I signed my younger cousin up for a Minecraft Multiplayer class and she had the best time ever! So…read moreof course, I signed her up for another robotics course to see if it would pique her interest in engineer (I'm going into engineering) and she built tons of projects with her friends. Will definitely be signing her up for more classes this summer!

We hosted a past party here, have done several workshops here, and are hosting another party here…read moreat the end of the month. My kids very much enjoy it. I would give it a higher rating except I think their "value" on livingsocial and groupon is often inflated.

My daughter and I spent nearly two years training at Hive Martial Arts, drawn to the supportive…read morecommunity fostered by Mr. Froeming and other members, which quickly felt like family. With over a decade of experience coaching all ages--especially youth--I also served as an assistant coach and videographer at Hive, supporting the school in any way I could. Unfortunately, a recent incident with a confrontational parent, Andrea Deshone, exposed serious gaps in the school's approach to conflict resolution. After a class, Andrea aggressively approached me over a complaint from her daughter, Stella, an instructor at Hive that day. Instead of addressing her concerns professionally, Stella went to her mother, who then confronted me. Despite my calm requests for space, Andrea refused to back away and even stepped closer when I expressed that I felt threatened, effectively cornering me. She got so close that I could feel her breath and spit. Mr. Froeming and another student approached, and I pleaded for help, explaining that I felt attacked and trapped. It can be as frightening for a man to feel threatened by a woman, knowing that defending oneself could have serious consequences. Unfortunately, this nuance was not acknowledged here. A trusted adult student witnessed the exchange, observing that I had simply asked a question of the only instructor in my group. Later, this student confirmed to Mr. Pallesen that I had done nothing wrong. Despite this corroboration and texts supporting my account, Mr. Pallesen never acknowledged this and chose not to address the issue. Initially, he agreed to mediate, but after I submitted a personal account explaining the incident's impact on my CPTSD--which affected me severely for two weeks and still affects me--he declined to read it and suggested I pretend the incident hadn't happened. When I asked if he would take the situation seriously if the genders were reversed, he confirmed that he would, highlighting an inconsistency. In our exchanges, Mr. Pallesen shared his own experience with Andrea, recounting how her family aggressively confronted him in 2017 about his treatment of children, saying, "What the f--k happened? Why are you treating the kids like this?" According to him, this intervention forced him to self-reflect, helping him save his business. He also explained that Andrea's family threatened him with a bad review, which he acknowledged could have impacted his business. This may explain his reluctance to address my situation directly, but I genuinely hope he learns from this experience as he did with his previous encounter so he can grow as both an instructor and a leader. This experience reflects broader concerns about leadership and standards at Hive. During one leadership lecture, Mr. Pallesen stated that "both political parties are basically the same," a comment that bothered one student, Beth, so much that she responded, "That is the definition of white privilege," highlighting a lack of sensitivity in a group that includes people of color and people of the LGBTQ+ community. While Mr. Froeming and most of the community were wonderful, the lack of professional support from leadership ultimately left my daughter and me feeling disconnected from a place we once considered family. I share this review in the hope that Hive Martial Arts can reflect and grow, strengthening its community for all.

Great school with amazing teachers. My son has been going here for five years. I would never go…read moreanywhere else! I will follow this dojo anywhere if they ever move! Best dojo ever!!!!! :)

Our son has had the joy and privilege of calling Bilingual Child Care & Education Center his school…read morefor the past year. The center has been absolutely wonderful to our family as our son transitioned from his time abroad. He has thrived in the pre-kinder room where imagination is encouraged and play is part of the curriculum. He does this all in Spanish. We are a bilingual family, but our son's friends come from diverse backgrounds and all Spanish language levels and the teachers adapt to each and every child in the room. His main teacher makes time to speak with me every evening at pickup and the cultural nights are a wonderful opportunity to meet your child's friends' families and discover (with delight) that your child can tell you about the Andes mountains or sing you a song in Spanish. In two weeks they open their brand new site in Roseville, MN. They've shared the journey with the families at the community, and we can already tell that the new space is going to be an even more inviting, vibrant space where your children will discover the world around them right in the outskirts of Minneapolis. You won't regret your decision to send your children here. We recommend it wholeheartedly. Gracias BCEC!

My child's preschool teacher was hitting, pinching, and rough handling multiple children in the…read moreclassroom. Despite two earlier parent reports of potential abuse, it wasn't until the third and fourth parent reports after the teacher had been there nearly seven months that the center finally sufficiently investigated the situation and removed the teacher. The owner also discourages parents from communicating with each other about childcare issues at the center. For example, after the abuse was discovered, the owner sent a message to parents instructing them not to "gossip" about it.

Shoreview Community Center gets 5 stars! I went in not expecting much but I was blown away by how…read moremuch fun there was. The waterpark was the highlight. That waterslide with the lights and music? Awesome! It's a one of a kind experience. Beyond the waterpark the playground was also great. It's not your average playground; it's big, well designed and has tons of opportunities for kids to explore and play. What really makes Shoreview Community Center stand out is the community. They offer so much more than just a pool and playground. From the fitness center to the skatepark they have created a space for all interests and ages. It's clear they have invested in making a valuable resource for everyone.

If I could give this zero stars I would! I took my kids…read morehere for a simple swimming outing, but the experience turned into something really upsetting due to both the environment and the staff's lack of action. After swimming we sat in the seating area while I gave my kids some snacks. A visibly intoxicated woman sat next to us and began making inappropriate disturbing comments directed at my children. I initially tried to ignore her hoping she would move along but the situation quickly escalated. She stood over my infant in their car seat which felt threatening and completely unacceptable. I repeatedly asked her to back away from my kids because I had no idea what she might do in her condition. Instead of stepping in staff and security stood by and watched the situation unfold. Even as the woman continued yelling using profanity and attempting to get closer to my children who were clearly frightened no one intervened or made any effort to de-escalate or remove her. This place not only failed to provide a safe, family friendly environment but the complete lack of response from staff made the situation far worse. It was an extremely distressing experience and I would not recommend this facility to families expecting basic safety and support.

I took a group class at Northern Clay center and it was amazing! We had 11 brand new students…read morelearning about throwing pottery for the first time (so we all needed individual attention) and the instructor was so friendly and able to help us all! I thought maybe we would each make one piece, but we each got to make 4 or 5 bowl-like objects (you got to pick) and to paint them. We also used the break room to order food, since pottery in the morning was hungry work. Northern Clay is giant inside- I had not idea looking at it from the street. There is a parking lot right by the building, so you don't have to worry about street parking. We had a great time, and will be back to pick up or art in 3 weeks! I definitely recommend the group classes or private parties, which came out to ~$50 per person.

I came here to buy a couple gifts and was not disappointed. I'd browsed some of their selection…read moreonline and saw all the pieces they'd advertised on display in their showroom. The pottery is grouped by artist, which made it easy to limit my browsing to only the styles I liked. I will note that (at least on the day I visited) they very heavily feature artists whose style is natural and rustic, which isn't bad, but for the prices they charge I was looking for something more sophisticated. I know all pottery takes a lot of work, but I'm not going to spend $80 on a misshapen mug. The items do focus pretty heavily on dishes and cups/mugs, which made gift shopping a little difficult, since I wasn't about to buy a surprise dinnerware set for someone. The person manning the front desk was very helpful and brought out more pieces from the back room of artists I liked. She was also able to share with me which pieces were and were not dishwasher safe. I left with a good selection of gifts and would definitely come back again.

PARENTS BEWARE!!!…read more Midwest Gymnastics is not a safe environment for children. Understaffed, staff that are not attentive, and owners that only care about making themselves known and making money. With multiple staff members that have open SafeSport allegations and investigations for verbal and physical abuse. As well as staff members that are too busy watching their phones instead of watching for the safety of gymnasts. Midwest staff members also have multiple past investigations and allegations of abuse, bullying, and unsafe conditions. I would also recommend to be weary of ownership - Jess Graba was Ali's coach from the age of 4 and up and now they are married, sounds like the perfect example of "grooming" While there are some good athletes that have come from Midwest, I would recommend doing your research on the history of the gym, it's owners, and past events that have occured.

I signed up for the toddlers and tykes class because I wanted my son to have an opportunity to work…read moreon gross motor skills and to do something different. In my mind this was going to be more like gymboree style where we do a lot of floor stuff and just working on moving bodies around. Instead I think this is a class for people who REALLY want their kids to get into gymnastics and potentially become an Olympic gymnast. The class is split up into three rotations. The first is floor exercises such as walking across low beams, hoping along tape (etc.). You then move into bars. Kids are suppose to crab walk across bars, flip over the bars, and do other quite complicated gymnastic moves on bars not on the ground. The class ends with trampoline skills. Personally, I found the class not really geared towards toddlers. The class says it is for 18 months - three year olds, but I couldn't imagine taking my child in at 18 months to this class. I watch the coach telling us what they wanted the kids to do some of these times and my jaw hits the floor. They are asking them to do handstands by putting hands down and walking their feet up mats, do specific types of jumps on trampolines, do flips over bars, etc. Like real gymnastic moves. Some of the kids were able to do it, but for most they just play and run around. I kind of wish the class was more welcoming and open to people who aren't hardcore gymnasts. The instructors were nice enough. I think one of the challenges with working with this age group is you have to be the right person to do it. I used to work as a camp counselor for many years, and I totally knew I wasn't the prek/k group counselor material. The instructor is basically just walks us through each exercise then lets us have at it. She gives some praise every once and a while, but that is about it. No real hands on help with some of the more complicated moves or modifications for kiddos not ready to do back rolls and crab walks across parallel bars. I also have found the front office to be a bit unwelcoming. My first day there I came in and no one was working the front desk. I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. Someone finally showed up, but paid no attention to me. There is no hello, goodbye, or have a nice day. I think if you are serious about gymnastics, this place is great. If you just want your kid to have some fun, burn off some energy, and work on gross motor skills, maybe look elsewhere.

Miniapple has been a wonderful constant in our lives for the last several years. We value and…read moreappreciate the level of commitment and care staff have shown our two children (ages 21 months and 4 years) as they have transitioned through the infant, toddler and children's house learning communities.

From the owner: Excellence in global learning!…read more Miniapple International Montessori School provides high quality Montessori education for children in Roseville, Minn., and surrounding communities. Our goal is to provide children with a culturally diverse, purposeful, fun and peaceful environment that nurtures their development through compassion, respect and imagination. Our team of early childhood educators believes that individualized learning can begin at a very young age. Accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs, we welcome your children, from infants to school age children.Our programs include: Infant program Toddler community Children's house Private kindergarten School age summer programWe even have summer camp programs for school-age children of 6-9 years. With our highly qualified Montessori trained staff, we offer a multicultural curriculum and year round programs.We have convenient locations in Minneapolis, Roseville and Oakdale.Call Miniapple International Montessori School today for enrollment information.

Um, wow! This Y is like a high end gym, but instead your money goes to a great non-profit! I felt…read morelike I was walking through a spa in some parts haha. I've only been to the Uptown Y before, but am so glad I checked this location out! PARKING: They have a private lot and it's $1 (I believe for the first hour, and then $1 each hour after), which is nice to have downtown! Entrance is by buzzer only. AMENITIES: Similar to other Y locations in Minne, you'll find a pool, sauna, hot tub, two weights areas, a few rooms for group fitness classes, a basketball court, and more here. OFFERINGS: They offer private training (3 free sessions when you sign up), group fitness classes, swim workout classes, massage and more here. They even have a childcare area! ATMOSPHERE: I loved the vibe here! Peaceful music playing, not crowded at all (I did go at 4pm so probably best the evening rush), extremely nice updated bathrooms (with all-gender option), and well cared for equipment and amenities. PRICE: I joined in January for $0 joiner fee and $66/month for the year - competitive with other gyms in the area with similar amenities, and your money goes to a non-profit with a great cause! Highly recommend this location!

I have been working out here for about 20 years and it has been upgraded constantly…read more This is a really nice workout facility for anyone living or working in downtown. They have a pool that is always open for lap swimming, hot tub and sauna. They have lots of cardio equipment and free weights. They also have olympic lifting gear including bumper plates. The trainers are top notch. I have taken Olympic weight lifting and boot camp at this location and have always had a blast. The inner courtyard makes for a great area to do incline or decline sprints or body weight workouts. This is my go to gym when I am in Minneapolis. The best part is they are a non profit and put all the money you pay into community development with an emphasis on empowering women and girls. What is not to love!

My daughter went to the ArtiCulture summer camp, and we found out that she had lice afterwards…read morebecause the camp staff had the kids who didn't own ArtiCulture camp shirts borrow some of theirs, for when they went to a nearby playground daily.

Articulture is a great community organization. I took an adult art class and the instructor was…read morefantastic. The main aspect of this particular class was advertised as centered on creativity as opposed to learning how to draw a vase which is a point I feel is important. Philosophically arts education is beyond just learning how to paint or draw etc. It is primarily about how to think creatively which nets life long benefits. For the class I took, I felt the value was great considering the caliber of instructor and the experience. The classroom was pure art class where you could see evidence of years of creativity in the tables. Overall I highly recommend checking Articulture out. They do programming for adults, kids, camps, groups etc.