I've been to a lot of gyms in the Twin Cities, and the YMCA Ridgedale genuinely stands out. The…read morefacility is clean, organized, and never feels chaotic -- even during peak hours. Parking is easy, which already sets it apart from most places in the area. The equipment is well-maintained, with plenty of machines and free weights so you're not waiting around. The staff is friendly, welcoming, and always ready to help without being pushy. The locker rooms are spotless, with good showers and enough space, which makes getting in and out smooth. What I really appreciate is how family-friendly the whole place is. The kids' areas, classes, and pool setup make it a great option if you're trying to balance fitness and family time. It's hard to find a gym that truly gets both right -- but this one does. Overall, this YMCA is consistently reliable, clean, and well-run. Whether you're working out, taking classes, or bringing the kids, it's one of the best community gyms in the area. Highly recommend.

I am a new member of the YMCA and love visiting. The variety of exercise classes available allows…read moreme to always have a plan for my workout and never need to venture into free weights or the treadmill area. I love the sense of community at this location and, like I said, the extensive group fitness classes. One feature I really love about this location is Kid's Stuff! Caretakers can bring their children here for some childcare while they work out, take a shower, or generally have a break from childcare. The parking lot is great, it's an easy location to get to, the facilities are clean, the staff is inviting. I love the Y!

It was a really bad first daycare experience. They were not child-focused, family-compassionate,…read morecommunity-oriented or organized. They treated our family with very little regard. For a center that advertises working with each child based on their unique needs and welcoming communication with parents... They fell way short. Red flags started during the paperwork process: contracts stated different things than what they told us. This included a much higher daycare price and a large yearly fee they never told us about. No explanation was given for major inconsistencies. Our toddler had a hard time transitioning into this daycare, struggled more than other kids. Her demeanor changed drastically within days, and it concerned us. On day two, they shared that their strategies did not work on her. They had no other plans to support her. They asked us to pick her up hours early daily due to her crying. We agreed to do so. We never got access to teachers so we cannot speak about the teachers. Only access to the daycare head. We had to repeatedly, kindly ask for school info they sent other parents and didn't send us. We tried to ease our toddler's transition from home, wanted to help her understand what was happening and who her teachers are but couldn't because we didn't have basic info, not even teacher names. They eventually sent us some (not all) of the info, but seemed inconvenienced. We worked with what we had. They did not seem interested in learning much about our kiddo or taking a unique child-centered approach. They did a cry it out method, leaving her to stand alone at the door for hours by herself. Our child became somber and looked defeated. It broke our hearts. Getting dressed in the morning resulted in panic and crying. She became terrified of leaving the house, even to play. This was not normal. On Friday morning, I informed the school we would be a little late because she was having another tough morning. They did not care and would not take her after the 9:00am exact cut off. I found this to be unreasonable when they knew she was struggling and asked us to accommodate them picking up hours early daily. But they wouldn't accommodate even being minutes late. Corporate rules came before child needs. I messaged them that I was losing trust in their willingness to work with us to help my struggling child. The lead of the center called and claimed I called her and her staff "not human". The texts show that never happened. It was about having a human-centered, child-centered approach to my child, but she made it about herself. The conversation was not child-focused at all. She spoke down to us: accused me of expecting her to tend to me all day every day. Accused our family of expecting special treatment. Said she didn't have time for basic admin tasks even though that's her job. Gaslighted me: said she sent teacher names in the welcome packet. Acted like I was overly demanding for wanting info. We checked our emails, we never got a welcome packet. We were just a family new to daycare with a struggling child, wanting to know who her teachers were and other basic info, wanting to support our kiddo. It wasn't an unreasonable ask. It was info they already sent other parents but resisted sending us. She painted us as a demanding, difficult family instead. Our child did nothing wrong but the daycare lead suggested that we withdraw her. We took her up on this offer.  Our parent friends were shocked hearing our experience, never saw this in their daycares. A child social worker expert & friend said my child's reaction was concerning and should have been taken more seriously by the daycare. Don't know if they are understaffed or mismanaged. Don't know if she treats other families this way or if she just had something against us. She didn't even know us. We left after the first week. Though they did not care how this affected our child, we do. She has trauma-like symptoms now. We are undoing the harm with intention and care, she is slowly thriving again. We wish we paid attention to the red flags in the beginning. Stay away from here if you want a child-centered, family-friendly, compassionate, culturally-competent, noncorporate experience.

La Petite Academy is a great daycare. My daughter who was in the infants and toddlers right now…read moreloves going here, the teachers are amazing, I can say my daughter has learned a lot from here. I will never remove my daughter from this wonderful daycare.

I had my second year here at Camp Courage for Muscular Dystrophy camp. The kids love it!…read more There is fishing and a campfire and the food is amazing for a buffet! They also have horses the kids can feed and all of the staff is spectacular. The cabins sleep at least 20 and are fully stocked with a refrigerator, coffee machine, microwave and all handicapped accessable. The lake is beautiful and stocked with fish for the kids. There is also a zip-line and ropes course and an arts and crafts building and nurses lodging. It is a wonderful respite for kids and I think a lot of organizations use it as well. I look forward to coming here to help out the kids.

As a child, I had speech therapy at one of their camps for two and a half weeks for two summers…read more This camp had a few speech clinicians on site, one or two campers met with them an hour a day on weekdays. On weekends the us campers can choose to go on outings: such as canoeing, horseback riding, and other activities. The counselors and other staff kept all of us campers busy with fun activities including: swimming lessons, gym time, arts and crafts, nature activities, walks, bbqs, games, boat rides, fishing, and visiting the library at camp. The camp had a farm with horses and other animals us campers can pet, feed, and ride.

We've had two children attend Tutor Time and have really loved the feeling of community provided by…read morethe staff. The security of live stream video in the classrooms was one of the original factors that attracted us to the school.

Tutor Time was initially a great place for our infant and he was there for 3 years before we…read moredecided to leave. As an infant, moving infant, toddler, & 2 year old there had been regular activities & lesson plans covering science, basic math, sensory tables, ABCs, etc. There were quarterly conferences with the parents/guardians. About a year ago, multiple long time teachers left for other jobs & after this, the classrooms became overcrowded, unqualified people were hired, and lesson plans along with conferences ceased to exist. Our son came home multiple times angry, sad, & with bite marks. Despite asking for more information about what we could do to improve his life there or what seemed to be causing his big emotions, nothing changed & we were just told "this is normal behavior". The director promised to look into the lack of lesson plans & all they did was document the morning story time. The rest of the day was unstructured. Our son didn't want to go there anymore despite his friendships with his very good friends because there was no consistency with who was in charge in his room. There were different teachers & aides every day. When we decided to leave, we told him it was because he is a big kid now & big kids go to new schools. However, one of his teachers at Tutor Time told him he was leaving to go to a school "to teach him how to behave" 2 months ago, this location was under a DHS investigation for a restricted disciplinary act against a child. I also witnessed & reported a new teacher screaming at 4 month old infants. Despite this, she was kept there for a few more weeks before she left. Our rate was increased multiple times per year all in the name of being able to hire better people, however, untrained people were consistently hired instead. The bright spots that Tutor Time has going for them are both Miss Brittany's, Miss Laurel, Miss Grace, and Miss Alison. They are wonderful human beings

I've been intrigued by the Paint Nite concept for a while now, and I'm glad I finally was able to…read moreexperience it. The first thing to know is DONT PAY FULL PRICE. These are always on sites like Groupon, and you can probably find coupon codes online for their website as well. The event I attended was at the Big Thrill Factory in Minnetonka, and due to the ambient noise from the rest of the building, I wouldn't highly recommend this venue. But the food looked good, and the wine/beer options were reasonable. There were parts of the instruction that I thought went too fast, and other parts that went way too slow. The beginning was a little stressful for me, in part bc I've never painted on canvas before. I am a pretty crafty person in general, but my skills are more from years of summer camp. Our instructor had music playing, and at times it was distracting and very loud. She also kept encouraging us to drink, which I didn't mind but I think some people will find excessive. Our instructor was cheerful, but there are things I think she should have repeated or emphasized more (like using a lot of water mixed with the paint for the first step, and how to do blending better. I have no idea how to do a lot of shading, or work with light) If the idea of painting appeals to you at all, I think you'd have a good time at a Paint Nite event, no matter what your skill level. I can see why some people go again and again! We were there for almost 2 1/2 hours. I wish she hadn't taken such a long break before the final part of the painting, bc I would have liked to stay longer to add more details during the last step, or allow parts of my canvas to dry before adding more things on top.

My cousin took me here for a my birthday gift. She got a Groupon deal, so there was some type of…read morediscount. Initially, we went online together to pick a date with a painting subject that we liked. I think it would be fun to paint with friends, but even better if I actually want to hang up the art piece on my wall! Paint Nite seems to hold all of their classes in restaurant party rooms. There were about 40 people in the class held at Andiamo in Apple Valley. We had our own server in the back private room for drinks or food. Drinking was encouraged, as that likely loosens up some of the anxious people who want to paint perfectly! People were encouraged to use their creative spirit and paint what they feel in the mood to make. Our instructor was named Lisa and she did a wonderful job. She took her time to go through the steps slowly, offered help as needed and had some music playing while the paint dried. Bring a few friends, have a wild time and go home with a handmade creation!

As far as price goes, SWLC is extremely affordable. But, on to the important stuff....We love…read moreeveryone there; they are just fantastic with our daughter and it is just a great all around environment. The staff is friendly, caring and they go out of their way when I've asked for switching days or an early drop-off. The teachers know all the kids, whether they are in their classroom or not and they all work really well together to take care of the kids' needs. There is an academic program also, so the kiddos get in some learning time as well as play. My daughter loves going and I love being able to relax knowing she is at such a great place!

From the owner: Small World is an affordable, licensed, accredited daycare center for Infants, Toddlers,…read morePreschoolers, Kindergartners and School Ages. Conveniently located near freeway 94 and Weaver Lake in Maple Grove. All of our facilities meet and exceed safety and health regulations. In addition our teachers are educated and experienced in early childhood teaching. At Small World our goal is to produce happy, intelligent, and well-adjusted children. Our services include: Infant Care Toddler Care Preschool Program ( Part Time and Full Time) Kindergarten Program Before and After School Age Program Summer Camps Bus Transportation To and From School and Field Trips Language development Activities Science & math Physical development Our Maple Grove location also serves, Osseo, Plymouth, Corcoran, St. Michael, Alberville, Dayton, Elk river communities.