Celebrating her 7th birthday my grandaughter was able to tap into her creative side and make two…read moremasterpieces with great pride! The encouragement and gentle leadership from Robin allowed us to share an experience that will surely be a core memory forever. I highly recommend Painted Penquin!!

Good place where you can take a stress off, enjoy the art that you make and feel comfortable. The…read morePainted Penguin at Water Tower Place it's for kids and grown-up have enough assortment of sculptures, nice paint material and friendly employees. I was excited to spend there are almost whole day and I made my beautiful sculpture:)

I just want to give Mr. Nick a big shout out! I have been coming with my 7 month old and it has…read morebeen such a wonderful time with her. It really is the highlight to our week. To watch her light up when being apart of such an inviting and upbeat atmosphere keeps me wanting to come back. Mr. Nick is an incredible musician. He knows how to bring all the parents and babies together with his songs, style and rhythm. My only hope is to have this on the weekends for when I have to go back to work!! Super grateful for this gem for families needing that community engagement for their little ones.

They offer Virtual Classes now! We are absolutely thrilled that we have been able to continue…read moretaking classes with Mr. Dave Music during the stay-at-home order in Illinois. Not to mention that now anyone, anywhere can take classes with Mr. Dave. Mr. Dave is just as great and engaging in the virtual classes as he is in person. The sound is really nice, the set is cute, and Mr. Dave has his animal "friends" there dancing along with us. There is a lot of active movement, which is great considering we are staying inside for much of the time. By the end of the class, we have danced, jumped, sang, done sign language, learned about instruments and animals and our ABCs and all kinds of things. The price point on the virtual classes is great and the times they offer are convenient. Can't wait to be back in the studio... but for now - we love the Mr. Dave Music 'Virtual Experience'!

I stumbled upon BCR and Miss Beth via the Chicago Public Library's Instagram and have been…read morefollowing her since. She offered a couple of short, in-person classes in February 2024 so I signed up and packed up the kiddo. Beth is kind, enthusiastic, and has a deep love of teaching and literacy that's palpable. My baby was about 7 months when we were going to this class so not super mobile but had fun with the song-singing and stories. I came away with some tips for how to help my daughter become a reader--or even before, to help teach literacy skills in a way that actually help children learn. I'm planning to purchase access to one of her online courses to continue learning the best way to guide my little one through her exploration of language. I also find the Instagram helpful for reinforcing best practices and educational content for me as a parent.

What a great group, can not say enough about the weekly virtual class with Ms Beth. Our daughter…read morelooks forward to class each week, even started to pull her tea set out while the stories are read. A full 30 min of reading, songs and stories made for a nice appointment during the week. Not only do the little ones benefit but they host a weekly parent night at 8 pm where the teachers go over tips for building good readers and language development. Take a look at the offerings they carry, there is bound to be something for your little reader.

All 3 of my kids have similar birthdays so my daughter has been sharing a bday party with my son…read morefor the past 3 years. When she declared she was getting her very own "super girly" party this year I suggested an American Girl (her current obsession) Tea Party. She loved the idea so I did a bit of research on who hosted the best tea parties in town...and came across Mrs. Newberry's Traveling Tea Party. Mrs. Newberry is running quite the operation. She arrived hours before our party w/ her tea truck (no joke) full of gorgeous china, chairs, tables, unicorns (yes, unicorns) and more. Within hours she turned my kitchen into a gorgeous tea parlor that made my daughter exclaim "oh my goodness" and jump up and down for the entire day. And if that's not enough to excite a 6 year old she brings dozens of gowns, hats, and jewels for the girls to dress up in before they sit down for tea. Tea is a favorite pasttime of mine (Peninsula anyone?) and Mrs Newberry gave these girls quite the intro. While enjoying a cup of delish tea (aka: fruit juice) they stuffed their faces with pizza bagels, cupcakes, muffins, cookies, candy, cheese, fruit and more birthday cake (the only thing I actually had to provide). Delicious tea & food is only part of the fun. Mrs. Newberry read some adorable books, including our favorite Fancy Nancy, and had very engaging conversation with the girls. She had complete control of 26 mostly kindergarteners- even my 3 yr old son was mesmerized by her "show." She ended the "par-tea" with a craft project that I thought was a bit too easy for the girls (stickers on pumpkins and bats in honor of Halloween), but then again that's probably all they could sit thru after all the sugar. My only mistake was not sending the kids home after 1.5 perfect hours with Mrs. Newberry because when it was my turn to take over (which basically involved setting them loose in my basement) it was complete chaos. I had worried when I booked her that 1.5 hours wouldn't be enough, but like everything else Mrs. Newberry knows best. I only wish I could hire Mrs. Newberry to come entertain my kids every weekend....she truly is a real life Mary Poppins.

We had our kiddo's bday party here and it was fantastic! I highly recommend. While the price isn't…read morecheap (nothing is in the city), they really do take care of everything for you. The staff was super engaging with the kids which is so important. They led the kid through activities, had them laughing, and they all had such a great time. We did a party at Lil' Kickers last year and it was fine, but the staff leading the party was not good at all. My Gym far exceeded my expectations. It was the best birthday party we've had yet and I would definitely sign up for their classes.

We had a wonderful 4th birthday party for my son here! Even the almost 8 year old sibling friends…read morethat attended had a great time! The call before with staff was very organized and the staff at the party were EXCELLENT! They were both engaged the entire time and made the party very interactive and engaging! We did a party here two years ago for my daughter and the staff at that time were not nearly as engaged during the party. We were super impressed this time with the whole experience!

This was terrific! Had our 6 year old's birthday party here. First they went over some rules and…read morestarted the pizza dough. Then they decorated their aprons, mixed cupcake batter, prepped the pizza dough and put on toppings. Finally they made the cupcake icing and decorated them and ate everything! Well run and the kids had a great time.

Chef Laura is great! Both of my kids (9 and 11) love coming here and have been for years. The…read moreweekly class is engaging and fun and the camps are perfect for school closure days and summer break!

We've been going to Little Gym for over a year and absolutely love it. Our son is now 2 and we…read morestarted him in classes just after he started walking. I love that it's a mixture of structured and unstructured play, which is the perfect fit for our kiddo. It's been amazing to see what skills he has picked up from class. All of the coaches we've had have been wonderful (shoutout to Anna, Daniel, and Vanessa). Every week they have a theme and focus on different skills and give you ideas of what to do at home to continue the theme. The staff is super friendly and helpful. If we can't make it in or need to schedule a makeup class, it's easy to do via text or phone call.

Well I'd really like to give this five stars out of convenience, but I understand not many people…read morelived literally next door to this place like we did (though it's right near the 77 bus and not too far from the brown line). Even without that nice perk, it was still a great place to take our son. They cover a large range of ages, and his first class was when he was little under a year and a half and couldn't quite walk yet. At that young, it's mostly teaching them how to listen to instructions, play on the equipment and tumble around. He was a little too young to directly socialize with the other kids but still had a blast. For younger ones parents are expected to be in the class with their child so be sure to keep that in mind. They often have "Parents Night Out" events where kids can be dropped off for an evening, but your boy was too young for those. Probably the best thing about Little Gym is how flexible they are with make up classes. Kids get sick, vacations come up, etc. and the make up system is really simple - basically as long as you let them know you're missing a class before it starts, you get a make up class in the bank that you can use. Since there are multiple instances of a class running in a week you just need to find a day that works for you and can use up those classes whenever. The staff here is great and the classes are always well structured. We'll definitely miss taking our little one but hopefully this can get others to take a trial class here.

WOW this place is large!…read more I took my daughter here earlier this week for her birthday and it was quite the day. We started off the day with shopping for a doll. She wanted one that looked just like her. A very nice salesperson helped us and gave her many options. We finally found one but still walked around and looked for accessories and just to meander through all the areas of the store. The second floor is so wild. There is a salon and so many different rooms. Make sure to make a salon reservation ahead of time. I made that mistake. I did know to make a Lunch reservation at the cafe. It was delightful! The food was surprisingly good! This is a pricey store but worth the memories and I know my daughter is so happy

So here's the thing I've actually been to this café twice as an adult. Obviously, I grew up as an…read moreAmerican girl doll lover I mean, come on I'm an American and a girl???? But my friends have had two separate birthday brunches here and you know what I'm not mad about it??? You got four courses for $38??? And you get to bring your own doll BYOD! I brought my own, of course, and she has a backpack......They always start you off with the cinnamon rolls, which are very flaky but good. If I was a child, I would eat 10 of these, but they only give you one. Then they give you this tea service ask plate with a variety of strange appetizers. For example, meatballs, fried ravioli and hummus bites. Very random, but that's OK. There is something for everyone at the American girl doll store. For my main on both times that I've been here I've had the quiche with the side salad. Look, I'll be honest it's a really good quiche. It's a quiche I would seek out if it wasn't at the American girl doll store. Finally, you finish with dessert, which is normally chocolate mousse, but if you're celebrating a birthday, you get the chocolate and vanilla cake with a side of ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. The cake actually isn't that good but the ice cream is. You also get a free nonalcoholic beverage! Look even as an adult I think this is a funny side quest or bit and like I said, the food is actually good. Yet again, another win for capitalism.