In response to Maria: I have no incentive nor desire to mislead readers. I am telling the truth…read moreabout my experience with your business. Respectfully, within our exchanges, you did not address my concerns, you doubled-down and responded in a defensive way, as you are doing in your response here. You responded to what you thought my concerns were, and sent the complaint directly to the teacher with no context, leading to a situation wherein my concern was not only not addressed, it was inflamed and taken out of context. It felt like being ganged up on. The difference in the public response here, however, is the apology. Offering to essentially boot us from the class is not akin to working with us towards a solution to keep us as customers. It reads as, "my way or the highway", which is not exactly a great way to deal with children and families. Notably inappropriate is also posting the status of my payment method on a globally public thread. Highly unprofessional. It shouldn't matter, since you were going to refund me anyway. I did not receive an email beforehand that the card didn't go through, either. We have been attending classes at this location for months with no issue with payment, and attended one class that I found out through this exchange was unpaid for due to a card being compromised. Is it not your job to inform people when their payment doesn't go through? Why did you deem it important to publicly shame/blast someone for their payment information? Very odd.

I've attended multiple classes for over a year here. Masha and Maria are dedicated and patient…read moreteachers. They're honest (psst.. it's constructive criticism) and enthusiastic to teach and show of what they know. The last course I took was the Human Anatomy and that was advanced but a ton of fun and a good amount of knowledge has been learned and applied when I'm no longer in class. I'm looking forward to continuing here. Thank you Maria and Masha!

My child has been taking classes here for over a year, and we've had a great experience so far. The…read morepace and instruction are well tailored to each student's level and interests. Each class has a good balance of teaching and hands-on practice, with a clear structure and dedicated time for both. At the end of each class, the instructor provides a recap along with comments on each student's in-class performance. This personalized feedback is very helpful for parents and gives students a solid foundation, especially for beginners. Overall, we've been very happy with the experience and would definitely recommend the classes.

My kid has been studying at Calcolor for three years now, and it's been a wonderful experience…read more Every teacher he's had has been incredibly patient and supportive. The classes are reasonably priced and engaging -- he genuinely looks forward to painting with them every week. Highly recommend!

This camp is an absolute dump. And unsafe for kids. My kids were enlisted here based off reviews on…read moreactivityhero and yelp and I am shocked how dirty this place is. I had to pull them off immediately. As a working mom, believe me looking for back ups at the last minute was not fun. There is trash everywhere, kids are packed in a small, small backyard in 85 deg weather with no fan. There were 14 kids from 5 years to 16 years.If there is any kind of hazard like fire, there are no emergency procedures in place. The lady sits in a room by herself and knits with 2 dogs moving freely. On top of it, when I pointed out how dirty things were, she told me to get off her property. You cannot charge 500$ per child in the bay area and provide such awful experience. I am shocked parents are recommending this place. Its one thing to be artsy and creative, completely another to endanger kids. There are enough arts camps. Avoid this. Attached pictures

My five year old son attended Camp here for one week. Although I can see how it might be relaxing,…read moreartistic and fire meant for teenaged children, it was really not an appropriate environment for a five-year-old. The teacher also seem to be uncomfortable with young children, and didn't really know how to make sure they would be comfortable in that environment. For example, one day my son ended up urinating in his pants, because he had never been shown where the bathroom was, and he thought it might be a better idea to just wait until Mommy got there. It's also cluttered and unclean. One day, as I was leaving, I stepped in dog feces. That being said, for a teenaged child, who knows how to navigate the world and take care of themselves around dogs and around adults who don't know how to help them, it may very well be pleasant environment for a relaxing artistic summer camp experience. I sort of got the feeling that the instructor used to be better able to handle a wider age range of children, but her tolerance may have changed over the years. In short, I don't recommend sending your child here if they're under 10 years of age.

Yelena is a wonderful art teacher. She is full of energy, fun, creative, and absolutely great with…read morekids. She works with a variety of materials and introduces her students to different styles and techniques, always making the learning process enjoyable and easy to follow. Most importantly, Yelena truly understands children and loves working with them. She knows how to find an individual approach to every child. My daughter took both private and group classes with Yelena for several years. She made amazing progress, and her experience with Yelena was extremely positive. And you know what? After watching the way Yelena teaches children, I wanted to take classes with her myself! For the past two years, I have invited my friends to Yelena's home for a group art party, and we've had a wonderful time painting, learning, and being creative together. I highly recommend Yelena as an art teacher. She is talented, caring, creative, and has a wonderful ability to bring out the best in her students.

I signed up my son for art classes with Lena, he has been enjoying going to her and coming back…read morewith beautiful fun creations. She is a very fun and creative teacher and has a nice energy for kids and keeps them entertained with each class activities. I highly recommend both her kids and adults classes!!

Both of my kids have been taking the intensive art class here for over a year, and they love it…read more The teacher meets each child where they are and gently stretches them just a step beyond what they think they can do. I've watched my kids' technique grow, but more importantly, I've watched their love for art grow. They come home proud of what they've made. The teacher is wonderfully kind and the whole atmosphere is warm and encouraging. Highly recommend!

Victoria Ballet is the best of the best!!!…read more My daughter learns Ballet at Victoria for nearly two years during which she has learnt and grown so much thanks to the outstanding ballet teacher Mrs Victoria and her wonderful team! Highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn ballet, particularly families who look for a devoted, motivated, and enthusiastic teacher!

Camp Imagineerz is my son's favorite camp. He has gone to 4 different camps this summer with this…read moreyear being the first year going to summer camps for him (rising 1st grader). When I asked him which camp he would want to sign up for next year, he listed Camp Imagineerz as his "must" choice without hesitation. Pick up and drop off were all seamlessly done. The third party lunch option offered at the camp was amazing. All the staff I had encounters with had positive and upbeat energy. The curriculum is focused on creativity, problem solving and social emotional skills, and they weave these skills together by planning and prepping for weekly skits they put out at the end of each week. My son absolutely loved this camp, and we will definitely return.

My daughter has always loved Camp Imagineerz and they have fun themes like "Escape from Candy…read moreKingdom" or "The Great Adventure Park Competition". At the end of the camp, parents are invited to see what the kids constructed during the week and they put on a show for you. What I was most impressed with was that they instill in the kids this "I-Can" mindset, which teaches the kids what to do when they face adversity, issues and driving that positive mindset that they can overcome it. The most fun part is at the end of camp where, the kids get to "dunk" the counsellors with water which always ends with squeals of delight ... This is a truly fun and creative camp that I'm sure any child will enjoy!!

My child did not enjoy the camp and did not want to return for the second day. He said it was the…read moreworst camp he has attended and found it quite boring. While the concept of the camp is good, the execution did not meet expectations. In particular, the staff seemed inexperienced in working with children.

My oldest daughter is in her 3rd year of DesignX's fashion camp; my younger daughter was finally…read moreable to join in the fun this year! DesignX offers fashion design and related illustration, fabric and accessory classes, toy design, and product design. In the fashion class, the kids design and make an their own incredible outfit over the course of a week. The outfits are conceived as part of a collection (with a overarching unified color theme). The kids iterate their design ideas, create and sew their outfit complete with accessories, and present it in an exciting fashion show for their families at the end of the week! Each outfit is unique to each child, but work as part of the collection. As a home sewist, I can tell you that the sewing aspect of the fashion camp is set up for real success for the kids, even as they create unique outfits - the skills are age appropriate and build as they get older. 2nd and 3rd graders create skirts and modify t-shirts; 4th and 5th graders create tunics; 6th and 7th graders create more complex dresses and rompers. My husband and I are both professional designers. The design process taught at DesignX is great. The kids work through an iterative process that relates to what designers do in the real world. The fact that they express their personal creativity in real ways but are doing it within an overarching/relational theme speaks to the way designers work in the real world. My older daughter wore her tunic as a cover-up all last summer; I know she'll be wearing her new top with shorts. And my younger daughter will be wearing her skirt as well. We love DesignX camp, and my kiddos can't wait for next year!

The camp is owned by Bright Horizons Family Solutions, which also operates licensed child care…read morefacilities. Those facilities are subject to significant CA regulations, including the right of parents to observe care unannounced whenever they want. This camp is not, which I found out when I waited more than 20 minutes for the camp to find my 4 year old and was not allowed to go find him, even with staff escort. If the company wants to run the camps with radically different policies from the licensed centers, they can. But I think they should spell out that policy on their website, and then parents can ponder why the policies are different. One possibility is they might not want parents to look into a room and see a bunch of 4 year olds staring at iPad screens? Parents can easily roam the outside areas where campers are playing, just not the inside rooms or hallway. Otherwise the camp has been decent. My son talks about the iPads the most.

My kids have attended the Palo Alto location for several years and it's one of our favorite camps,…read morespecifically because of the freedom the kids have. The day is not specifically scheduled and kids have a chance to choose their own activities and where they want to go. I love the flexibility to drop off and pick up when you want; I love the refund policy. I love that they always, always check your ID when you check your kid out. There are rules and there are daily gatherings and traditions, which the kids like, but they have a lot of freedom. They often sprint through the doors so excited to be there. On countless occasions over many summers the counselors and Director have gone out of their way to help us with our specific issues. Highly recommend if you have an active kid or want an unstructured experience.