Today, I visited this location to get a tour and learn more about the enrichment process for…read morechildren. I brought both my 7 year old and 12 year old here. My children were given a tour of the facility and a mini coding experience from the Director, Kimberly. Code Ninjas teaches coding for kids ages 7 to 14 through a fun gaming curriculum. Parents can choose what hours they would like their children to attend and can pay for the classes on a monthly, six-month or annual basis. They offer drop-in learning, coding summer camps, STEM-based birthday parties and various programs. Children are engaged to stay motivated in the program as they progress in levels of difficulty (earning belts like a ninja; from white to black) as they learn to code; for example, they start in JavaScript and end in C#. When the kids go through each achievement level, the goal is to build self confidence, work on problem-solving skills and critical thinking, and learning how to collaborate with each other. The classes at this location are taught by college students who are CS or Engineering majors (or something of the like). This establishment offers a great way for kids to learn invaluable skills in the ever changing technological landscape. The caveat is these lessons as with everything comes at a price $$$.

Kimberly is an absolute professional--thank you for our informative chat on the phone. My children…read morelearned an incredible amount at Code Ninjas. Learning code and how to handle programs is the language of the future--and my kiddos relished it. I hope to sign them up for a summer camp soon!! Thank you!

My daughter loved everything about this camp and continues to rave about her experience and the…read morecounselors months later. Grateful she had such a great time. Chris Hyde was informative on day to day expectations and thoroughly answered all my questions prior to signing up. It helped that we knew someone that highly recommended this camp as well.

Inside Outside School has been such a blessing for our family. Our kindergartener describes it…read morebest: "My favorite thing is that the weather is perfect there and we get to play outside all of the time. I also like that our classes have rainbow centers." This school has truly transformed the way our tender-hearted, introverted daughter feels about education. She used to dread school every single day, but now she cries when it's time to leave. The nurturing environment, emphasis on outdoor play, and creative learning spaces like the "rainbow centers" have made her feel so safe, happy, and excited to learn. We couldn't be more grateful to the teachers and staff for creating such a magical, supportive experience for her. Inside Outside School is a place where children truly thrive.

We LOVE the Inside Outside School! I have been following the school since it's opening year, and as…read morean educator (former public school teacher), I love the blend of academics and outside time. From all that I can tell, they are taking the educational research that talks to what truly works in the best interest of children and applying it in all aspects of the school. The class sizes are small, there are many opportunities for mixed-age learning, there is direct teaching of core concepts, highly individualized learning, lots of outside and student-led activities, and an integrated social/emotional component that is woven throughout the structure of the days that helps our children learn one of the most valuable skills that will serve them through life - emotional intelligence! This is not an unstructured school - there is structure and academics happening even when it can appear unstructured. For instance, I volunteer once a week for Nature Literacy in "the woods" as my daughter calls it. I have watched students create amazing learning opportunities for themselves that are completely self-initiated. I've seen them perform experiments on the flow of the creek, figure out how to construct a dragon's lair with tree branches, create mud homes, and compare/contrast plants and rocks. This is all proof to me that these kids are learning HOW to learn and LOVE LEARNING! All things that make both my mommy heart and my teacher heart very happy. :) Our daughter is currently in the 1st grade in a 1st/2nd grade classroom. She came with a high reading level and (in my mind) a low math ability which was compounded with a self-esteem issue from her kinder experience in a local charter school. Her teacher has done an excellent job of finding out what she needs and providing her with opportunities to expand her learning and fill in the gaps she had. Within the first semester the esteem issues I was worried about have all but vanished, and she truly enjoys math as well as reading now! I love the way IOS approaches assessment of the students - there are no grades (which did make this former teacher a little nervous at first), but it has been replaced with anecdotal records that are far more meaningful than a single page of letter grades! I received a 10 page document that took me through the semester, explained what was learned in class and how my daughter is progressing. We used this document to review our previous goals and set new ones as a team - teacher, parents, and student. This is authentic learning at its best! I really cannot say enough about this school. Parents are encouraged to participate in the school day, and I love that this school is as welcoming to the parents as it is for the students. This school may not be for everyone, but I am confident that this is the school for our family and for our daughter. :)

We have been with Abacus since my daughter was 10 months old, and I truly couldn't be happier with…read moreour experience. The staff is amazing, caring, and genuinely invested in the children. One of the things I love most is that everyone knows my daughter by name and makes her feel welcomed and loved every day. The director, Ms. Brianna, has been wonderful and always goes above and beyond to support both the children and parents. The curriculum is excellent, and I've seen my daughter grow and excel so much during her time here. We have loved all of her teachers, especially Ms. Sonia in the 2-year-old classroom and now Ms. Kierra and Ms. Emily in the 3-year-old classroom. They are patient, nurturing, engaging, and truly care about each child's development and my daughter loves being with them every day. The daycare provides breakfast, lunch, and snacks, which is such a convenience for parents. They also offer plenty of outdoor playtime and a variety of well-rounded activities that keep the children learning and having fun. The staff was also incredibly helpful during the potty-training process, making it a much smoother transition for both my daughter and our family. I highly recommend this daycare to any parent looking for a safe, loving, and educational environment for their child. We are so grateful for the care and support they have provided over the years!

We have been sending our kids here for the past few years. Both our kids love this place and have…read moreenjoyed their time a lot. The director, Ms. Brianna, is very attentive to all matters. All of the teachers are very sweet towards the kids. Especially, Ms. Sonia and Ms. Paola(Pea) have been very kind to take care of our kid especially with potty training. Definitely recommend this place.

I would highly recommend the Snapology workshops. Once my little son started working on the…read moreprojects, I literally could not get him to stop. He absolutely loved it. This is great because he was also learning important Science concepts without realizing it. In addition, it will help children develop their critical thinking and imagination and advance from basic concepts to more complex ones as they progress through the workshops. My only regret is that they didn't have programs like this when I was growing up!

I visited Snapology today for the first time with my son. He really had a great time playing with…read morethe legos and other activities they had. It was a very fun place to visit and enjoy some nice indoor family playtime!

We initially inquired about this daycare because of its strong reviews and because they participate…read morein TEFA, which gave us the impression that they support inclusivity for children with disabilities and different learning needs. During our first tour, I shared with the owner how excited I was about the possibility of enrolling my son because the facility appeared clean, organized, and well-run. She proudly showed us their awards, but the conversation later shifted to discussing another parent's issues with their child biting staff members. Personally, I felt uncomfortable hearing details about another family's situation, especially without hearing both sides. Later, I explained that my son has a disability and that we were approved for TEFA funding. I shared that he is speech delayed and somewhat behind academically. I also explained that he previously attended a private Catholic school that requested a one-on-one aide, although his IEP team did not recommend one. We are transferring him because we cannot afford the cost of a one-on-one aide on top of tuition. I also clarified that while he has a medical condition, he has not been diagnosed with autism or ADHD, and evaluations from neurology, ABA, and neuropsychology specialists did not indicate autism. I explained that the academic expectations at his previous school were simply not the right fit for him, and that we believed a more play-based environment would better support his development and learning style. However, during this discussion, the owner repeatedly emphasized how advanced their standards were and mentioned that many of their 4-year-olds already know how to read. Unfortunately, the tone of the conversation made me feel less reassured about how welcoming or supportive the environment would be for children with developmental differences or disabilities. What stood out even more to me was the reaction when I mentioned that we had received TEFA funding that would cover the full school year. The owner immediately asked how much funding we received. After I told her the amount, her eyes widened, and she became noticeably quiet while pulling out a calculator and computing the yearly total. That interaction made me uncomfortable and gave the impression that the financial aspect became more important than understanding my child's actual needs. Because of these concerns, I began having second thoughts about enrolling my son and asked for the payment to be placed on hold while my husband scheduled a second tour. Within two days, we were informed that the slot for the next school year had already been filled. What was frustrating was that instead of directly informing us that no spots were available, we were still asked to work around their schedule for another tour. I was also told that I had "cancelled," when I had clearly requested that enrollment simply be put on hold while we made a final decision as a family. Afterward, I also came across other reviews from parents who felt their children with disabilities were treated differently. Reading those experiences made our interaction feel even more concerning. It also made me question how genuine some of the positive reviews are, because our experience was very different from what was portrayed online. I cannot say whether reviews are incentivized, but it did leave me wondering if discounts, perks, or other incentives may influence some of the overwhelmingly positive feedback. I truly hope this daycare reflects on what inclusivity really means. Participating in programs like TEFA should involve genuinely welcoming and supporting children with different needs, not just meeting requirements on paper.

Our son has been going to The Learning Experience at Hutto since 2022. We love his teachers! His…read morecurrent teacher is Ms. Yolanda. She always has updates for us on how he is doing whenever we asked. He enjoys this center.

UPDATE: Got a call from the manager of the camp at Twin Lakes and he was very nice and apologetic…read moreand promised to give me a refund for the concession money we put in my kid's account. Apparently the sky trail concession stand was closed (but yet they still had it included in the email to send money for your campers!?) He also promised to send me an email with his direct contact info so if I decided to give the camp another try, I could get ahold of him since the camp director never bothered to respond to me. Well, I never heard back from him and I didn't get that promised refund! I called a week later and he processed the refund and offered to send me that email. I told him this was very bad business and now my daughter definitely wouldn't be coming back. He didn't really care and gave the excuse that they have 600 kids coming through the camp each week and he was so busy. It would have taken him no more than 5 minutes to make this right and refund my money. When a place can't handle the lowest level of customer care and business, I'm definitely not going to trust my child to be in their care. We were so excited to try out YMCA Twin Lakes this year because we have only heard amazing things. Unfortunately, our experience was NOT amazing. It would have been salvageable if my concerns were answered and addressed but it's been over two weeks now and the director has yet to call or email me back. I called twice, texted once, and emailed twice. If I can't get ahold of a camp director with issues, it does not make me feel comfortable having my child in their care. We did a "cake decorating" camp and the first day they used markers to color a worksheet with a cupcake on it. Pretty lame but thought maybe they didn't have much time the first day. Second day, they used mashed potatoes to practice piping icing. Third day, air clay sculpting. They didn't end up actually touching real cake and icing until Thursday and Friday. The camp just didn't deliver on the magical cake decorating experice we were expecting. All could have also been forgiven if they could have been doing some of the amazing activities provided on campus. My camper struggled with the heat, long lines and ultimately, running out of time for activities and not getting a turn. They also only got into the water twice the whole 5 HOT days. Very disappointed with the camp but even more disappointed that I reached out with concerns and they never bothered to answer. There are too many amazing camps in Austin to bother with one that doesn't seem to care or acknowledge that they dropped the ball on this camp. To make matters even more frustrating, we recieved an email with a link to put money on our kid's account to buy popsicles, gatorade and snacks throughout the day. I put $10 on my kid's account and she was never afforded the opportunity to even visit the snack shop while at camp! It's non-refundable and I reached out to also request a refund and have yet to hear back on that as well. Couldn't recommend it to anyone.

so fun I loved hanging out with friends the counselers were really kind and food was goodread more

We're so grateful for our son's experience at Goddard. Miss Karla and Miss Liz are both incredible…read moreteachers who love their students, and the individual attention paid to our son is amazing! Our son has excelled in his development since attending Goddard. The facility is well maintained and they offer great opportunities for the facility.

So much can change in just a few months, and we are feeling extra grateful today for the incredible…read moreteachers at The Goddard School of Round Rock. ​Watching my youngest reach so many developmental leaps in the infant room has been such a joy. A huge thank you to Ms. Bri for providing such a safe, nurturing environment where those "firsts" are celebrated every single day. ​At the same time, seeing my Pre-K child's love for learning take flight has been amazing. Ms. Marquita, thank you for making the classroom a place of discovery and fun. Hearing about all the new things learned at school is always the highlight of our day! ​We are so lucky to have this team in our corner.