This is a wonderful summer camp for kids who are super active and love doing different things every…read moreday. They take the kids on tons of different field trips, and when they stay on-site they bring in fun activities and entertainment. My kids loved the add-on activities, which include horseback riding, rock climbing, and cooking classes. I like that you can see the entire summer's schedule, day-by-day, before you enroll, too. As a parent I really appreciate how accessible and responsive the owners Brooke and James are. They replied to every question and concern quickly, and they were very helpful and professional with each interaction. I can tell these are parents who truly care that every camper and parent has a great experience with them. Oasis is a great option for families who need flexibility--there are large windows for drop-off and pickup, and you can even enroll your child one day or one week at a time. I've never found another day camp with this kind of flexibility and I really appreciate it as a working parent.

As a parent I was very attracted to this camp by the array of activities, particularly the twice a…read moreweek swimming and weekly field trips to local kids arcades and fairs. But my child did not enjoy the long bus rides to the various destinations. Many of the places they went were an hour or more away (Rockford water parks, Brookfield zoo). Apparently the camp did not have kids doing group bus activities (telling stories etc) on the long drives. When we saw how much time they were spending sitting on buses without bus activities, we were surprised. We don't recall our camp field trips this way--bus rides were chances for counselors and campers to invent wacky songs or play group games...but it seems this wasn't the case here. Our child also said that the counselors weren't as attentive as counselors at other camps. When we fetched our child at 3:30 or 3:45 each day we also found that counselors were completely unengaged--texting or dozing on the gym floor. Kids were running around unsupervised. We assumed the extra expense of this camp (which costs more than other day camps) was because kids could stay the full day...but when we saw that after 3:30 the camp becomes a free-for-all with unplugged counselors, we made an effort to get off work early to pick our son up at 3:30. The camp should insist that the counselors remain engaged and actually supervise children in the 3:30-closing period. Many of the activities were great on paper but didn't quite materialize. Cooking class with real ovens didn't happen, No real arts activities, at least not during the weeks our child was there. Theme weeks the weeks my son was there theme day and a half--a trip and a related optional dress up day. Also, the theme did not seem to bring other learning or creative opportunities....which is fine, since camp should be mainly about having fun...but if your kid is expecting a full week of Harry Potter extravaganzas, he'll be disappointed. I'd like to believe that a lot of the problems with the camp this summer had to do with the fact that one of the camp directors/owners was pregnant and recently had her baby (I don't think I ever saw her at the site, and I don't think I ever met the other director, either...save for at the open house day in the spring). Perhaps they were more hands off than normal because of the baby. I do think an effort should be made to find more engaged counselors for next year. Of all the male counselors I've met at various camps, for some reason this lot looked the most bored...and kids pick up on that. At least our child did. I don't want to be completely negative here. The camp did some nice things I have not seen done elsewhere--posting photos online each week of the kids at the pools, trying to offer a variety of fun activities. If better, more engaged counselors were found and encouraged to remain attentive all day, and if the long bus rides were minimized and activities for those rides created, the camp could be as good as it soujnds like it should be.

We highly recommend Digital Adventures with its wonderful programs, and especially the teacher…read moreMr.Jim. The classroom is engineered to be easily adopted by young kids set in a play-based environment. My 4-year-old boy can easily adapt to the new learning. Mr. Jim and the founder/staff are nice, patient and great. We are impressed by the program as the parents. It was not just us, our kid loves and rates DA the best among all his other STEM enrichments by comparison. We have also helped spread the word to our parent communities. Overall, very good program, and excellent business!

My son really enjoyed this class.. we are staying for another class now! (2hours)…read moreHighly recommend this place.. very friendly.. clean.. just positive vibes!!Love it!

I am a teacher and was unhappy with my kindergartener's school. She simply hated school and no…read morechild should hate kindergarten! My wife attended this school for junior high and she said it was the best years of her academic life ! After our first tour, I thought I died and went to heaven. We literally nicknamed the school "Ed utopia". Let me say as an educator with 20 years experience, it takes a lot to impress me. This school has it all. Amazing teachers that truly care, a community sense where every teacher (no matter the grade) knows every child, multiple teachers for every class, ridiculous technology innovation, opportunities for public speaking, and the parents truly join together and get to know one another and help each other in true community form. I now have a fifth grader and first grader here. We live 30 minutes away but it is well worth the drive for the experiences my children have that only this school could provide . You will not be disappointed in this school.

Dont work at this school. It doesnt care about there staff. all they care about is how much money…read morethey can raise. and put in there own pay checks. how many schools can pay there head over 250,000 per year? The school for the very special!!! kids. NO brains just parents with money.

This review is long overdue, but with three young kids I typically don't have time to review…read moreanything, so there you go... I want to make time to review Banner however because it has been a huge part of our lives over the past 5 years. My daughter started there when she was 2 and went through the older 2's class, preschool and pre-k. My son is still there and started in the younger 2's class, then preschool and now pre-k. Next year my youngest will start in the younger 2's class so we have at least 3 more years ahead of us. We don't live extremely close to the school, we live much closer to other preschools in the area but chose Banner and have stuck with Banner for a number of reasons. My kids and myself have made great friends here. Not just other parents, but the teachers and directors who become part of your daily lives and also care greatly for your children and you. There truly is a strong sense of community in the school. The teachers and new directors all go out of there way to make school a fun place where learning can take place. My goals for my children in preschool were to learn how to make and sustain friendships and act appropriately in the classroom. Learning about things like numbers, letters, the world, music, art, science, etc... are all just added bonuses to me but my children have learned an abundance of new things. My oldest two who have gone through the classroom are very different kids, however they each have had wonderful experiences at Banner and enjoy school so much. The teachers truly try to individualize lessons for each child after learning their strengths and challenges. There is constant communication on how things are going in the classroom and the best things to do to carryover life lessons at home. If you are searching for preschools in the area I encourage you to call the directors, Chrisine and Alex and talk to them about this wonderful school. If you had the chance to observe outdoor playtime or class time you would see how there really is such love and respect between all the kids and the teachers. Each child is appreciated for who they are and what they bring to the school.

Wonderful staff who instills in preschool what learning should be...inquisitive and FUN. My…read moredaughter loved her few mornings a week she went in. She got to make friends, go outside daily, make crafts, learn about the world around her, celebrate birthdays. When I would pick her up, she would sing songs, about what they were learning, over and over again. This place is incredible for kids. So loving.

Our daughter, Lily grew up at The Goddard School of Skokie, she started there at the age of 14…read moremonths, and she just graduated last month. She's more than ready for Kindergarten. She's smart, curious, artistic, funny, sensitive, and the list goes on and on. Her teachers nurtured her, they cared for her and they loved her all along the way. She sings, acts, draws, paints, plays pretend games, and she learned all these through play. Mary, and Andrew made us feel like family, the entire staff knew our names, and welcomed us with open arms, and smiley faces every morning. We all became family, we made so many wonderful friends along the way, and I don't just mean the children. The parents formed close bonds as well, we had a blast throughout these years, and we've made quite a few memories together. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for everything this program, and particularly this school and it's highly valued staff gifted us with in the past few years, and now we are onto opening new doors! Thank You all for everything, Kate, Adam and Lily

What a fantastic school for children! We have been at the school for 2.5 years and had a wonderful…read moreexperience in every way. The owners and management of the school truly care about the children and families. The teachers are passionate and engaged. I highly recommend the Skokie Goddard School for anyone looking for a program for their child.

We've been attending MIC (Lake Forest campus) for about 3 years now and are big fans. The director…read moreand support staff are friendly and knowledgeable, and my son absolutely loves his teacher. I have no doubt that has been a big part of his motivation to play. In that sense, the initial meeting with the director was a real home-run for us (when you're a new student, you go through an intake meeting). It was all about my son, what his interests were, what instruments he liked, had he considered this?, etc. My son ended up deciding on a different instrument than expected (or perhaps that mom had been interested in), and as noted above, the teacher match the director made was spot-on. Some other things I really like about MIC... the fact that tuition includes a separate music reading class. This is obviously very important, and it's great that students get extra attention in this area. I also like the sense of family at MIC. Not to discount independent music teachers, but it's really nice to be part of a larger organization; I feel like this instills an even greater appreciation for music (not to mention the fact that students at MIC & family have access to special events throughout the year).

I had two boys that took piano lessons here for 5 years. Teacher dropped us (scaling back his…read moreschedule, was the reason) and I was told someone would be getting in touch with me to work out a new teacher. No one ever did. Not only that, but I contacted Clark (the Winnetka director) on numerous occasions over the summer to try and get a new teacher for them. He never bothered to return emails or phone calls. After 5 years of being a part of this school - 5 years of paying tuition - this is how they treat me? I contacted the director of the whole school - Mark George - and explained what was going on. Even he didn't have the courtesy to contact me personally. He passed my info along to his assistant who barely apologized for what had happened (and never offered an explanation). Then she quickly tried to sign us up for more lessons. Really? Clueless.

I have attended the Institute's Advanced Literature classes for the past four years and have…read moreenjoyed them a lot. The classes are small and relaxed, the teachers ,engaging, and the books, culled from a broad spectrum of french literature . My fellow classmates are all enthusiastic francophiles who enjoy honing their language skills in a congenial setting. I would highly recommend this school.

What a gem on the North Shore! My daugher is attending her 4th year (first grade). We've been…read moredelighted by the professional administration, excellent and caring teachers, small class size, and for the opportunity for our child to be bilingual. It works! Pricing is private, but very competitive among French Schools country-wide. My only surprise is that not more people take advantage of this little school. My advice: check it out!

My son has been going to Christie's for nearly a year and I can't explain how much he enjoys it! He…read morehas made friendships that I'm sure will last a lifetime! Previously, he had been in a private daycare (which was great at the time) but he was ready to socialize more and meet new kids. While the first few weeks were a little tough, all of his teachers did a great job and he is confident now. The space is everything you would expect a daycare/pre-k space to be and so much more. He has such a fun day everyday and we look forward to the seasonal performances the kids put on! Thank you so much to everyone at Christie's for making this experience one to remember! The teachers are all so energetic and happy all the time!!! It takes a special person to be surrounded by children all day, and Christie's hires the best!

I could not imagine a better preschool experience for my kids. My daughter loves going to…read moreChristie's. She is learning so much. The staff genuinely cares about the children and provides them with a safe, fun, nurturing environment.