. They…read morelearnt so much from one another working in teams to problem solve with lots of creativity and laughter !

I loved it! Jen's insight and encouragement really enriched the whole experience. Horses are so…read morehonest and real... they sort of encourage you to be that way, too. So moving from the horses to the art barn was perfect! And such an art barn! I was in heaven. Jen is a talented artist and she knows how to bring out other people's creativity and fun! Thanks for a happy day!

From the owner: ArtEquis is a unique Art+Horse+Human encounter that connects you to the intimate wisdom of horses…read moreand the exploration of your artistic expression. You will have a gentle, one-on-one encounter with a horse, getting to know his authentic non-verbal communication and how it can relate to your world. With the horses as your guides you will create with a variety of art materials that free your expressive self. Unbridle your heart with the nature of horses and set your creativity free. Give yourself free-rein to enjoy this incredible experience. Book for Individual or Group sessions. Please contact Jen at ArtEquis to schedule a session and before coming to the farm!

Los Gatos Rowing Club is located at Banjo Point of the Lexington Reservoir County Park, off Alma…read moreBridge road just prior to The Miller Point day use area. It is a private facility and dock; the boathouse and facilities are shared with Santa Clara University Boat Club, which also has an active and successful program at Lexington Reservoir. Public parking is however available in the parking lot. The Los Gatos Rowing Club (LGRC) is maintained in cooperation with Santa Clara County Parks & Rec, and provides rowing opportunities for youth and adults in the South Bay and beyond, including Santa Clara, San Jose, and Santa Cruz regions. The Los Gatos Rowing Club is a California non-profit {501(C)(3)} corporation. Currently, with the exception of the coaches, volunteers do all of the club's work. HISTORY of the LGRC The LGRC has started on Lexington Reservoir in 1979, and trained over 2500 student athletes to date. The LGRC alumnus participated in the Olympic and other world competitions. Both competitive sweep rowing and sculling programs are offered as part of the adult masters program. LGRC's junior rowers won multiple national titles. LGRC provides summer camps and classes for middle- and high-schoolers, as well as adults, together with Santa Clara County Parks & Rec, within various outreach programs like Wounded Warriors and Row 2 Recovery (for cancer survivors and their caretakers, family, and friends). The old boathouse that used to be on the dam for 10 years since the LGRC inception was destroyed in a fire. A group of dedicated parents and coaches raised loans, grants and donations to finance acquisition of land, build new boathouse and buy full set of new boats and equipment. The club used a temporary boathouse of storage containers while all these efforts were underway, over a period of about 1.5 years. New boathouse that is currently in use on Alma Bridge Road overlooking Lexington Reservoir was completed in 1996.

If you are going to row you need to understand it is a commitment. There are no MVP's in rowing…read more The boat wins or loses as a boat. You are as good as your weakest member. As such when you are all in the same boat, you need to know that the person behind you and in front of you is as committed to the goal as you are. When you are neck and neck with another boat in the last 100 meters of a race, you need to know that the people in the boat with you are putting everything into winning like you are. Believing in your team mates is everything. Hence, the purpose should be to make the fastest boats. Unfortunately this program appears to be more focused on revenue generation. Kids that have been rowing for months are all of a sudden teamed up with newbies who don't know what an oar is. Kids don't show up for practice on a regular basis and because the focus is to keep the money coming in, the coaches acquiesce to the kids and blow it off. As such the kids who are determined, become disillusioned when rowing with uncommitted team members. In a program run by a school, if you miss practice, they bounce you. You don't show up, you teammates lose faith in you, and when you are fighting for that win in the race, they need to know you have put everything on the line. If you can't show up to practice, clearly you mind elsewhere. Being good at rowing will get you entry to great universities. I WISH there was a high school locally that had a rowing program. LGRC has coaches that have limited if any experience, appear to be in a transition in their life between college rowing and a real job, and even the experience is from schools with marginal programs. Redwood shores has better programs, Redwood Scullers, Oakland Strokes, NorCal rowing, if you want to drive 40 minutes each way.

We've been coming to this art class 3x now and intend to continue coming for the kid's art class on…read moreWednesday. My daughter truly enjoys the class and intends to turn her room into an art studio. Tami, the owner, is a wonderful art teacher and truly great with kids. She also provides snacks and drinks for them as well. I'm looking forward to trying one of their craft classes. The studio itself is clean and inviting. We just love this place!

Hosted my daughter's 9th birthday party at the studio with Tami. I'm so thankful I did!…read more My daughter and her friends had a great time painting, eating pizza and cupcakes. Tami made the painting of the unicorn easy that every girl enjoyed the event and they were proud of their artwork. I highly recommend planning your next party with Tami. She made the party planning stress feel, and my daughter loved picking out what her friends would paint. The space of the studio was perfect and so cute with twinkle-lights and artwork all over. This place is such a gem for Gilroy! My daughter looks forward to going again to paint just for fun on one of studio's themed painting afternoons.

My son has been learning to fence here for the past few months. All the coaches are incredibly…read morefriendly and helpful with both parents and children. Coach Nate is wonderful with the beginning fencing class, mixing both games and drills/techniques. My son also does a once weekly private lesson with Coach Mike who expects a lot, but also blends humor and works well with my 9 year old. I appreciate that the people who work here love what they do, are knowledgeable, have expectations but also make it a fun environment.

Our son has been fencing at Bay Area Fencing Club for a year, and we all love it. The staff is very…read moreresponsive, answering questions about classes, scheduling, and fencing in general. His coaches are excellent. Their instruction is balanced, helping the fencers to improve while not getting too intense. Besides fencing skills, sportsmanship and values are taught as well. If your child is interested in fencing, give it a try!