This is possibly the most expensive day camp in the north shore. I tried to convince my son to just go 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! read more

Working at Banner was the worst experience I've ever had. If you are not an outgoing popular person, then don't bother working here. From day one, I felt like an outsider. I have never had issues making friends, but it is so cliquey here. If you don't fit a certain mold, you are essentially shunned. I continued for three summers, mostly because working with the kids was great, and I needed something on my resume, since I was in school to be a teacher. Besides that, management was the worst part of the job. I was pulled aside one day and essentially berated by management (a name that has been mentioned in many other reviews) for no apparent reason. I was told that at my age (I was 22) I should be a part of leadership by now, and that I was so behind my peers. I was then told that I would never be successful as a teacher because I was not a leader and I would get walked all over. When I started crying, I was asked why I was crying, basically insulting me for having emotions. This happened during the third week of camp, and I dreaded each day that followed. This was 15 years ago, and it's something I still think about regularly. It truly made me feel like I was worthless. I'm happy to report, however, that I have been teaching in a great district for the past 11 years, so their words couldn't be less true. read more

I worked here for five summers as a camp counselor and then two summers as a camp director from 2015-2021. It's true that it's a lot of work, so I hope you have some thick skin (: As a camp counselor, I was in charge of 10-14 boys alongside my co (Junior) counselor. What I liked about the camp is that they gave clear expectations for you. My leadership were always a lot of help and did their best to support me, even given my ambitious and outlandish ideas with my groups of boys. I buried a treasure map in a bottle under a sand box, gave the boys a day where they got to pretend to be a counselor, and often went home exhausted due to running around in the hot sun all day. I always told my junior counselor that you get out what you put in. While it was exhausting to try and create an atmosphere of high energy, I still feel like I've left an impact on Banner Day Camp that ripples on. If you need a break or an easier day, I highly recommend communicating that to your leadership/counselor so that they can support you (: There are some counselors and leadership there who have to be among the most elite and driven leaders of childhood development in the whole country/state. There's live music every morning and afternoon. While Banner may harbor some of my darker times due to certain events in my personal life, I will always remember it as a place full of joy, interconnection, and (dare I say) magic. I feel envious of anyone who stumbles upon this place brand new. There are people who work there and campers who attend this place that I will always cherish/love. When I was running on empty, the simple kindness of others pulled me out of my darker thoughts and allowed me to be present with nature, people, and things. I hope to work here again. As a teacher, I've enjoyed traveling in the summers. Without me there this summer (2023), I'd say to anyone that reads this that if you have a great attitude, your summer can be beyond phenomenal. The sky is nowhere close to the limit. Make friends, smile big, and let your creativity shine. To me, the tough moments just feel like a drop of rain at Banner, because the joy shines like a radiant sun. You've just got to know what to focus on B) Lastly, I think there are some kinks that could be improved about Banner. I think that like most places, it requires people to voice themselves respectfully in order to make sure that it runs smoothly. So, if you ever have issues, I hope you have a person you can voice yourself to in a manner that's kind and reasonable, and I hope they listen to you with kind and open ears. Whoever you are, I hope you feel like I did when I was 18 years old and spent my first summer working at this magical place, where I ran and screamed and felt (shoutout to Perks of Being a Wallflower) INFINITE!! To me, the Banner Spirit comes from within yourself when you're willing to cheer and dance without shame. While you may see the camp as just a part of your life, a child will see it as their whole world, so I hope you show them a world full of amazement, curiosity, whimsy, and dreams. Lastly, just like I signed other people's yearbooks in middle school, I hope you... HAGS!!!! B) read more

It's a great camp, my 3 very different children love it. I also love the bus that drops and picks them up from the house and that I don't have to pack a lunch. The grounds are very nice and the camp has everything from cooking classes to sports to crafts to trampoline sports, climbing/zip lines, a petting zoo, an Olympics, Carnival etc. read more

I, like Clarice, was an employee at Banner. I was a life guard/swim instructor. We had no WHISTLES and were told to yell "whistle, whistle, whistle" because whistles were scary. More like they cost money!!! Also, we had NO umbrellas which is a requirement for life guards. We also had one 20 minute break all day and lifeguards are required MANY breaks through the day due to being in the sun so much. Also, I got payed about $4-$5 an hour and my paycheck said something along the lines of I got payed $30 an hour and only worked a few hours through the week. Seems legit. I also know for a fact these kids' parents pay about $1000 each week for their children. If they only knew. After that year, I went to the buffalo grove park district to work and guess what?! It was amazing and I got payed over the LEGAL minimum wage!!! I'll be happy to change my review once change happens read more

My kids liked Banner in the past (thus the three stars), but this year was such a disappointing experience for our family that I feel like I should give others a heads up. After Lollapalooza weekend, I reached out to Banner with comments my kids had made about staff not wearing a mask while sitting across from them on the bus. I thought Banner would share my concern and remind counselors to wear their masks, but the call ended up making me way more worried, not less! When they mentioned unvaccinated staff weren't allowed to return after Lollapalooza, I was dismayed to think they had unvaxxed adults working there this whole time. I was especially surprised to hear that staff were unvaccinated not just for medical reasons, but also for what Banner called "philosophical" reasons. I was also disappointed by their Lolla policy in general. Despite the quarantine they touted as a way to keep campers safe, I was told that staff who attended Lolla were, in fact, asked to return to camp Monday morning. This surprised me since in emails, Banner had said, "those who attend Lollapalooza [should] assume they have been exposed" and follow a 7-day quarantine period, with a negative test required after day 5. But on my call with them, I learned those precautions only applied to parents/kids. They told me that staff who attended Lolla had to provide a negative test on Monday, which I didn't find reassuring since that would be too soon after exposure to be accurate. Afterwards, the director followed up with me and insisted the bus staff was masked appropriately and did not attend Lollapalooza, effectively dismissing what my kids said as made-up. (Despite the fact that they're 13 and 11, they both say they heard the counselor talking in detail about her experiences at Lolla during the hour-long bus ride, and another camper on their row said the same thing to his parents.) So that was a sad note to end their time at Banner on. We started when my youngest was in the 3-year-old program. Banner responded to my review here on Yelp via an attorney, "hereby demand[ing] that you immediately retract and/or remove any online commentary regarding Banner" as "we reserve all rights to seek recourse including monetary and exemplary damages." But my hope is that by pushing back, Banner will be more responsive and transparent when it comes to parents' COVID concerns, allowing everyone to more accurately weigh the risks and benefits of camp for their family. read more

On July 5, 2020 Banner Camp Director, Melanie, asked my ex-husband and his lawyer via email to get a court order to prevent me from posting any reviews of Banner on social media. So a caution that if you enroll your child at Banner, they try to silence parents who may have a critical review. Apparently Melanie forgot about the First Amendment. Because of Melanie's actions that now force me to litigate this matter (without the financial ability to afford an attorney) I feel an obligation to inform other parents of my experience with this camp so you can consider Banner's actions and policies before enrolling your child. My son Ben, age 12, attended Banner in the past and did not want to attend this summer of 2020, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. My ex-husband filed an emergency motion to force our son to attend Banner's 6-week session that started June 29. I opposed his attendance due to Covid and my son's preference, but attempted to resolve it by agreeing to three weeks. The court ordered that our son be enrolled for the 6 weeks but could "opt out" after 3 weeks if there were other supervised, structured activities he wanted to attend instead. Shortly thereafter, my ex-husband informed me he was taking Ben and his brother to South Dakota July 1-5, including the July 3 Trump rally, where there was NO social distancing and NO enforcement of masks; an event deemed to be the highest risk for Covid transmission by the CDC. I informed Banner Camp Director Melanie of their travel plans. She stated that other families are also traveling during this camp session. The camp sent an email requiring any child who travels out of state to produce a negative Covid test before returning, which was appropriate. However, they did not require the parents to wait the recommended amount of time before getting the test. I informed Melanie that, per the CDC, a person will get a FALSE negative result 100% of the time on the day they are exposed to the virus and about 40% of the time if they are tested 4 days after exposure to the virus. That's why the 14-day quarantine period was instituted early in the pandemic. On July 6, 2020 Chicago enacted an emergency order instructing anyone traveling to Chicago from 15 states that have seen a surge in COVID-19 cases to self-quarantine for 14 days. Banner allows families to get the test the same day they return from out of state, then send their child right back to camp. This is an invalid test as it's too early for the virus to show up in test results. Melanie not only disregarded my concerns, she went behind my back and directly drew me into litigation. If she felt that Banner's policies were appropriate, why would she be concerned with reviews? Hopefully everyone remains safe and healthy, but the actions, policies, and disregard for parental concerns cause me to give this camp (and it's director) one star. read more

My son is going into his 9th year at Banner. The first time I took him there I had tinges of jealousy because the camp is so beautiful and fun. Many of the counselors are former campers- that says a lot. It's pricy, but they pick up, drop off, and feed hot lunch. read more

Sent my two kids here years ago and it was a huge mistake. Melanie and the other employees do not care about the kids. Lots of bullying on buses and the bus counselors cannot handle it. When I brought my concerns to the owners they blamed my children who were six and eight years old at the time being bullied by kids almost twice their size. they even suggested that I bring a social worker to observe my child which was a joke because there was absolutely nothing wrong on our end. I originally had them signed up for eight weeks but Pulled them out of their program after the first four weeks. They went to Tamarack after that and were so happy and never had any issues there. I even sent a letter to the owners and managers about my concerns afterwards to give them a chance to respond and show any kind of compassion, yet I never heard back from them. Banner lacks counselors that actually care for your kids and have their best interest put first and foremost. read more

As a previous worker of Banner I have personally experienced the unfairness in the amount of work they expect from us in comparison with the amount of pay we receive. Especially, being a college student the workers are under paid. I too found myself having to buy goodies for the kids out of my own pocket because they highly suggested that's how we welcome and leave them. I believe if they want this then they should be funding it themselves. I also found that numerous other workers were rude, not welcoming what so ever, and a bit immature. I don't recommend. read more