My daughter was one of the first students at My Whole Earth Academy back in 2014. At that time she…read moredidn't have very good English and had some sort of separation anxiety. Thanks to all teachers and especially Miss Jen for giving my daughter lots of attention and helping her to overcome that anxiety. My daughter has very good memories about her preschool. I always recommend My Whole Earth Academy to all my friends who are looking for professional child care.

Worst school experience, on our first day, my 19month child was playing with some musical…read moreinstruments and one the the teacher was afraid that my child will break it, so she grabbed the tambourine out of her hand and put it behind her......The teacher was playing a plastic box as a drum, and she's not worried if it will break since it's already half broken? My child is only 19 month and she took the chance to let her discover and learn, without teaching her with patience. After circle time that teacher stood up walking with out care and bumped into my child and kicked her into a very sharp table corner, dented her forehead and my child started bleeding. The whole classroom wasn't protected, but right after this happened they started to put up all the protection for sharp corners......I was very upset and disappointed. The principal also called me after, but her phone call made me felt worse, and she said she was going to check back with me and I never received another phone call from her! My child has a scar on her forehead and the dent is still there after more than a month. I have taken my child to many daycare and community center, and we are still waiting to be called on a few wait list, since this school has opening, I thought I could take her there for the time being, but This is the worst school we have been to, and I suggest moms that wants to apply think twice, because they are very unprofessional. If this system could let me choose no star, I wouldn't have given one！

This is a really good preschool/kindergarden for kids with severe speech delay, autism, or any type…read moreof communication disabilities. The great thing about this school is that there is a full time speech pathologist in the school at all times. Now I'm sixteen and I'm one of the top in my school!

From the owner: Small Talk offers four programs, each providing therapeutic preschool instruction and play. Two…read morespecialized educators lead each class. Our Speech-Language Pathologist consults with educators and participates in class.

Pastry Training is located on Renfrew St near Adanac St…read more Chef Marco Röpke has over 30 years pastry experience and he worked at different world class hotel as head pastry chef. I love bread and want to make my own bread. That's why I would like to take his class and learn his secret of making bread. He's great and his class is well-organized. The class was pretty intensive and we had to make 7 different breads in 2 classes. Further, I never bake so..... It's challenge to me! I had learnt the below Asian breads in his class. Purple yam and tofu bread - the color so beautiful and sounds so healthy Japanese green tea and red bean paste bun - it's so delicious Panda bear bread - So much work but it's so soft and cute Japanese shiso and seaweed baguette - I like baguette and taste good Hokkadio milk toast bread - it similar to brioche, it so soft and pretty bland Black sesame buns - it's absolutely my favourite, the bun pretty soft and black sesame paste pretty strong favourite. Chinese coconut buns - My hubby gave me 2 thumbs up and probably good tho... Just be expected - Knead is the major process of making bread. NO stand mixer or bread maker in the class. Highly recommend his class to any bread lover.

I have been on the lookout for a good chocolate making class for a couple years now. As luck would…read morehave it, I was going to be in Vancouver the same time Marco Ropke was offering his chocolate training course so I jumped at the chance. For a good measure, I signed up for the cake decorating class 1 as well. What the heck right? Let's broaden my pastry horizon all in one go. Now these classes aren't cheap. You pay between $195 and $215 per two-day class, and a full course can run 8-9 classes and a deep hole in your pocket. You do get a discount if you buy the whole series, but not if you mix and match 8-9 different classes (e.g. mixing pastry training with chocolate and bread.) Doh. :p Was it worth it? The real proof will be when I buy all the necessary equipment and try it out at home, but so far I feel like it was time and money well spent. Before class, I'd tried making truffles and pâte de fruits and they didn't turn out well -- I mean they didn't turn out at all. My pâte de fruits was a soupy mess and my truffles were, uhm, let's just say I served them frozen. Sometimes, there's more to making something than the recipe says. And these little tips you learn in Chef Marco's classes. The classes are fully hands on. Class size caps out around 12 people. For each technique and recipe, you first watch Chef Marco do a demonstration up front, and then it's your turn working in teams of two. What I like really like about these classes is that there is plenty of opportunity to practice. Don't feel confident about tempering your chocolate? Well do it again. And again. Now have to temper your chocolate at least 4-5 times in a two day class. Now practice hand dipping 60 chocolates. The opportunity to do this with the guidance of an experienced instructor is why taking an in-person class still trumps watching a YouTube video 100000x over. I still feel like I have a lot to learn, but at least I got a head-start honing the techniques. :) Let's talk about Chef Marco's pedigree. How does a background as an Executive Pastry Chef at the Ritz Carlton & JW Marriott Hotels in Beijing during Beijing Olympics sound? Or the fact he's a 4th generation baker having started back when he was 6? Sometimes experience and talent doesn't translate to instruction, but here you definitely get the benefits of someone who's, as Chef Marco says himself "done this a few thousand times." It sure says something when you find among your classmates pastry instructors from other local schools! Classes fill up fast -- some of them book up months in advance, so if you're interested, don't wait! The course availability on the web site is a bit slow to update, so it's best to call in about signing up. For now, I'm content to get home and start practicing, but I look forward to a future trip to Vancouver for future technique classes!

my son's tutor quit in the middle of the term. no one from the association contact me for class…read morecancelation. I am waiting for them to refund my overpay tuition. After 2 months, I still did not receive the refund. I emailed them, call them but no one response to my inquire.

From the owner: Lightwell Learning is a Canadian nonprofit providing personalized, neuroaffirming learning support…read morefor people with learning and brain-based differences. Building on more than 50 years of experience, Lightwell combines specialized expertise, evidence-informed instruction, innovative technology, and individualized support to help learners make progress, build confidence, and unlock their potential.

I'm not a big Yelp reviewer, but the few reviews here leave a very skewed view of the school, which…read moreis a huge disservice to families who need an honest review of the school. Madrona was a game-changer for my kid and I can't imagine the student he would have become if he'd stayed at his public school or even gone to a different independent school. Unlike the negative review, this was the best time and money our family has ever invested. It's not for "just" bright and gifted kids - it serves neurodivergent kids who are also bright/gifted. A lot of the students come with particular challenges that are typical of people with this profile - asynchronous development (including often slower socioemotional development) is pretty common. If your child is "just" bright/gifted, it's probably not the school for you. The kids who need Madrona would fall flat on their faces at a regular independent school like St. George's (which is awesome for neurotypical kids!) because the struggles they have wouldn't be attended to sufficiently; they would just fall between the cracks. The staff at Madrona also work so hard to meet families' needs, and bend with them as they change. Will there be bumps? Of course. There are bumps at any school. If you're considering the school for your 2E child, go to an open house or ask for a tour. Everyone wants their kids to grow and do well there, and it is small enough that different personalities and needs can be accommodated. Again, nothing is perfect, but my kid and most of other kids in his classes over the years grew in ways that wouldn't have been possible in schools designed for neurotypical students. Most kids go to Madrona because their home school/other schools can't meet their needs. Madrona goes above and beyond to do this. I can't express how grateful my family is to have found this tiny school and how much it has changed my kid's trajectory in every way.

They deleted my Google review! Waste of time and money…read more Didn't meet ANY other kids who were Designated P Gifted Learners. Just mostly families who didn't like the other Ivy League private schools nearby; apparently if you have money, Madrona is easy to get into. One of our main teachers had zero knowledge of supporting gifted learners and didn't even "teach" instead resorted to having the class do online programs with no actual in person enriching lessons... Over. The. Entire. Year! Basically paid $24K for babysitting. Save yourself the time and $ and sign up for online classes like IXL etc yourself at home. Another friend of ours who's family also left this terrible school, had kids who were bullied at school and online. The head of school, Ms Lammie did nothing and took several months to even communicate to the parents about it. Frustrating at such a small school. Especially when you consider they've raised tuition to be similar to St. George's School... have a look yourself and compare the offerings - it's shocking that a school without even a playground can get away with the most expensive tuition compared to the 20 other independent/private schools in the GVRD. Perhaps if the staff at Madrona were remotely specialized in the needs of gifted learners, it might be worth it, but they failed short on everything we signed up for. Everyone I know has had Epic Failures of an experience at Madrona. There are many other options out there. Do your research and ask around. We made the mistake of making such an important decision on the scraps of online praise and the fact it is located in Vancouver which was convenient for us. Don't make the same mistake - if your kids are truly needing gifted support, this is not the place. A few of the teachers that actually were great, have left the school over the last few years. I don't usually write anything negative, but this info/experience needs to be put out there... for the sake of the kids and in the spirit of goodwill among fellow parents looking for help.

Our son has really enjoyed his sessions with Meagan. He has so much fun with her -- it never feels…read morelike "work" for him because she does such a great job finding ways for him to practice skills using topics he is interested in. She has had so many great suggestions for us and his elementary school teacher. We have seen a lot of wonderful changes in him over the past year, especially around managing his emotions. We are so grateful to have found Kids Shine, and I would certainly recommend them to anyone looking for an OT.

We feel fortunate to have found Kids Shine Development center. My son has shown great improvement…read morein his flexibility, strength, sensory issues and social skills. The staff are great at what they do and are passionate with working with children.

Been going here for a couple years now, very content with the facilities. Trainer Kyle is perfect…read morefor my needs. Gym owner likes to periodically inspect the gym and make sure everything is in order. The other trainers seem nice. Works great for my schedule to visit here once or twice a week.

I have a close friend who worked here for many years. The soap in the gym is diluted to save cost,…read morethe trainers are paid little, the overall cleanliness of the gym falls short in efforts to cut overhead costs. The only positive is location (close to Broadway and Cambie).