My daughter 7yo, did the camp in the sarataga area. She had a great time partner on with older kids and learning core civic and urban planning concepts. She builds Lego sets in her free time, so it was good to see her apply these concepts. I would recommend this to my circle. read more

My almost-8yo has done camps here multiple times. He loves solving urban planning problems with Legos. He always makes new friends, gets to collaborate a ton and it is a great outlet for his creativity as well! Highly recommend this place! read more

This is our second year at this camp and our 7 year old loves it! They learn about sustainability and building cities, being citizens and community members, elections and they are creative and stimulated all day long. They go to the park for lunch which is a nice break but they really enjoy the LEGO building and learning about how communities are planned, built and run. Highly recommend! All the teachers are amazing and so good with the kids. They present their cities on the last day of camp. read more

My 6yr old loves lego! after reading so many raving reviews, i signed him up for a week of summer camp in July. He came home distressed after the first day and told me that the place is very crowded and felt unease about going for the rest of the week. I decided to respect his decision as the camp is mostly indoor. I emailed Kidizen and requested cancellation and a refund after the first day of camp. A lady did call me back and promised a refund. I followed up on the refund status multiple times but didn't see the refund. it's now 2 months after. read more

This was a great camp for our 6 and almost 9 year old girls. They asked to go back every week next summer. All the counselors were great- but a special shout out to Donald!!! We appreciated his energy, enthusiasm, communication and every day providing a stimulating and fun experience for the kids! The camp also took the kids on a walk to the nearest park where they ate outside then played. The daily email summaries and pictures and videos sent to us were a blast to read and see! This camp was the full package - thank you Kidizens! read more

This camp is hands-down my son's favorite camp. He's done five sessions now over the three summers. To understand what this is -- it's not simply a "lego-themed camp." It's much more. What the kids do is basically SIM-city, with legos. Their goal is to build a city, and they must think about what a city needs: hospitals, schools, fire department, police department, a way of making money, stores, entertainment, etc. But there are limitations too, as they have to "pay" for whatever they build. Overnight, there are frequently natural disasters, like fires and earthquakes. So the city needs to be prepared for these things. To make things more interesting, the counselors often set up scenario where cities will benefit from working together. For example, they could share an airport, potentially. Or if one city has a fire, another city could negotiate to use their fire fighters to put out the other city's fire. In the process, the kids also learn about what cities need, governments, the legal system (mayors sometimes get "sued" in the camp!), etc. I've found it's stimulated conversations at home too, like about *why* cities need public schools. The camp does a good job of scaling things for different kid's abilities. When kids are younger / less experienced, the focus will be more linear -- you need to get X, Y, and Z. But as kids can handle more complexity, the complexity of their problems will increase too. For instance, my son's city got into a situation where their city overbuilt and was in debt -- with the hope that their investments would eventually pay off. But then their city got sued by the townspeople for running out of money. Kidizens isn't just a great camp in terms of fun (and, yes, my son absolutely loves the camp). It's clearly the most important activity from an SEL perspective. It is basically hours and hours of collaboration with your teammates, dealing with different people's preferences and different tradeoffs. This is a fabulous camp for any kid who likes legos and building. It also works well for kids who might not like traditional rah-rah camps. If you can, I think it's great to sign your kid up with a friend. But if they don't have a friend they can go with, they will be partnered up with someone else in the camp. read more

Fantastic camp for our 9 year old son. He's learning about civics, problem solving, and working in groups. Each camper is mayor of their Lego City - building, solving problems, responding to crises (floods!, garbage storms!), building out critical infrastructure (water, emergency services), etc. Donald, the instructor, is a wonderful teacher. Can't recommend highly enough. They offer online camps during COVID that work very well. read more

Kidizens - Mobile hotel - Specialty Schools Near Me - Los Altos, California

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We drive all the way from East San Jose foothills to get to the Los Altos location because we love the program. My kids attended the homeschool classes and it covers political governance, history and sometimes science. When we had to switch to online classes, they did it quite quickly when SIP started, and the teacher, Mr. Donald Woodson who is always been a great teacher, really shines. Donald is very patient, makes the kids feel heard and is encouraging. The online projects were fun for the kids to do and present. We've done this program three times and the kids always learn something new. read more

Kidizens is a after-school specialty program that teaches kids how to think, cooperate, solve problems and become good citizens. It teaches them something that isn't covered in much detail any more, Civics. At Kidizens, the children use Legos to make an imaginary community. They start by creating a house, then they engage in various play scenarios to decide how they want their community to be. They decide what the rules are, and how to solve problems, like how to provide food for their community, or what to do when there is a fire. It is a kind of simulation game, but instead of being in some virtual computer world, the kids are making a community in real (imaginary) life, and interacting with each other. There is a teacher / facilitator, but the children make all the rules and decisions through a participatory process. They learn about government, economics, personal decisions (like budgeting their allowance of Legos), and many other lessons. Kidizens uses Legos, but it's really about the interactive social play. If your kid like Legos, they will have fun. If your kid is more into Playmobil, they will love Kidizens! If your kid is a thinker and a problem solver, then they won't be able to get enough of it. My daughter is in the second grade, and she absolutely loves it.. She is very creative, and loves art, but she gave up her art class to go to Kidizens. She loves Playmobil, and Kidizens really engages that sort of creative / scenario play. She is also fond of Legos, but she wanted me to tell you that it isn't just a Legos program. She thinks girls will like it, becuase it isn't about star-wars (like a lot of Lego games). You actually get to make something, and create an entire world! Wikipedia says that "Civics is the study of the rights and duties of citizenship. In other words, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens as opposed to external factors in the operation and oversight of government. Civics refers to educating the citizens about the concepts of right and justice and ethics in public life". Kidizens seeks to do this in a fun, creative and age appropriate way that lets the children explore possibilities for themselves, and come to their own conclusions and solutions, without any preconcieved notion of what "the answer" or "best way" should be. Most of all, it's fun. The kids who do it enjoy it, and can't get enough of it. The children are playing together, and at the same time learning important life lessons. NOTE: There are two locations. This review is based on the new Belmont location, but the comments apply to the program as a whole. read more

We had my daughters 9th birthday celebration here. We learned about Kidizens from fellow homeschoolers who highly recommended their online classes. My daughter LOVED these classes and looked forward to them every week. When it came time to have a small birthday gathering, we knew exactly where we wanted to celebrate. We chose a Mine Craft theme and brought our food and the cake and left the rest to Kidizens. Donald led the kids in building a Mine Craft village and the kids not only enjoyed building the village they loved Donald and the way he engaged them, and really, he just knows legos and how to teach kids. It lasted for two hours, and when it had to end, all the kids were bummed and didn't want to leave. I would say that's a good sign! I appreciated the flexibility they offered, and the fact that other than the food, they handled everything. I highly recommend Kidizens, not just for birthdays but also their classes. read more

My son absolute loved the 3-day online mayors camp! I was so impressed with the counselor my son had (Donald). I often overheard him asking the kids great questions to prompt their creativity and civic responsibilities. He even gave us a daily recap by email and photo collage at the end. Really looking forward to our next chance to do another Kidizens camp! read more

We had a birthday party for our son at Kidizens. This is a two hour event. The idea of a Lego party is great. Especially when kids are instructed and learn something new, something they can't readily come up with playing on their own. Unfortunately, the instructional component was entirely missing. After an introduction (going over the rules and schedule) the kids were left to their own devices. The instructor was entirely disengaged and worked on his own project at his desk. Thankfully, a couple of parents stayed and helped to the younger kids. I am not sure if the lack of instruction was by the design or mismanagement. We were under the impression, based on the website, that the interactive experience was supposed to be the entire point of this business. Otherwise, we have enough Lego sets in our house to entertain a group of 11 kids. read more

Outstanding instruction. The kids learn to work together to solve problems and create different structures for their city. The instructors are so patient and kind. This class is amazing. read more

My son attends the young Kidizens after-school on Wednesdays. It's the highlight of his week and looks forward to it every week. I appreciate that they do building skills and city planning lessons too. It's enough time to go do errands and come back. We signed him up for the day camp when school was out too and he absolutely loved it. read more

The LEGO Mayors camp was fantastic. Instructors were very engaging and communicative. The process of registration and administration before the camp was seamless. read more

This was the favorite summer camp for both my sons (9 and 6 years old) - and they've been to a variety of summer camps! They were excited to see what happened to their cities overnight and then plan and build things to make their cities better. read more

Alex and Fiona did such a magnificent job with my son. He came in full of ideas, prepared to steam roll anyone to get them heard. Alex lovingly and patiently 1) positively recognized all that my son wanted to bring to the group 2) understood his intellect and passion and 3) realized that my son didn't know how to best make his ideas heard let alone be chosen. Slowly and intentionally, Alex guided my son to a place where he could see his ideas, share his ideas and build his ideas. Because of our semester at Kidizens, my son has now begun to develop the skills necessary to build and enjoy several other parts of his life. I am so grateful! We will be back for summer camp: fulfilling my son's wish that Kidizens could be more than just one day a week. read more

Kidizens is an excellent homeschool and after-school civics class/program that uses Lego as the medium for helping children understand what a city needs, how a city grows, and the processes that go into founding and running a city. My son just finished his second semester there and it has been a wonderful experience for him. He's grown so much over the past year and I think a large part of that has been this class. He took the homeschool Monday morning class and it's been his favorite thing every week. Every Friday he's been excited - not because the weekend was coming - but because Monday was close. The class - and the city the class has built over the months - is over now, and my son is sad. But far better to have a wonderful thing end than to never have had it at all. If your children love Lego and love scenarios, then this is the place to bring them. read more

My son celebrated his 7 year birthday in Kidizens at Los Altos location and when I asked my birthday boy which part of the party he likes more - he said "All!!" :) I definitely will recommend Kidizens birthday parties to my friends. The party was organized very well, nothing was unpredictable: I had quick response on my booking request by email, I got all information I needed, all answers were fast and informative. I asked some photos of goodie bags to decide would we order them or not, and received the photos very fast. I like, that I might bring my food and cake. My son likes Bionicle's but there was no such theme in the list, so Birthday Party Coordinator Stephen suggested to mix Bionicle and StarWars themes that was very good idea because StarWars was more popular among invited friends. I like Los Altos location - big windows on two walls, a lot of colorful Lego bricks, enough place for playing and for pizza and cake - great place especially in rainy winter months. And, yes, they have very good price for 2 hours long party! read more

Kidizens - Birthday Party - a lot of fun! :) - Specialty Schools Near Me - Los Altos, California

Today my son came home from Kidizens summer camp with a head injury. He fell back on his head and hit it on the floor. His skull is sore and he has a red bruise. The camp did not call us, email us or otherwise let us know what happened. When I arrive at drop off, two of the three counselors are lounging on a couch, completely disinterested in the children and talking to each other. My son has yet to eat his lunch: apparently he goes to the park where they have lunch, and plays instead of eating. Surely they could structure lunch so the kids have some focused eating time not distracted by play. We will not enroll again. I am totally not impressed. Overpriced and poorly run. read more

My son applied for a job as a counselor after his sophomore year in high school and received a verbal offer from the owner. He was asked to come and help clean up on a weekend before his start day and he did. The owner called Sunday night and told my son she did not need him that week and she will follow up with him. She never called him back. He attempted to contact her for more information but she never returned his calls. I found this act to be unprofessional. Also she is the adult here. A 16 year old boy learned a lesson of never trusting a verbal agreement and to never apply for a job that pays under the table. I would not recommend this operation to anyone's child based on the owner's moral values. read more

My son attended a week long winter camp at Kidizens and absolutely loved it. He couldn't wait to get up everyday to go to Kidizens. He spent the whole week thinking about the town he was building, how to make it better, how to attract more citizens, etc. He was learning about what it takes to create a community, the politics of a city as well as having a great time building and interacting with his team! I highly recommend this program and we will definitely be back again! read more

I really wanted to do a birthday party here for my son, but they can't seem to call or email back. And then, when they do, they expect you to pick a date that is just ~one week to ten days away. No one can send out invitations that close to the day of the party and expect anyone to come. I think kidizens is a fantastic idea, and I would really like to solicit their services, but they make it impossible. read more

This is my 8 year old son's favorite camp! He's been to multiple locations including los altos and Belmont and loves them all. In addition to building with legos, he really enjoys learning about city planning, managing his budget and most of all, building super cool and elaborate lego cities! Highly recommend! read more

We had both our kids, age 8 and 10, on the Young Mayor Camp in Palo Alto for one week. They have told me it has been the best camp ever. They learned so much, had so much fun. My son, age 10, told me he wish camp would last one year and not only one week. We are coming back next year, that is for sure. Thanks. read more

My son has been going to Kidizens since he started at last summer's camp. He is so engaged and happy to be there. I love watching the interaction the kids have with each other and the great guidance they get from the dedicated teachers. He's learning so much about how a city gets planned, infrastructure, city council, and iterative processes. There's a lot of team work and collaboration in a positive environment. He's learning without realizing it while having a blast and we're very happy he goes. Thank you Kidizens! read more

My 9 year old son loves it here. He's been to a couple of short spring/winter camps and he's been coming for a weeklong camp in his first week of summer for the past 3 years. The place is small, so it can get a bit hectic when all the kids are in there with their lego creations, but overall no complaints. read more

My two boys, ages 9 & 10, just completed their first Kidizens program. Both of them absolutely loved the class. We are homeschoolers and this class was, by far, their favorite. What a great civics class! read more

My son had a wonderful time on his birthday! He was very happy to be able to build a super hero city with his friends (with lots of jails for villains)! Stephen and John are great with kids and very professional. They did all the setup and cleaning, it was minimum work for me. I also liked how easy it was to plan it, as I have a full time job, so I really appreciate the stress free planning! read more

My son's 10th birthday party with robotic race cars theme was a big hit. We had invited 9 of his good friends and everyone had a great time making their race cars from legos and rotobic engines. Steven was very helpful to all the kids as they tried to engineer their mobile creations and also accommodating to us parents as we prepped the cake and food. We would definitely recommend this for kids who are into engineering and legos. Most parents of our son's friends were also appreciative that their kids were doing something educational as well as very FUN. read more

This is an amazing after-school and summer-camp program for children. They also cater to home-schoolers. It is the one camp that my children ask to take over and over again. Last year they asked me to take it three different weeks during the summer and I signed them up for two months. They asked me again this summer and they are doing the camp again. Kidizens makes learning about the way societies work and how government functions and they do so in a natural way. The children learn the role of local governments through events that occur in the cities that they build out of Legos. I have two children - one that loves Legos and one that could not care less, and both of them love the camp. They have different classes for different age-groups and I highly recommend Kidizens for anyone that has children in the 5-12 age-group. They also do fabulous birthday parties and have three locations - Los Altos/Palo Alto, Belmont & Saratoga. read more