I am so impressed with Head over Heels. It is clear to me that they care for children, rather than…read morejust profits. I have had only pleasant interactions with them, their facility is beautiful, and they value all the right things. They really went above and beyond in my interactions with them this week and I am infinitely grateful!

Our twin three year old boys have been doing a weekly class with Coach Gio for the past year, and…read morethey frequently attend the No School Day camps. HoH has been great for them to learn the basic of gymnastics and build body awareness. It's a large and well equipped facility, and the community of parents and coaches is very welcoming.

I just can't express enough how much we love this place! First of all..owned by a woman of color is…read morealready a green flag in my book. I have literally done almost every single thing this place has to offer from open play, to preschool, OT, hosting a birthday party there and special events like the holiday party and carnival. In terms of birthday parties, it was SO easy. Literally one of the most stress free kids parties I've hosted. The staff were so so kind and super helpful. They helped with everything from setup to clean up so we could just be present and enjoy the day. The party room is super spacious with room for kids and adults. We had a pretty large group and were totally comfortable in the space. I appreciated that we could bring all our own food and decorations and the crew literally helped me setup everything. For open play there is an awesome variety of things for kids to do. I especially love the quiet room. It's great for my neurodivergent kid to have space to both jump in the bounce house and move that energy out and chill in the quiet and calm area. We're big fans and have really enjoyed all aspects of this whole place for 5 years now. Keep it up yall! You're doing great.

I'm so glad Alameda has an indoor playground. Both my kids have been enjoying since 6 months to 5…read moreyears old+ Can get busy on rainy days so definitely call to make sure they are accepting open play. It's not huge so it's easy to keep an eye on your kids but lots of variety. Love all the benches and comfy seating for caretakers. There's even a paid massage chair. You need trampoline grippy socks but we've invested pairs sold here and used them plenty. Some favorite areas for the kids are bounce house, kitchen area, ball pit, and slide. There's a clean kitchen area to eat your food. I haven't come or hosted a birthday party but there's a room in the back for one.

We attended Gymboree Play & Music at Lakeshore for a year, from when my daughter was 18 months to…read more30 months old, and it was such a wonderful experience! The teachers are fantastic--Ms. Leah in Play & Learn and Ms. Muna in Music class were both patient, energetic, and great at leading activities that kept the kids involved while fostering social and motor skill development through Gymboree's catchable bubbles. The classes struck the perfect balance between structured routines and free play, making them ideal for school preparation at an early age. At some point last year, a new owner took over and made some really thoughtful improvements that elevated the space. They spruced up the otherwise plain walls, added a baby gate to prevent little ones from running in and out of the play area without their adult, and even replaced the circle time carpeting. These small but meaningful upgrades made the environment feel even more welcoming and safe. One of the things we really appreciated was the flexibility in choosing which class to attend. Most of the time, we could just drop in, which was incredibly convenient. That said, for busier days--especially when it was raining--it was a good habit to book a class in advance through the app to make sure we had a spot. At first, it took about a month for my daughter to feel fully comfortable, which I think is completely normal. She started by observing and then gradually joined in after watching her peers interact. It was amazing to watch her growth--learning problem-solving skills (like navigating play structures, balancing, and safely calculating jumps), improving her motor skills, and practicing taking turns and following directions. A big plus is that the play area is always so clean and well-maintained--much better than the park. And while socks are usually required in indoor play spaces, I appreciated that kids could go barefoot here, which helped with my daughter's stability and movement. My daughter loved it so much that she would sing the songs at home and even ask for parachute time outside of class! Now that she's moved on to preschool, I do wish there had been a transition class to help bridge that next step at a younger age. Otherwise, our time at Gymboree was truly special, and I highly recommend it for little ones and their parents looking for a fun, social, and enriching experience.

My baby loves Gymboree! We has so much fun singing (the instructor sings great!) and especially…read moreloves the bubbles. It's clean, fun, and always a great time

Really cute indoor play place for toddlers, so well organized, and clean. Our little one loves to…read moreplay here!

This place is awesome. It's very unstructured: kids can choose to participate in scheduled…read moreactivities, pick an activity room instead, or even just spend the day roaming around playing with their friends. We haven't gone this year yet (I'll update when that changes!) but last summer, they had: * Baking: kids could learn to make the baked good of the day, from pies to pizzas, and help with baking lunch for the camp; * A sewing room: bins of fabric and notions, supplies for hand sewing, sewing machines and an instructor on hand to teach kids how to use them, patterns, and stuffing; * A fashion show where kids who got really into that sewing room could show their work off; * An arts and crafts room, with regular projects as well as the option to just come in and make whatever you wanted; * A STEM room with robotics, stop motion animation, and other cool supplies; * Sports, bubbles, etc outside; * A dance room with music playing and cool lights; * I think also a quiet room where you could just chill out and read or decompress; * And a different bounce house each week! The food looked great. There were a lot of options, from pizza to salad. The food changes each year, depending on who they can get to cater it. All of it sounded amazing, which helped a lot. Because my kid has struggled with separation anxiety disorder, and maybe agoraphobia. Finding a camp he'd actually be EXCITED to go to was the key here. He put in a lot of emotional work to make it in the door. We spent many days just driving up and sitting in the car outside, talking through his feelings, sometimes getting out for a little while, before the day he decided he could go in. And I cannot thank Steve & Kate's enough for providing a structure where that's POSSIBLE. Very few camps have drop-in policies. With most places, you have to sign up five or six months in advance, because they're on focused topics and have limited space. Even with more general camps, you can rarely sign up for just a day at a time, or let them know at the last minute that you're coming -- understandably!!! At Steve & Kate's, not only can you just show up the day of camp and register there if you need to - you can also show up at any point in the day, and they'll still let you in. That's HUGE. That's HUGE even under normal circumstances. When you can't tell in advance whether your kid will be able to go in, or will have a series of panic attacks in the car until you take him back home, BUT you really need to practice going to a place like camp before you try to go to Actual School, that's EXCEPTIONALLY HUGE. He can practice going, and test his own boundaries, and gently move out of his comfort zone, at his own pace, WITHOUT ME PAYING FOR A CAMP HE DOESN'T END UP GOING TO. And without holding an empty spot that some other family needed! In accessibility terms, that is HUGE. On top of that, my kid - who values kindness very highly, especially in adults - was super impressed by how KIND everyone there was. The first day he went, he had trouble getting lunch because the kids were crowding instead of lining up (or the line collapsed into a crowd) and he couldn't figure out how to get to the food. He spoke very highly of one staff member who noticed he wasn't eating, gently asked if he needed help getting food, and then brought him pizza. He said everyone was kind, but that one was SUPER kind. I also noticed, while waiting to pick him up, that lots of other kids were clearly on friendly terms with the staff. I heard kids talking about different staff members very positively, and I saw kids mobbing different ones to ask them interesting questions or joke around with them. I was personally very impressed by the staff's kindness too. I reached out to the camp ahead of time to tell them about my kid's struggles. They scheduled a time for us to tour the campus while it was in session, see all the different areas, ask any questions, and talk about anything they could do to support him. Just really super-nice people all around. I also loved having the option to check him in online the night before, or the morning of, if I was pretty sure he was going... and the refund policy that gives me back the money for days he doesn't go! Even though he was really excited about the sewing room and stop motion animation in particular, he spent most of the time just making new friends and hanging out with them. And I think that's great. He loved his time there. The time he spent practicing going, and actually going, made it so much easier for him to start school in the fall. 1000/10 stars. Love this place. It was about $100/day, which feels like a lot but is really just on the slightly high end for camps. Well worth it for the flexibility and the range of activities available, even without the accessibility. Absolutely delightful and fantastic, kinda wish they had one just for grownups!

Steve and Kate's is an absolute lifesaver. It's easy to deal with, and I love the flexibility of…read morebeing refunded for unused days if something comes up My son is 5 and has been attending since he was 4. He loves it. They typically have a bouncy house plus activity rooms. There's also group events where kids can win prizes. I don't think Steve and Kate's is particularly academic, but there's definitely lots to keep kids occupied. My son really looks forward to it. He's very proud of the pillows he has "made" from the sewing room, and loves the marble run when it's an option. While there's a limit to the lunch accommodations (and my son brings a packed lunch), they were able to get some dairy free puff pastry so he could be included in the cooking lab, and dietary needs and restrictions can be printed on the campers tags so there are no mistakes. We've had a positive experience with Steve and Kate's Emeryville.

My very picky, opinionated daughter loves Alameda Makering and Ms. Deneese. This is our second…read moresummer and she's gone to a couple pop-up workshops throughout the school year, and she comes home beaming with pride on all the incredible, high-quality crafts and delicious cooking she's done that day. Ms. Deneese curates every class with creativity and thoughtfulness. We highly recommend Alameda Makering, especially Ms. Deneese.

My daughter has a great time at Makering camp! She loves all the crafts and comes home excited to…read moredo them with me. The baking activities are also really fun and have led to us enjoying the recipes at home.

I signed James up for Epworth when he was about 18 months old,. He's almost 2 1/2 now so we are…read moremoving on to preschool. It seems now I am finally able to write a long overdue review. As a stay-at-home-mom I was starting to go a bit stir-crazy being in the house and the local park each day, I felt like our week needed some structure and I found Epworth through BPN emails. We were invited to visit a session to check it out and that day I felt like we how found just what I was looking for! The playgroup meets in a room in a church that is set up as a playroom (there is no religious instruction or influence on the playgroup in case you might be wondering.) There is a climbing structure and a castle and lots of toys (especially trucks.) It is also set up with art projects, paints and drawing. The room is large, but very contained and safe, so my son could play and I could keep an eye on him without worrying he'd get hurt or get into something he shouldn't. Families take turns bringing a small snack, but everything else is provided. We both got a lot out of time there. For James it gave him an opportunity to practice sharing and turns, along with seeing the same children each week. For me, it gave me some structure to the week, and the opportunity to meet a lot of great moms (and some dads) who's children were the same age as my own. We could share a cup of coffee and talk about what stage/challenge/fun things our children were doing while they enjoyed playing. I've met some great families there that I intend to keep in touch with. We really enjoyed our time there and I am so grateful I checked it out!

I just moved to the E.Bay and was in search of a playgroup. I found Epworth Playgroups thru a…read moresearch on Yelp. I immediately contacted the group organizer and I was off to my first play group the following Monday. I ended up taking my 10 month old nephew that day. The playroom was full of fun toys and games to keep the children busy. The moms that I met were super nice and I soon knew that I wanted to go on a regular basis. Unfortunately, my nephew wanted an earlier nap that day and we didn't stay much time. I am looking forward to going the following Monday with my son and nephew!

So far just one class with my 5-year-old son, but I'm very impressed on multiple fronts. After the…read moreinitial drop-in class yesterday we purchased weekly classes with the full expectation this initial great experience will only be surpassed. Husband & wife team Matt and Chelsea (owners) and Matt's sister Stephanie are lovely. It's a really great space and Matt is preternaturally good with younger kids. I shadowed my son for a bit in the studio to observe both my son's behavior in a structured environment and the instructors' teaching style. My son is both young and inherently independent (and often distracted) so this was bound to be revealing. Matt and Chelsea's approach to teaching is closer to informed guidance and it seems to work very well with my son and the other kids I observed. They let the child initiate their creative intent and then equip them with the technical information they need in a manner that is both empowering and not overwhelming. As for my son's proclivity to essentially 'not listen,' Matt in particular was excellent at focusing my son's attention on the task at hand and contextualizing what needed to be done so that he could 'own it.' It's clear his forthcoming studio experiences will be about so much more than learning and enjoying ceramics. This isn't 'OK class today we're going to make a coil-built pot. First I want you to take your clay and...'. Not at all. In an hour and fifteen minutes, my son made two objects in distinctly different techniques: a bowl thrown on the wheel and a slab-built shark. In the course of building those two pieces he was exposed to: centering clay on the wheel; managing the clay to expand, compress, elongate and widen his bowl; keeping his eye on his work; keeping the clay moist; the effects of various pressures applied to the clay on the wheel; scoring and attaching separate pieces with slip; scribing; use of various tools; under-glazing; clean-up, and more. I imagine he'll have to revisit every one of those lessons in subsequent classes but it's a gentle teaching style that works well here. Matt and Chelsea always had an eye on each of the kids and were great about transitioning between them to give guidance in a way that seemed very natural. The space itself is wonderful and can only be described as luminous. Well, that and clean. This is not a stereotypical 'mad potter's studio,' nor is it an anal 'everything in its place mausoleum.' Instructors have a clear view of everything going on in the space at all times. There's a front seating for parents/nanny's to hang out (WiFi available) and get some work done if you want to wait. Parking in the neighborhood doesn't seem to be a problem. The most critical measure of Kids-n-Clay is the reaction from my son, who really didn't want to leave and spoke of it more or less non-stop the rest of the day. Looking forward to what's next here. If you attend a drop-in class, be aware it takes about 2-3 weeks before pieces cycle through the process and can come home with you. But that's just ceramics. Highly recommended.

My kid loves this place! The kids can use the pottery wheel or just mold clay on the table. There…read moreare assistants there to guide the newer sculptors, and the owner, Matt, encourages the kids to design what they feel.