We are so happy we chose Juliane at Music Connects to work with our 4-year-old son. Over just 7…read moremonths, he went from having a severe stress response at the prospect of starting preschool to being relaxed and confident being dropped off. He has absolutely gained coping skills and self-esteem, and returned to his former easy-going nature. We were also impressed at the breadth of his experience with Juliane -- not just music, but also stories, play therapy, and art; timed when he was ready and/or in response to our wishes and concerns. We are extremely grateful to have found Juliane. (I am also grateful that ending therapy has been easy -- he still speaks of Juliane fondly but he accepts that his "music time" has ended.)

From the owner: Music Connects provides music therapy sessions to children, youth and their families dealing with…read moreemotional, social and behavioral challenges resulting from trauma,grief and loss, LD's, ADHD, Aspergers Syndrome using music, art an play. It's an effective and swift treatment modality based on a therapeutic relationship with highly motivating, creative and enjoyable experiences which are easy for children and youth to engage in. Music Connects also offers drumming groups and social skills groups. The therapeutic use of music becomes the base of building trust, building strengths and expressing non-verbally what might be difficult to say in words and leads to coping skills and an increase of self-esteem. Some services include: bi-weekly drum circles for adults,a weekly Mom& Me music group and voice lessons. Every service is delivered by a masters trained, board certified music therapist, NY-State licensed creative artstherapist ,certified drum circle facilitator and trained vocalist

Shohreh is a true miracle worker! I never in my life thought a foreign language class was something…read morethat I could do until I found French Farsi Without Tears. When I first arrived I was expecting textbooks, work sheets, and a long list of words to memorize - however this was far from the case. What I found was a small, friendly, and inviting group of classmates that together, through many small conversations and lessons, began to pick up Farsi. From practice scenarios, eating great Persian food, and talking with classmates I got the true immersion experience! While the curriculum is not very dry, stressful, or overly intensive, I was surprised by how fast everything went. After just the first class I was reading, writing, and even doing some speaking! Before I knew it, I felt like I was having full conversations in Farsi without even thinking about it and it felt so natural. Looking forward to continuing my Farsi learning experience in Shohreh's advance classes!

Shohreh is one of the best teachers I have had in my entire (not just adult) life. Her enthusiasm…read moretowards teaching creates such a friendly and positive environment toward learning Farsi. She does so well with making sure you absorb all of the lessons in a thorough yet gentle fashion. The class' approach to the technical side of the language is very good and what you need to build a foundation. But what made the class so interesting is Shohreh's insights into Persian culture and history during lessons which will in turn teach you the artistic side of the language. Teaching both makes me feel like I have not just learned, but I understand, the language. Also as a non-Persian learning for fun because my wife speaks Farsi and is Persian, the class has provided insights into her and her family I greatly appreciate and would not have gotten out of an app. My recommendation could not be higher for Shohreh and her program.

My 11 year old son "hates" writing... unfortunately he wasn't getting enough guidance and…read moreinstruction at school and so I enrolled him in this BAWP weekly program for kids in Berkeley. It was a 10 week course, 2 hours per week. At first, he was very grumpy with the concept and angry at me for enrolling him. After two weeks, however, I witnessed an amazing transformation. His confidence in his writing increased exponentially and his enthusiasm for writing followed suit. He actually said he enjoyed the program and the various writing exercises and games they used to help each child expand their abilities. The group used many different tactics to draw the student's' interest and encourage creativity. One week the group walked to a nearby museum and were asked to write about a piece of art that inspired them. They also took a walking tour the neighborhood to find inspiration for stories and poems. I can't say enough good things about this program and the Berkeley instructors. For "graduation" each child was asked to read an excerpt of their work for parents and friends. It was amazing! The instructors were kind, enthusiastic and incredibly talented teachers. Both were life-long writers and both clearly loved to work with young people. Overall, it was an incredibly positive experience and I will be looking for more camps and programs from BAWP in the future.

BAWP San Ramon Staff is kind. The high school campus is nice and safe for kids…read more However, this is NOT an enrichment program for kids, it is just a summer kid fun, 3-hour daycare. They group 3 levels "6+7+8" into groups in the library; the higher levels actually gain nothing during the 3 weeks, just "poem and craft book". The tuition is $500 plus $50 registration fee. On the first day of school this year, a teacher asked all parents if any students here today attended last summer BAWP program? Absolutely NO one showed hand! Thank you.

I worked here for several years and had the opportunity to be part of a great team. The students…read moreand staff are amazing and the work is very fulfilling. Berkeley is also of course a great place to be! :)

As a student of College Internship Program, I have been subjected to quite a few of their…read moreexperiences. One of these reviews said it helped, two others, written by one of the students sons' and his mother, were extremely negative. I'm going to attempt to make this review as non-biased and accurate as I can. It all started out with a lie. I had no idea what to do with my life, so I met up with several staff on their campus who tried to sell me on the program. One of the people was their residential coordinator, and he, among other people, told me things that were untrue. The most prominent one I can think of is saying I could go just about anywhere on the weekends for as long as I'd like. Turns out there was a curfew. This was one of many things they've said. After talking with many of the students, especially the saner ones, I got confirmation I was not the only one they did this to. So I got let in. I ended up going in very last minute, and missed orientation, so I was more unprepared than any other student. I've heard of the staff saying you NEED to attend orientation, and that there are a limited number of people they can let in. Given that people are let in last minute every year, such as myself, I question the truth of that. Anyways. The idea of the program is that they can take all your things and rights/privileges (depending on how you define it) and build you up bit by bit. They took away everything that gave me any sort of independence, as they do to everyone else. Drove me crazy. Sooner or later, they started giving me my independence back, but it was never enough until I got out of the program. There's a reason some students don't succeed at this program and others do. Many don't try, or just flat out refuse to try. This program works best for people who have motivation to do well. They try to motivate the other students, but often the program falls flat on its face. This program gave me friends, and skills I need to survive in the real world. I appreciate it for everything it has done for me, but if I had one piece of advice it would be this: Make sure that your child has the motivation or want to make something out of themselves. Otherwise it's useless and a giant money pit. I'm giving this three stars instead of one, or five, because it is a mixed bag. The price is very high, and you should check out other options as well. That said, it was worth the money to me, and to a handful of other people in the program as well, but make sure your child is prepared for a long, uphill struggle. It's only worth it in the end if you start climbing the mountain in the first place.

I have been taking Italian language and literature classes with Polyglottist Language Academy off…read moreand on since 2017. I initially started taking classes because I had planned a trip to Italy for the summer, but after my trip I was motivated to continue. I have since returned to Italy 2 more times. I've taken Italian classes with several instructors including but not limited to Sole, Valerie, Cinzia, Oscar, and Francesca. I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every class. The instructors are knowledgeable, patient, and eager to create a positive and enriching learning environment. Olga has been even more accommodating in light of the difficulties that arose with COVID-19 social distancing protocols, even allowing classes to take place on Zoom. I would 100% recommend taking classes with this academy!

Hi, I highly recommend this Academy and in particular our great teacher Francesca Lorenzon…read more Francesca is an excellent teacher, who truly cared about me and the rest of our class. She made sure that we learned about culture, geography and language. She always welcomed our questions and was just fun to be around. This carried forward into the overall classroom experience where all had a good time and ended up going out to lunch every few weeks. I studied Italian for eight months to prepare for my trip to Italy and highly recommend Francesca and the Academy. Joe