Awesome Studio! great for Art lessons for kids and adults, art parties & Face painting too!read more

My husband and I went to The Art Center Highland Park looking to see some art by local artists…read more Inside there are several galleries with art in it. There was a exhibit that was being put up while we were there. There is a small gift shop where you can buy work by local artists. The receptionist on duty never welcomed us, spoke to us, or even looked up while we were there. This did not create an inviting atmosphere.

I was here on a Saturday for an event and it is a beautiful space. The exhibits are nice and it…read moretotally works as an event space!

Banner is better than any other day camp. I've been to I hope the work there someday all the…read morecounselors are nice. Their programs are amazing and they do will do anything for you best day camp ever thank you banner

This is possibly the most expensive day camp in the north shore. I tried to convince my son to just…read morego for half the summer to which he responded "but mom - I don't like banner day camp....i LOVE it." And this is a kid who I would have to force to attend basically all other camps so imo it's money well spent. My son (and many of his friends) seem to think this is so much more fun than any other camp they've attended. There's a lot of bells and whistles like water slides, trampball, a lake, dune buggies and a petting farm for younger kids etc. They also get to choose many of their own activities as they get older and my son absolutely loved spending his days playing basketball and participating in their sports league. For those more adventurous the adventure elective looks pretty fun too! It reminds me a lot of overnight camp, but they come home at the end of the day,which is ideal for those (like my son) who aren't ready to be away from home quite yet. I did think their daily communication paled in comparison to our last camp, but I think a lot depends on your unit leader. They have the unit leader call home every few weeks (or maybe even every week for the littles) to check in, which is amazing. It didn't seem like my unit leader knew my son that well and the call felt more like a formality, but by our last call I felt like she had a good grasp of my sons interests. We also didn't get many pictures, but I was told the other groups got way more so may have just they were getting to a more independent age. And since my son isn't little anymore and I see him daily I don't care too much about the pictures. I will say he absolutely loved his counselor and even received a letter from him in the mail, which he was so excited about. What I mostly care about is the BIG smile when he gets off the bus with so Banner gets 5 stars for that alone!

The first week we all were quarantined for Covid-19 my kids were bummed to miss their favorite…read moreclasses. Then the realization hit that we would be stuck at home for weeks (maybe even months...fingers crossed not the case) local businesses got creative. Since then I've been a bit overwhelmed with my kids virtual schedules and would do anything to drop off one of my kids somewhere...and even drive a carpool. Some virtual classes have been better than others. Yesterday we had a music teacher (not at Rootz) send out the wrong zoom passcode and teach the entire class without realizing any kids were on there. But today we had my one of son's favorite classes, Super Hero Boot Camp, here at Rootz take place on zoom and it was the best virtual class I saw yet. Mr. David was well prepared by sending us parents some worksheets (scavenger hunt and coloring page) ahead of time. He had a fun superhero background on zoom and engaged the kids for 40 minutes with super hero activities. Since they are so young it did require a parent to be present and think my husband had so much fun that I may have to sign him up for the class in the future. Are 43 year olds allowed? My son did get distracted a few times, which probably also happens in class, but overall he had so much fun. While he wishes he could see all his fellow superheroes in person, this is a great plan b.

So fortunate to find Ninja class for my two sons. Maidson leads their class and she is simply life…read morechanging and cares deeply about the kids in the class. My oldest son is Autistic and Madison is wonderfully focused on inclusion which leaves us looking forward to every Saturday morning. We are raving fans!

We've been bringing our kids here for years now. The teachers are all very friendly and…read moreknowledgeable about working with young ones in the water. The one thing that isn't ideal is being able to choose the teacher. We've found our kids just listen more and work better with specific instructors but unfortunately there is no way to guarantee that instructor each session.

Foss is a wonderful swim school! We signed our 3 year old up for the Level 1 Learn to Swim program…read more She had a hard time the first two days, and the instructors were very helpful and understanding. The Director (Mike) even helped out personally, and got our daughter in the water. He provided us some good tips to make it easier next time. It says a lot that the Director both gets in the water and makes rounds to make sure everything is going well. During the second class, another instructor (Gabby) also helped out. She actually got our daughter to participate. It was amazing! We ended up switching instructors because we found out that our daughter is more comfortable with females, and the entire Foss staff was very patient and accomodating. Everyone at Foss, from the front desk, to the instructors, to the Director were amazing. Ky, our new instructor is so great. Our first instructor was also great, we just switched because of our daughter's preferences. I'm sorry that I can't remember his name, but he also deserves recognition for being so patient. All of their instructors are great with kids. I would highly recommend this school, especially for younger kids learning to swim. It's a busy school, slots go fast, but they keep class sizes small. They have a play area for parents and siblings who are waiting. I have seen people sign multiple kids up for two classes that are one time slot after the other, since it's so hard to get two spots in one time slot. I think it's worth waiting in the waiting area, it's not that long. Others wait longer for two slots to open up at the same time. Either way, it's worth the wait. I'd recommend the first way, since swimming skills are important to learn sooner rather than later.

Went to Dacoma daycamp in the 1960s and they taught me to swim, Archery, Arts and crafts, Softball,…read moreBoxing in a roped boxing ring on the campus, how to spot Poison ivy in wooded areas, also had an indoor and outdoor Dining area with picnic tables and bench seating, Offered certified Instructors that taught how to breathe while swimming in outdoor swimming pool, Also offered weekend sleepovers on Friday nights inside the dining room which they relocated the tables and bench seating to make room for the cushioned sleeping lounge bedding that accommodated approx 50 children to be together inside a controlled environment with Fans and adduquit ventilation Lotta memorable experiences I still remember to this very day and the daycamp is still open and located in Northbrook, Illinois it's 2026

The way this camp is managed is like MacGyver surviving in the wilderness. Everything is re-built…read moreby maintenance every year. NOT licensed contractors or verified companies that follow strict building regulations. The owners have done everything privately, undermining any IL regulations that stand in their way. The sicker issue is that you wouldn't have to work here to know all that. I've never been someplace as jury rigged as this. Most of the grounds were originally built by the original owner and his son along with their maintenance crew. Even the pool was built up of PVC pipes along with all the other plumbing. Id like to also mention that it's a known fact in the surrounding neighborhood community that the owner's have cut every corner possible to be as cheap as possible. Even the counselors are a blend of high school students along with undertrained adults who are supposed to take care of your kids. If that wasn't shady enough, they have their own people drive the buses too, not seasoned professional bus drivers. It's all dangerous, unsanitary, and unprofessional. Like seriously, painting over rust doesn't prevent rust either and this place is for kids. I'm sorry for any kid being told they were going to camp and got this instead, and on top of all that, to charge as much as they do to run a literal garbage heap, they could at least buy quality food for the kids. They are eating SISCO! That's prison quality food. The cheapest possible option. Once again the surrounding community knows Decoma and the family that owns it for this. That's why a vast majority of their kids that attend come from completely different neighborhoods, and for the price, your kids could attend an ACTUAL camp in IL or elsewhere and be assured their safety and well being under actual rules and regulations governed by law. You have been seriously warned.

My son has been on the boys hip hop dance team going on his 7th year this year. This has been the…read moremost amazing experience. We have an incredible leadership team in our choreography and studio director. The communication for the team is amazing and we the team of boys has grown together over the past few years so much that it has led us to compete and win First Place of World of Dance and we have traveled to CA for the past 2 years. It has been an incredible experience and moving into our last year is very emotional to think we have to leave the studio when he graduates.

My granddaughter has danced at Soul2Sole since she was 11/2. She finally moved into the preschool…read moreprogram and has had a wonderful experience with the preschool team! They are warm and friendly, they have an amazing energy and work very hard for each child to have a positive experience. I couldn't be more pleased with them and Soul2Sole.

Wonderful dance studio and teachers. As a super bonus- the kids get to have their dance recital at…read moreThe Skokie Performing Arts Center. Also, Miss Kate is the best!

My almost 4 year old has been taking ballet (& recently hip hop) for a few years now at Starland*,…read moreBaby Take a Bow**, etc. However, this year I wanted her to find a "real" dance studio where she could continue to dance her heart out for many years to come (if she happens to love dance as much as I did/do). There's not many local studios that offer tap for 3-4 year olds so that was one of my deciding factors for DancED. When researching I also stayed up way too late one night watching video clips of their performances (like I said...I LOVE dance) and was hooked. It reminded me so much of my dance studio from South Florida. My daughter has been in Miss Erin's Creative Dance class since September now and DancED has proven to be everything (and more) I was looking for in a dance studio. At first I worried that one teacher couldn't handle a rowdy group of 10ish pre-schoolers, but after attending this week's parent watch week was in awe with the way Erin has them all under control. I really like that Erin (and it appears most of the other teachers) have a lot of experience teaching little ones. At Baby Take a Bow my daughter mostly had really young ballerinas teaching her who had absolutely no experience dealing with 2 & 3 year olds. And it's a lot more difficult to control a group of pre-schoolers than it is to do a pirouette. The class consists of 20 minutes of tap followed by 20 minutes of ballet. They are working on all the basic tap (shuffles) and ballet (first, second position) moves. My daughter seems to really enjoy it, especially the tap portion of the class. Anything really noisy makes her happy. There are typically 3 consecutive classes going on at the same time and I think she loves checking out the "big girl classes" even more than taking class herself. We're just about to order their costumes for the June recital, which I have to admit I"m excited for. I was a bit bummed to hear that the little ones have their own 45 minute version of the recital, although my husband and I'm sure other parents were thrilled to hear that news. I may just have to go on my own to watch those big kids dance. DancED also have a very busy calendar of events going on all year long. Everything from father/daughter fun nights to princess camps to circus weeks. The owner does a great job showing off pics of their fabulous dancers throughout the studio and on facebook. Speaking of which I'm a bit surprised that the owner (I believe Nancy?) hasn't come by the class to introduce herself to her newest group of dancers, but I'm sure we'll meet her in due time since I hope my daughter will be dancing her way thru DancED for many years to come. * http://www.yelp.com/biz/starland-deerfield **http://www.yelp.com/biz/baby-take-a-bow-winnetka