In our experience, sending our child to Renbrook for Pre-K was unfortunate. There were two Pre-K…read moreclasses that, to us, appeared quite segregated, with most minority students and teachers in one class and others in the other. This gave us the impression that the school lacks diversity. Throughout the school year, our previously happy and outgoing child became increasingly miserable, to the point of not wanting to go to school in the mornings. We all felt a significant amount of stress. At the time, we weren't aware that Renbrook does not require formal qualifications for their teachers. It seems that individuals who were formerly teacher's aides or camp counselors are employed as teachers, without any formal education or training in child development or education. This contrasts with local public schools, which typically require a master's degree in these fields. In our view, based on what our child shared, these unqualified "teachers" seemed unable to connect with our child and perhaps others, resorting to strict discipline methods such as yelling, time-outs, and a lack of affection or support. As parents, we were repeatedly pressured through emails and phone calls to use time-outs at home to make our child easier to manage in class. The classroom environment seemed overly strict for four-year-olds, who were expected to sit still in a circle for extended periods and were not allowed to wiggle or make noises without being labeled disruptive. Any attempts to communicate with the school about how well-behaved our child was in other settings were dismissed. We felt blamed as parents, with the school insisting that the problem was with us or our child, never them. It appeared that children of teachers and wealthy donors were given preferential treatment, allowed to misbehave without consequence. Our child noticed this difference and expressed that the teachers only helped certain kids, not her or some of her friends. There seemed to be a bias, with boys being excused for inappropriate remarks or physical transgressions, while girls were expected to remain quiet and compliant. This made us feel very concerned. Based on conversations with other parents, it seemed that families who were not part of the teachers' or donors' circle were often advised to seek psychological evaluations and treatments for their children. This gave us the impression that the frequency of children in therapy at Renbrook was notably high. We never had the opportunity to meet the school counselor, as she was part-time and unable to attend a meeting we hoped she would join. When we attempted to discuss our concerns with the head of the school, we felt that our concerns were again dismissed, with the suggestion that the issue lay solely with us and our child. This was not supported by a subsequent elaborate professional evaluation, which found our child to be highly intelligent and emotionally healthy. Throughout the year, most of the school's communication centered around fundraising and monthly donation requests, with little focus on the educational details of our children. The events were more akin to social gatherings, featuring heavy drinking by some participants and the formation of cliques among parents at golf or social clubs. Notably, Renbrook does not offer tuition refunds if you decide the school is not a good fit and wish to transfer your child during the school year. This made the school year seem long and needlessly difficult for us. Things immediately improved when we enrolled our child in a different school for summer camp and kindergarten, where she now feels respected, supported, and welcome. We are very pleased with this change, and she has returned to being her happy, outgoing, curious, and well-behaved self. Lastly, we have noticed that Renbrook tends to respond to negative reviews by stating they have no record of the student attending, particularly in response to anonymous reviews. We assure you that we did send our child there, regardless of whether Renbrook acknowledges our email address.

Renbrook is by far the best private school - and better than most public schools - in the area…read more It's worth a look for any child between the ages of 3years old and 9th grade. Small class size, diversity, traditional and creative school curriculum and individual attention from teachers is the norm, not the exception.

It's been awhile since I last came here. And I have no intention of coming back…read more Lockers/showers area could be cleaner. unpleasant, rude workers at the pool. The cafe/food stall was pretty good.

We enjoy using our membership at the Swim & Tennis Club. I have young kids so the baby pool,…read moreplayground, and arts & crafts shack and big hits with them. We haven't really gotten into mini golf, tennis, or the water slides yet, but maybe when they're older. We have not done swimming lessons here either but we hear great things about the swim team. I did not deduct stars for this but would like to give fair warning that the snack bar this summer was VERY slow, understaffed, and prone to errors the times that we used it. I hope it improved throughout the season but we haven't utilized it since midway through the summer. We'll try again next year!

I came here for a birthday party and it was the first time visiting this farm. It is pretty cute…read moreand the birthday party was held in a small building with its own kitchen. The kids had fun feeding the farm animals. I will have to admit I had fun too. There are all sorts of farm animals, such as chickens, cats, dogs, goats, horses, bunnies, pigs and more. I am a cat person and I enjoy looking for the barn cats. The place is pretty clean for a farm and the kids enjoy the tractor ride. All the employees were nice and friendly. If you're planning a fun kids party, this is a great place for them.

You can't miss the iconic large red barn that has the word EGGS, but backwards on it. Flamig Farm…read morehas been in existence since 1907; located in West Simsbury. First visit, I got there around 4:40 and they were closing at 5; it was a short trip because I just wanted to get some eggs. The employee said they were closing soon and so was the petting zoo when I first walked in; I mentioned I was going to be quick and just wanted to get some eggs. I didn't know they had a petting zoo so I made a plan to go back again another time. The store was your typical farm stand, they had eggs, honey, cookies, apparel, and various of other knick knacks. They were having a sale, buy one dozens eggs ($7) and get one dozen free. The chickens were laying too many eggs and they wanted to get rid of as many as possible. The second time, I got in earlier in the day and purchased petting zoo tickets; $8 per person over 2 years old/under 80 years old and for an additional $2, you can purchase feed. I highly recommend getting the feed, the animals loved it. The petting zoo was bigger than I thought. There's even a playground with benches and picnic tables. The place seemed clean and the animals seem well taken care of. We saw pigs, llamas (my favorite), sheep, goats, alpacas, peacocks, cows, ponies (another favorite), donkeys, bunnies, chickens, and a black cat.Inside the shop, there were baby chicks, birds, and guinea pigs. There were signs explaining what type of animals, facts, and their story/names throughout. They also offer pony and tractor rides for an additional fee. There's a huge pavilion with picnic tables; you can bring your own food in. Also, there is an Airbnb onsite and people book their weddings there. There are many events hosted there as well; children programs and summer camps are popular ones. My kids and I had a blast petting and feeding the animals. I highly recommend!

The facilities themselves are great. However, one of the women at the front desk was rude. I came…read morewith my boyfriend and when I was about to let her know I didn't have my pass with me and ask if she could look me up in the system, she just asked him, "What about the little girl?" I am a small woman, but it was rude to not even address me and call me that when we are both evidently adults.

It's ok, but it's really family-oriented so there's always a bunch of kids dominating the gym, so…read moreif you thought you'd drop by to shoot a few hoops, guess again. The exercise equipment is above average, but the free weight area seems like an afterthought. It's too small and lacks the redundancy you need to get through a workout if it's busy. The hours are ok, but unless you're really in tune with the Jewish holiday calendar, you're going to be disappointed periodically. Yes, the facility closes to celebrate these things. Also, special events like bar mitzvahs pop-up and make the gymnasium unavailable. It's a nice facility, but it's not a great value.

I'm a long-time member, and I love this place. Brought my kids here decades ago, now bringing my…read moregrandkids. WT offers so much. It is very large, offers many opportunities.

** This review is for the recent company outing that took place here during the week…read more First let me start off by saying that the property is absolutely gorgeous. From the lake and hiking trails to the numerous playgrounds and pavillions Winding trails offers a variety of options. Close to the interstate you would not know that while you are here. It was that serene and tranquil. My firm had our recent company you outing hee and had a wonderful time using the property for our "Olympic" competition. We were provided with shaded pavillions as a central eating/meeting location and equipment to use for sand volleyball kickball and a relay race (which included a canoe of ride around the lake). There were several other groups on the property but I never felt "on top of them" The grounds were clean and well kept with our plenty of garbage cans and recycling bins to dispose of our catered lunch from Bear's BBQ (which was as good as eating at their brick and motor store in Hartford). It also looked like there were individual families enjoying the property but I am not sure if Winding Trails offers a separate membership for that. If you are looking for a place to hold an event large or small, I highly recommend checking Winding Trails.

This place was nice! We went for a group outing of seven people. When I called earlier in the week,…read morethe guy said we didn't need a reservation and could just walk in for Saturday. We all planned to meet there at 5 PM, but when we arrived, they told us we actually needed a reservation and had to come back at 6:45. Thankfully, West Hartford has plenty to do, so we walked around, grabbed some food, and returned for our reservation. One thing to know is that you pick the pottery you want to paint it's not a place where you make the pottery yourself. That has pros and cons, depending on your preferences. I'm honestly not that artistic when it comes to freehand painting, so I picked a simple snowflake design (probably the cheapest option at around $14). My friends picked reindeer, cookie trays, and other fun items. Painting was fun, but you have to leave your piece for 2-3 weeks to be glazed, so don't expect to take it home the same day. The space is small, but I liked the intimate setting. The staff was also very nice, and overall, I had a good experience. I would definitely go back.

I have not had a hand in pottery since high school so this was a nice activity to do and spend…read morequality time with friends and family. Claypen is located on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford Center between Walden and Dale streets. Lookout for the sessions posted outside if looking for something specific. I was attracted to the Studio Ghibli theme they were having and immediately made a reservation. I honestly didn't know what to expect until I arrived there. Upon check in, we were shown where we'd be seated and were told that we select any ceramic on the shelf and will be provided the paints and can even replenish it ourselves from the shelf. As well as take as much time as we needed to complete our design. My daughter did her own thing and drew Sanrio on different sides while I wanted to paint Haku and my friend, Totoro. I think it all came out really well!! I looked up an image tried to copy it onto the jar. Originally using a pencil and lightly tracing it onto the surface to not affect the image, although I was told that the pencil burns off during the baking process. We were also instructed to paint more than 1 coat so that the paint will show. The whole process was easy enough. When finished, everything can be brought to the counter for payment. Essentially the painting is free, it's the ceramic that needs to be paid for. I would think that the piece is averagely priced. If wanting to be sure, definitely ask before picking a piece. I'd certainly do this again.

A park with a spectacular view!…read more Talcott Mountain State Park is a 574-acre park located in Simsbury. Parking was spacious. The trail to the Heublein Tower is 1.25-miles long. The Tower can be seen from various parts of the state. It's a beautiful, white, 165-foot high tower with 360 degrees view. The trail was wide and on gravel. There was recent heavy rains so some of the trails had some washout. The hike was mostly up hill with some flat areas; I'd say it's moderate but it was a little bit more challenging for me because I was baby-wearing my child. My toddler did great on it. There were a couple of benches and logs to sit on along the way; pet waste receptacles were seen. My only qualm were the bugs, so don't forget bug spray like we did. Once we got to the top, there were a couple of porta potties and a kiosk. The view of the tower up close was exhilarating, so much history. There was an informational movie on in the garage with benches. There was a huge picnic pavilion and picnic tables throughout; a giant BBQ pit and another small one. The Heublein Tower was beautiful and built in 1914; it can withstand 100-mph winds. The staircases going up and down were meant to be one way; this was a great way to reduce pedestrian congestion and a fire hazard. There were historic relics and rooms decorated the way it was back in the day. Informational signage throughout the space. The tower used to be the summer home for Gilbert Heublein; a successful businessman whose company acquired Smirnoff Vodka and A1 Steak Sauce. The view from the ballroom was amazing and breathtaking. They had signs showing what we can see based on the direction. The hike back down the trail was easier, becareful though, some of the gravel were slippery and I saw a kid fall. Overall, a great hike and the view was worth it!

Amazing and easy hike with the gals. The view is amazing from the top. It is a great hike to chat…read morewith people and too far from Hartford