Camp Fire in Long Beach is where our mixed level Girl Scout troop recently earned their archery…read morebadges. It was not particularly outstanding archery lessons, but both a male and female instructor were friendly and engaging with the girls. At the end, they even allowed the parents a go at the target. I must say that while the duo tried their best at accommodating the students, their equipment was a bit lacking. The draw weight in the bow I used was next to nada. My try-everything-at-least-a-hundred-times husband agreed. Still, while my hubby and I were a bit disappointed with the private instruction and the equipment, this Sunday afternoon (2/23/20) was a perfect day to try new things. Other Highlights: + restrooms on site + our troop was able to bring snacks and drinks + picnic area right next to archery area + plenty of free parking + clean, safe grounds As long as COVID-19 does not ruin summer camp, there should be plenty of activities and day camps geared toward "developing teamwork skills and strengthening camaraderie." The programs are not just for youth. Workplaces can also schedule an outing for their employees. When dust finally settles from this Coronavirus s***... MORE OF THIS PLEASE for our kids and co-workers, etc.

Our office staff came here to do some team building. I have to say, we already work GREAT as a team…read moreand cooperate and coordinate really well so it wasnt too much of a challenge to get some of the activities done. We started out doing group activities that challenge team work, patience, active listening, communication, problem solving, and thinking about others. I loved the creativity and variety in the activities, it kept everyone actively engaged and nobody ever got bored. It might have been because we were all adults and they are used to a much younger clientele, but I hoped our group leaders would be a little more enthusiastic working with us since our group was a little low energy at some points. The second half of the day was more focused on personal goals and achievements, pushing your limits, and trusting in yourself and others. This one should be full of encouragement. Some of us were a lot more game for the ropes course than others but everyone did feel a sense of achievement and satisfaction at the end of the day. If you have never tried a ropes course/team building activities like the ones here at Camp Fire USA, I highly recommend it! It is a great experience and you'll make many fun memories!

Saved the best summer camp for last this summer. My son is going into first grade so this was our…read morefirst summer of summer camps and we tested out 6 different ones. This was leaps and bounds above all the others. I had walked by it last summer on a walk and immediately set a reminder in my phone to sign my son up for this summer. It isn't just how well organized it is and the fact that the kids are outside in the water learning new things and challenging themselves every day, it's the way the director/owner (and all the counselors) speak to the children. It's exactly how you'd want someone leading your child while they are away from home - they teach respect, are firm in holding the kids accountable for behavior, but all in the name of having a positive experience. We will absolutely be signing him up here next year for at least half of the summer. They offer full day and half day, we did full day (8-4), but I ended up picking him up around 2 a couple of the days just because it was so hot out. I have heard the counselors consistently encourage and actively ensure the kids drink water and reapply sunscreen and you can tell they genuinely care about each and every kid. This is only my son's third day and he's already bonded with the staff and talks about Matty (the owner) multiple times a day. He's never been on any board other than a boogie board and within 1 hour on his first day he was paddling out on his own on a paddle board. I can just see his confidence beaming from this camp. Thank you!

This is my favorite summer camp in Long Beach. My kids came home more confident, excited, and…read moreexhausted. They are true "watermen" and will be returning this summer.

My son took this class and looked forward to it every week. He is 6. They adjusted the learning to…read morehis level, varied the activities each week and kept it fun and engaging. The class was so organized and the communication was wonderful. The student to coach ratio was also beyond belief. Most classes it was 1:3 and my son got a lot of 1:1 coaching. Our favorite part was watching our son during the physical fitness portion of the class. I couldn't have asked for a better introduction to the golf world for both of us. We look forward to the fall and taking more classes.

We had a great experience with TGA Golf. We found them through our school's after-school program,…read moreand the staff immediately stood out. The coaches are patient, kind, and excellent with kids. They keep sessions fun while teaching real skills and structure. Our son loved every class and gained confidence, which led us to sign up for camps as well. We even worked with TGA to put on an incredible golf themed birthday party. It was a hit!! The staff truly makes this program.

My son attended his first season at Camp Adventurewood in 2023 - it was his first experience at a…read moresummer camp and he was a little nervous and shy but all his counselors made him feel so welcome and comfortable and after the first day he was hooked! He loved the variety of activities and made so many new friends. He came home with fun stories each day. I loved that they offered a variety of options from 2 days/week to 5 days. We returned last summer and an unexpected and sudden medical event threw our summer for a loop. They were beyond kind and accommodating. Michael, the owner, personally made sure we were taken care of at a very scary time and was just incredibly kind and communicative. I can't thank him and his staff enough for the support. I would recommend this camp for any family. Its like a classic, old-school summer day camp experience!

My son attended Adventurewood camp for the first time this week. For the most part he enjoyed…read morehimself -- particularly the characters they introduce throughout the week. However, we decided to pull him out for next week because of a very disturbing situation. He shared that a counselor had pushed him with both hands on his shoulders during a capture the flag activity. He had dropped his flag and was putting it back on when a counselor (he didn't know her name) pushed him back hard enough to make him lose his balance and fall. She also barked "you need to reset!" She didn't ask if he was ok or help him up. You'd think if this was an accidental push and he fell over she would say something like "sorry bud are you ok? Here let me help you up" but nope, not a word. A friend he's attending camp with witnessed the whole incident. Since I pick them both up in the afternoons they both recounted this situation to me and both of them noted how inappropriate her behavior was. I immediately reached out to Michael, the owner of the camp. He said he wanted to identify this counselor and get her side of the story. Understandable. My son felt uncomfortable going back the next day but I reassured him it would be handled and offered to drop him off in the morning and stick around to talk to Michael and the counselor. I wanted him to feel safe. Michael identified her (her name is Carson) and said he wanted to talk to her first, which he did a few feet away from me. I heard her say she didn't push him. They then walked over to me and she again denied everything. So we asked both kids to come over and recount what happened. They both did -- in front of her -- and reiterated she pushed him. She denied even touching him. So Michael suggests at this point that perhaps it was an accident and my son responds by saying "how do you push someone like that by accident?!" No response. So I ask her, are you saying these kids are lying? She again said she didn't touch him and at this point we send the kids away. I'm incensed because not only does she gaslight both of them to their face but tells this bold faced lie to her boss in front of the campers and me. I tell her I believe them and I think she's the one lying. At this point she gives me this dirty look - angry, irritated and almost rolls her eyes at me. I turn to Michael and say "and now she's giving ME an attitude?!" Unbelievable. In a follow up call, he tells me how good of a person she is and that this is shocking for him to hear but that she doesn't seem like someone who would do something like this...that she's getting her teacher credentials and he knows her really well. I am getting the vibe he doesn't actually believe any of this and he sounds very skeptical. I respond by telling him that it's almost always surprising when people exhibit bad behavior and that even teachers do bad things...that doesn't make her any more credible in my eyes. He acknowledged that. In fact, it's worse because I would be really concerned to have someone like that teaching a kid. Lack of empathy, accountability, and integrity. I mean, I think it's great he's trying to have her back but there are moments in life when you need to draw a line and act swiftly...these are one of those moments. Because ultimately, this impacts the reputation of your camp. I told him that it would be good to offer training to his staff in case this ever happens again in the future and honestly he sounded baffled and asked me to clarify...I said well maybe tell your staff not to give dirty looks to a mom who's clearly upset that her son just got pushed by a grown adult at summer camp?? I told him that the response to this situation could've resulted in a totally different outcome. Had she said something like "I really don't recall pushing you but if I inadvertently did and made you feel bad I'm sorry - I didn't mean to do that" - I would've went home that morning feeling fine about the situation. When I told him this he said that he's not going to police all her reactions, that she's still young, that she's still learning and made all kinds of excuses for her. Exhausting. Apparently she got a "warning" and will sit out of the flag activity (umm, ok...). He seems like a smart guy and wish him nothing but success in the future and I was earnestly trying to offer advice for how to handle a situation like this better but it fell on deaf ears. I really hope that some kind of learning comes out of this for both of them. Oh and to top it off, my son's friend told her mom that Carson was giving her looks several times throughout the day today and when she asked what kind she said "side eye" looks. NOT COOL. My son also said she was kind of mean to him but wondering why they were even in close proximity when Michael said they'd absolutely be separated and would not see each other? Validates we both made the right choice by pulling them both out. He offered a refund but I'm still pissed about the situation.

I took a private class with Teri to bake a cake for my husband's 40th birthday, and it was the best…read moredecision ever. I've never baked a single thing in my life, but by the end of Teri's walk-through (and with lots of friendly guidance), I had a beautiful 4 tier cake to leave with. My husband was absolutely flabbergasted that I'd baked and I was shocked that it was actually delicious. He's eaten a piece daily since and can't stop talking about how good it is-meanwhile I can't stop talking about how much fun I actually had with Teri. She shared the recipe so I can make it going forward and I think I can actually pull it off thanks to the education I got at Chef Tech!

My kids have attended Chef Tech's summer camps for the last two summers and I couldn't recommend…read morethem more highly! They are able to manage a large group of kids in a very organized manner and are excellent and patient teachers. Each and every time that I pick them up I'm shocked by how much they were able to make in the two and a half hours that they were there. They are currently in the Italian week camp and have made homemade pizzas, pastas and sauces from scratch, flatbreads, salads, sorbet, cookies, etc. My kids are 9 (twins), but we also brought friends this summer. One is in his last year of middle school and enjoyed the class just as much as the younger kids. Truly, such a wonderful experience for them! Thank you so much, Chef Tech!

This camp was a good thing until they almost ruined our family or at least our summer... Because…read moreour daughter has an imagination and said something that exploded and simply wasn't true. They how ever offered her a toy as a bribe to continue her story making it worse totally led the conversation. Almost every agency that could be involved got involved costing money, time, and parenting time. Maybe the way they interview or ask questions by supposed "man dated reporters" need to be modified as I am a mandated reporter myself in the end from one person who really wanted to love this camp why have I heard about the same story from another situation and parent before too?

I want to love this camp, unfortunately the counselors excluded my daughter from all rehearsals…read morebecause she missed one day of camp. They also left me waiting more than 30 minutes for early pickup and said they thought I'd been helped, then told me to wait until regular pickup time. If it was one problem I'd let it go. This was our third year at the camp. The first year was great. Since then, it hasn't been positive for us.

I needed childcare coverage for my 8 year old a couple days early in summer break and we tried…read moreBeach Tutors at Marine Vista. I love that you can drop in daily if space is available. My son loved it so much that I booked two full weeks. He's always happy at drop off and upon pick up. The teachers are so sweet and energetic -- they have the kids doing everything from games, sports, art, and more. One thing I noticed right from the beginning was how inclusive and welcoming the teachers are to each kiddo. We love Beach Tutors and can't wait to try out the afternoon bay water activities option!

Our 10-year old son had a great time with Beach Tutors Marina Vista mornings and Bay play in the…read moreafternoon. We sat at the beach one Friday afternoon and saw that they were well staffed and full of engaging activities for the kids. Will definitely book again!

My husband booked this for us for a valentine ghost themed movie moment and I love it! Our teacher…read morewas so patient and helped us when we screwed up on building the clay up haha We did three different bowls/cups with different styles and it cost $8-$10/ea to take our bowls home with us. It wasn't too bad. This was the first time we've done pottery, and honestly I would try it again! A great experience and super fun!

Went for a private event for my bestie's birthday back in January - the class was great and our…read moreinstructor deserves 5 stars for being super enthusiastic yet patient with our group of 9 people (especially since we were all beginners). He seemed extremely passionate in what he does! Giving a low rating just because of our experience with front desk staff. We come in super cordial just to be met with stank attitudes. A few weeks after our session, we called the place to follow up on our pieces and the woman on the phone sounded rude about us asking about it. We went to pick up our pieces recently and the woman at the front desk definitely sounded like the one we talked to on the phone, same voice and same unwelcoming attitude. As if our presence ruined her day or us picking up our pieces was such a drastic request for her to do.