I love this camp and all the staff! Every single one of them is caring, loving, super helpful, and…read moreloved by everyone. The camp mother is the best mommy anyone could ask for! Highly, highly recommended.

Horrible director!! They advertised on their website a daily morning routine including arts and…read morecrafts and physical activity either in the gym, or outside. See below: Before Care Program We offer care beginning at 7:15am. The activities in the morning vary, but below is a schedule of a typical morning: 7:15-7:30 Greeting, welcoming students, group games 7:30-8:00 Arts and crafts, board games, free play 8:00-8:30 Organized gym or outside activity (weather permitting) 8:30-8:45 Trivia, dismissal My son was very excited about the morning exercise option and like most boys, benefits tremendously from exercise and blowing off boy energy before the start of the school day. My kids attended 4 days. Of those 4 days, my son had only 10 minutes (not 30 minutes as advertised) on only 2 of the days. First, I was told that exercise was only every other day and that "wet grass" meant that they wouldn't go out, even though there are perfectly dry asphalt basketball and foursquare/hopscotch courts available. Then I was told the gym often wasn't accessible because of other school activities early in the morning. I was also informed there's not enough time in the mornings for physical activity. I asked the director why her website advertised otherwise. She claimed she did not know what was on her website and that her friend had done it for free. I read exactly what her own website said in the "Services and Daily Schedule" tab (above). She blew up and said she shouldn't have to "change her program" to have to accommodate only one child. She said I should move onto another provider since it obviously wouldn't work for us. I told her we did not have another option currently. She said she had other people waiting for our spots (translated: I don't need people like you). An hour and a half after our phone call, she sent me a very unfriendly email attempting to justify her actions and terminating our childcare effective immediately. She said her website indicated this was only a "typical" day and that the schedule "varied" and therefore she did not have to adhere to any promise of arts & crafts and exercise. I indicated I would make her business practices known and file complaints with the school and among my network of fellow mothers in the area if she did not reconsider her irrational decision. She then said that I was threatening her, had made demands on her staff (untrue) and that her daycare was (essentially) untouchable since she only leased the space from the school and the district and administration had no authority over her. Obviously she knew this would hit us hard since I now have just the weekend to find alternate arrangements. She was unreasonable, completely non-service oriented, aggressive and not at all someone I'd imagine being good around children, or upholding any kind of model citizen behavior. You'd think I was asking her to single handedly move the Titanic just to include the advertised 30 minutes of exercise in her program! Needless to say, I do not want my kids in her program anymore!!

I am appalled by the first reviewers claims of the Kids at Play (KAP) Program as my all of my…read morechildren have gone to KAP while in school and I never would have thought of sending them anywhere else. From my experience with the program, the children all get more than ample time outside, inside, playing, doing arts and crafts, etc., the program varied daily depending on weather, extra curricular actives, what have you and I have never been disappointed nor do I think their website has in any way mislead anyone. All the parents I talked to in and out of the program have all been very pleased with the quality of care their children receive and comfortable that their children are in the care of this long time staff - and right in the school! It doesn't get more convenient than that! Shame on this reviewer for making such claims after her children only attended for 4 days and clearly an angered customer who was probably asked to go elsewhere for good reason.

Wild Hudson Valley offers so much between their fun and informative guided nature walks, incredible…read moreharvest boxes filled with wild forest-foraged foods and now their eco camp. I toured the farm and sanctuary and it was absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to stay at the new camp!

My family and I spent the weekend at the farm and sanctuary. We had a fantastic time going on…read moreJustin's bird walks, a tour of the farm, and a plant medicine walk. The kids ran around catching (and releasing) butterflies and fireflies), we swam in the creek, roasted marshmallows at night, and slept in beds in the yurts. Can't wait to return!

As soon as they had two spots we dropped our 100 days of remote K and signed up immediately. I just…read morehave to say, it was worth the wait! First Steps runs a kind, compassionate, creative and caring daycare program. Our girls LOVE it there as well! Picking up happy kids from school and hearing stories about their friends and teachers makes us even happier. Kudus to Ms. Kimberly, Ms. Kathy, Ms. Heather, Ms. Brandy, Ms. Kristin and the many more wonderful teachers.

My daughter is currently enrolled at First steps and We are so lucky she is. She has learned so…read moremuch. My daughter enjoys going to school and learning because of her First Steps family.

I'm so glad I enrolled my daughter here. She is learning and developing so well. She loves the…read moreschool, all the teachers and of course her friends. I would recommend to anyone looking to enroll their children in preschool. You won't be disappointed!

Disappointed with my child being turned away after one day. He is on the spectrum in kindergarten…read moreand they never gave him a chance to learn the rules and expectations. When we spoke over they stated they had experience with special needs children. very sad. Our community deserves better. There is already such a lack in programs for children like him.

I've visited the Catskill Animal Sanctuary on a few different occasions, with one accidental…read morestumbling upon a festival of some kind where they had food trucks and live music and more (that was super fun). It's a gorgeous spot, with plenty of animals to see and engage with, and if you're not careful, you may get a pig who smears mud all over your butt. That's really part of the charm though, and mud washes off. The folks that own and work here are super nice in my experience (shout out to the director who had the exact same shoes as my four year old - in a different size). They make it a fun and educational experience for everyone, but especially little kids. As a general warning though, they make a harder push for veganism than you might expect coming in, so if that sort of pressure isn't your thing, you may want to avoid the walking tours.

Cows, goats and pigs oh my! Wonderful day where you can feel the "love is spoken here!" If you have…read morea couple of hours to spare, you will not be disappointed by this fun experience! Wonderful and compassionate tour guides and employees on beautiful grounds and of course, sweet rescues to pet! Cute gift shop and delicious gf cookies! Highly recommend you see for yourself! Kindness looks good and feels good!# Levi love

They are really amazing! Their service was top notch, it was raining on the weekends and the only…read moreday it would be sunny is on a Monday. Nancy decided to accommodate us and make room to take us on the Monday morning. It didn't feel like she only cared about just taking our money she does care about providing us with the best service and experience. Furthermore, the scenery from the mountain top was stunning, and I couldn't take my eyes off it. The horses were also exceptionally well-mannered. Our tour guide, Kim, patiently and individually instructed each of us on how to handle the horses. Kim also dedicated her time to arrange us for a memorable family photo at a picturesque spot. Without a doubt, this has been my most exceptional experience to date. I highly recommend it!

I'm not an expert in horse back riding experiences but I know that this is what it should be like…read more Our guides were good friendly people and made us feel comfortable and welcomed immediately. Our horses Elliot and Cheyenne were beautiful , gentle and very friendly. The trail was beautiful and very picturesque . Take the time to enjoy this experience with MBF.

I started as a camper here in 1995, became a counselor/specialist when I was in college and have…read moresince returned as adult staff. My daughter attends camp here as well, and I was thrilled she loves it here as much as I did when I was her age. The owners know everyone by name, all the staff are incredibly friendly and the overall environment is caring and adaptive. They consider each individual campers needs and work to accommodate everyone. They have many campers with gluten sensitivity and a separate food station for gluten-free food so as not to cross contaminate foods. The infirmary is staffed by experienced nurses and they always have a doctor on campus (in addition to the owners being doctors themselves). Color War is a time honored tradition that brings a camp together at the end of the summer. Win or lose, Apache relay is a fun tradition in which every single camper partakes in an important role. There is an ice cream parlor, a movie theater, a playhouse, an outdoor adventure zip line course in addition to an inflatable water park on the lake. The kids stay in touch year round and I still talk to people I met as a camper to this day.

I was a camp counselor for Camp Pontiac for the summer of 2021 and when I say this was one of the…read moreworst run businesses I have ever seen and the worst job I have ever had, I am in no way exaggerating. To begin with, the hours they have their general staff work is outrageous. There is no break, you never really get off time here. The staff lounge is a glorified hut with moldy couches and a TV that is can barely fit 1/5 of the staff at a time. The other places on the campus were not open to staff even though the management made it seem that way in the interviewing process. Which is only the first thing that they lied to their staff about. I was lied to about the parameters of my job, I was lied to about my hours, I was lied to about what I would be able to do with my off time. I felt like a prisoner in this camp, I wasn't allowed to leave once I got there, or else I would have been fired. The management DOES NOT care about their general staff, if you get sick, they will not give you adequate rest time to recover. Over 2/3's of the staff was sick throughout the summer. And then there was the covid outbreak. The covid outbreak that the management tried to blame on their general staff as if they weren't allowed families to come in to tour when it was a "bubble" as they marketed to their current parents. Of course, they would never point the finger at the management who frequently went out to eat for every meal at the local restaurants like the Pond or allowed their campers to leave to go boating on another lake. It was a poorly run business that had no care for its general staff. There were promises of things getting better throughout the summer in which they never did and the bonuses that were promised because the staff was doing double the work, were never delivered. The 'Wannabe Director' Micahel Etra has horrible anger issues that made him go off on counselors causing many to quit. His carelessness and ego lead me and many others to be stranded at the airport due to missed flights because he would not allow us to leave earlier to catch our flights even though we brought it to his attention. The group leaders did not care about their counselors, my went as far as to tell me to quit when I talked to her about being unhappy with the exhausting workload, even after I explained to her that paying $800 for a plane ticket home was not an option for me in my financial situation. And then of course there is the favoritism. If you were a camper here and you chose to come back to work, this is a dream job. You are given special treatment and access to the entire camp. You get away with taking 10 or 20 minutes here to there. You get away with taking time off to go and work on things for school. I was refused the wifi passwords to the buildings I worked at, the only places I had access to service to call my parents, but a former camper had them. Ultimately if you're a new counselor, the directors and owners do not care about you. This camp preys on young college students looking for interesting jobs and then locks them on the campgrounds and exploits them for seven weeks, throwing them away once they got their use out of them. I felt like the help most days, slaving over a bunch of spoiled rich kids. Counselors got fired for just disciplining the kids. Counselors got fired for trying to ask for adequate pay. Genuinely, this was an awful experience. For anyone looking to work here, if you have no sense of self-respect, you'll be fine. But understand the long hours and poor treatment that you are going to have to deal with. If you are looking to send your child here, the directors and upper-level staff do not care about your child. Your child is money to them and nothing else. They use the "interesting" specialties such as sports and arts & crafts to babysit your kid, very few of the kids enjoyed the everyday activities. The evening activities were more contrived ways of babysitting the kids so they couldn't be left alone to realize that camp life is nothing but a lie to get money out of the parents. Save your money and send them somewhere else, trust me, this camp is going to go under soon.