We are HUGE fans of Monkey Business Camp (MBC) and are excited to share our enthusiasm with the…read moreYelp community here. Our daughter (now age 6) started attending this year, and our son (now age 12) started attending when he was 6. For the past 2 years, he has not attended as a "Camper", but as a "Counselor-in-Training" (CIT)... a sort of junior internship role that MBC has created to train select children who are fans of the program and who demonstrate aptitude for serving as a Counselor (formal, paid role) at some point in the future. For him, this role has allowed him to develop and hone his leadership skills (drawing heavily on skills he developed in scouting), and he loves serving as a mentor to the younger kids who are the Campers. He exudes pride and commitment to the role, and that makes us as parents proud as well. For our daughter, she is completely immersed in the curriculum and talks about it over dinner each night when she returns. For both kids, they are genuinely excited to get out the door in the morning and get to camp... it is an organic kind of excitement... not anything that we push. This is the best kind of inspiration and enthusiasm. And finally, for us as parents, we love how MBC immerses the Campers, the CITs, and their own staff members in the middle of nature (for the summer sessions) and in a school campus setting (for the winter sessions), completely without access to electronic devices. "Device detox" is what we call it, and MBC's culture and curriculum are so effective that the kids don't even seem to miss the devices. I can scarcely believe the words I am writing here, but this is a true statement. Finally, we must commend the MBC staff... from the founder all the way down to the senior and junior leaders... for their intuitive ability to excite and inspire children with a captivating, engaging curriculum that nourishes the mind and body. MBC is everything a camp should be. This is why it is a Berkeley/East Bay institution for childcare and early childhood development. If any of what I've written here aligns with your own philosophy, then don't hesitate... enroll your child(ren) in MBC. It will make a lasting and positive impact on everyone in your family!

Monkey Business has become a can't-miss annual tradition for my two kids, who have attended the…read morecamp every summer for the past 6 years (and once during winter break). Both started as campers. For the past 3 years, my older child has been a CIT. A couple of years ago, they got in the car at the end of the day, sun kissed and happy as can be, and explained that Monkey Business is like a little world unto itself. No screens, excellent support and community building, lots of fun songs and games, and always, always great vibes. The CIT experience for my older child has been just right in terms of the balance between responsibility and fun. In our experience, A+ summer camp!

Best summer camp experience I could hope for my child who is now a counselor there. It was one of…read morethe best choices I've made as a parent.

A couple of my friends moved to Madison, Wisconsin this year and they said there is only one thing…read morethe kids really miss in Berkeley, and that is Camp Kee Tov. My daughter and two of her friends from her school are so excited to be going to camp here this year. They have so much fun everyday! If I was a kid again, I would beg my parents to send me to Camp Kee Tov too.

Camp Chrysalis is an incredible camp. The director Lee is very responsive and passionate about…read moreproviding a wonderful experience to the kids who attend camp. It was my kids first time away from home & one of the first things they said when we picked them up after a week long camp was that they would love to go back next year, no hesitation. They are still singing the songs that they learned and talking about the experience. It is obvious that the staff love what they do and outdoor adventures are an integral part of their lives.

My teen and pre-teen had the time of their lives backpacking and swimming in mountain lakes during…read morethis year's Sierra Session. It was a TON of fun. So many lakes to swim in and so many nights solely amongst the trees and the stars. They made new friends and reunited with old ones from the previous year (pre-pandemic). Many counselors and trip leaders attended Chrysalis as youngsters and have astonishingly returned. It says a lot about the camp, its director Lee Tempkin, and the warm, nurturing, exciting and educational environment they create. Two of my youngest children also attended the Mendocino Session in 2019, their first time away from home. Well, truth be told, I am not sure they missed us *too* much with all the adventures and friendships to be had! Everyone helped prepare and cook meals. The also learned to work in teams around camp. Real world lessons. Swimming, hiking, canoing, catamaran sailing, tidepooling and even rollicking in the sand dunes... wow! This is a *real* adventure and a *real* experience. It is tent camping in a base camp and exploring the wonder that surrounds. Awesome fun and creative activities abound. Nature at its best, making epic summer memories.

Victoria and her crew are so great with the kids. Our kids had a blast and definitely hope to come…read moreback again. They also gained lots of confidence on the water and paddling skills. Thank you Victoria and team!

Working at Gaia Guides Kids Camp is hands down the best way to spend a summer! During the school…read moreyear, I teach art and yoga, so getting outside and exploring the Bay with a bunch of energetic, curious kids is such a refreshing change of pace. There's nothing like teaching them how to paddle or kayak and seeing their faces light up when they get the hang of it--or when they inevitably start a splash fight! This job is the perfect mix of fun, nature, and getting kids to unplug and just be kids. Whether we're paddling, playing games, or just soaking up the outdoors, it's so cool to watch them connect with the world around them and with each other. If you love working with kids and want to spend your summer outside (seriously, what's better than sunshine and water?), Gaia Guides is the place to be. Every day feels like an adventure, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

My family loves Mountain Camp and it's the highlight of my children's summer. My 13-year old…read moredaughter has attended for 4 years and my 9-year old son attended for the first time this year. Both my children have severe, epi-pen level food allergies (to peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, legumes, soy milk and egg). Mountain Camp is the only camp that was willing to take on my children for two weeks and have a detailed allergy protocol in place. In advance of camp, I communicate with the culinary team to understand the menu for the session (they have a wide variety of food from around the world and different lunches and dinners every day). I partner closely with the wonderful chef and kitchen team to ensure the menu is safe for my kids (and I bring replacements for items which are not). I trust the team completely and my daughter reports that they are the safest camp she has been to (she has been to sleep away camp in Switzerland, Austria, New Zealand and in school outdoor education camps in California). Both my daughter and son have a warm relationship with the chef and go to her directly, most often for second servings! We have not had any incidents and the camp is incredibly responsive in our experience. We are grateful to Mountain Camp for their kindness, diligence and the magic that makes this summer camp so special for all the campers. See you next year!

This is the second year my child attended Mountain camp. She has food allergies and the first year,…read moreout of an abundance of caution, I sent her with food just in case she felt she could not eat the food served. Turns out she did not need the food. Bolstered by this positive result, we did not send her with food this year. Yesterday, two days before she was scheduled to return home, I received a call that my daughter self administered her Epi pen after consuming an allergen. My husband and I raced two hours to meet my daughter at the ER in Placerville and decided to bring her home, letting the staff know of our decision. The following day, after leaving an email, voice mail and text, the camp director finally called us mid afternoon. Apparently a health emergency does not warrant a before noon check in. I confirmed my daughter's recollection, that their head kitchen staff gave my daughter a gluten free cookie, insisting it was free of egg, the item she is severely allergic to. My daughter, having been raised to be overly cautious, asked the staff member twice to check and confirm. The staff member insisted it was safe and did not bother to check. My daughter ate the cookie, suffering an allergic reaction within seconds. She travelled with a counselor and a nurse to the ER and waited for us to arrive. That she was scared is an understatement. Mountain camp is a beautiful camp staffed by well meaning people. They are not, however, capable of ensuring your child's safety when it comes to food allergies. The camp was well aware of my daughter's allergies. She was the only one at the session that they had to show special concern. The head kitchen staff member selected a cookie that looked identical to the safe cookie, but never bothered to double check that she had made the right choice. In fact, the cookie was correctly labeled as gluten free but not vegan, which should have been the tip off. Her carelessness led to a medical emergency for my daughter one which was completely avoidable. After discussing further with the camp director, it became doubly clear that they have ineffective policies in place and no redundancy. They have no business claiming that they are safe for campers with food allergies if they can't even be trusted to double check. My daughter trusted the staff member as she would an aunt or other family adult friend. Despite her positive experience in other aspects of the camp, we will not return. I do not advise other parents with food allergic children to have them attend unless you have confirmed that they have out in place basic safety and redundancy protocols for their camp, including staff training. Even then I would think twice or encourage against it.

My two girls went to A World of Peace since they were 7 years old until they became teens. This…read morecamp is a gem in a busy and congested city. Kids spent most of the day in the Cordonices Park, around nature. They cook, play, go on field trips and do some awesome arts. Karen Cagan has been running this camp for more than 20 years. She knows every kid and is aware of their well-being. This camp is affordable and flexible. We love to support small business like this, totally recommend to everyone! Check her Instagram account for videos and photos! @awop.karen.cagan

I have two kid's, a boy and a girl, who have been going to A World of Peace Summer Day Camp for 8…read moreyears, and love it. It's in a beautiful location, out of the hustle and bustle of city life, my kids have made priceless memories here! The director has a really good feel for who to hire for counselors, and always has staff that are really committed, and attentive to the needs of the camper's. There are always really fun projects for the camper's to participate in, and the field trips have been a big hit. The safety of the camper's is clearly a priority for the camp, both emotional and physical safety and I have always felt comfortable that my kid's were being well taken care, on many levels.

Junior Leadership was a disaster from the jump. There is no actual leadership training at the…read moreJunior Leadership camp. It is just paying for the opportunity to help the actual paid leaders do their job so they apparently don't have to anymore and otherwise perform grunt work. I get it, that's entry level, but there should be some leadership learning opportunities as well, and there was NONE. As my son put it, "how am I supposed to know what to do when I don't know what I'm doing?" Additionally, the Junior Leadership camp was advertised as being an opportunity to learn about all the camps, including hiking days, rock climbing days, and aquatic days. There was ONLY aquatic. The advertised variety of activities and learning opportunities was a complete lie. I reached out to Lauren Gregory, the director of the camp, on day 2 because our expectations were not even close to being met. She didn't respond to two emails, and it was only when I registered a complaint that I actually heard back from her. Her response was a long-winded nothing of an answer, and my follow-up also went ignored. My son was really excited about this camp and the chance to learn more about leadership and take on more responsibility, but it was a complete disappointment and Lauren Gregory is a disgrace.

The group leader was hired 6 months before camp started. No personal touch. No one cares.read more

We love love love Coastal camp. The kids have been going since it started operating post Covid and…read moreit remains one of their favorite summer camps. The activities become more fun as the kids grow, the quality of the teachers and staff remains extremely high. The kids love taking the bus from/to the Presidio, they enjoy hiking, sailing, learning about ocean life and nature in general, and they learn to appreciate nature so much. They look up to park rangers and come home with advice on what to do to preserve nature. I highly recommend this camp to anyone who appreciates the outdoors and frankly to anyone who needs to learn more about nature, which is the majority of people, especially people who live in the city.

This is January 2010 and I stumbled across Jody's July 2009 review of the Coastal Camp. I had or…read moreshould I say , my nephew from Europe had a great time in the summer of 2009 ( same month as Jody's child). For a non- English speaking kid, and trying to pick up the language, he still had a great time with all the activities ( Ocean Explorers). He has asked me to enroll him again this coming summer. The only comment I share with Jody is the need to increase the staff by 1/3 for the volume of children attending. I'll feel better if they did so. Maybe that's what Jody meant by lack of supervision. My girlfriend enrolled her young children in the Call for the Wild program. They spent a night in the "Wild" and still recall their memorable night outdoor.