Best place to learn how to Skim board in Delaware! The instructors are not only great Skim…read moreboarders (professional & amateur) but great with kids. They have free Sat clinics at the beach and all sorts of summer camps and private lessons.

Absolutely love this center! My child just finished Kindergarten and her teacher was so impressed…read moreat how ready she was. My daughter had gone to Kids Cottage since she was 4 months old. We loved every teacher and each teacher always had my child's best interest in mind. I was extremely comfortable dropping my child off every day. I would highly recommend this center to everyone.

I would not recommend this daycare to anyone. Management is horrible. The director is OK with her…read moreteachers being rude and bullies. I had a problem with one of the teachers and instead of the director having a conversation with the parents and the teacher she refused. She thought it was a better option to talk to us separately. One of the problems I had with the teacher is she sent my Child's underwear home with literally poop in it. Another problem that I had was knew that my potty trained yet she sent him home in underwear and I didn't know about it until he had an accident. This teacher does not know how to communicate. The way she dresses is inappropriate for a daycare center.I said something to the director her response back to me was this isn't an excuse, but I think she picked up bad habits from the other teacher that was there for years! (She works in the school district now ) my child didn't even belong in this class. It was for the older four-year-old. My kid just turned three in August and when I asked why the teachers weren't moved, so my kid could go to his class that he's supposed to be, I was told she likes the teachers where they're at . if you go on Google the assistant director gave Kids Cottage a five star review yet she has no kids. It's a shame because this place is really nice, but it is ran so poorly by management. Management gossip about other employees to other employees. they even gossip about all the children and the the parents To each other. I literally had a teacher tell me that they all really need to stop gossiping about children to each other . They also will call me and tell me my child has a fever. I'll come pick my child up. Took my child straight to the doctors. No medicine was given and the doctor tells me my child has no fever. My pediatrician told me the same thing about Kids Cottage and another parent has gone through the same thing. I also told the director that I was pulling my oldest child out of there because of this teacher, and because I said that to her she insisted on kicking my baby out as well. I come in there to pick up my children The assistant Director gets in my face will not let me go grab my children deletes me off this app called brightwheel I don't know the last time my baby ate. I don't know the last time my baby was changed. This director treated me like this 5 years ago when this lady decided to grab my child after I told her to get off my child. the director threatens to kick me and my child out one of the teachers literally grabs my child and tells the director to stop that she's scaring the children Never got an apology. Never got talked about it again. I even wrote the owner and never even got a response back. I was even asked last year to write a review on Kids Cottage by management!

My 12 year old son never surfed a day in his life but all of his friends surf so he wanted to…read morelearn. I called Dave at EcoVentures and scheduled two lessons on two separate days despite Dave reassuring me that one lesson would probably be enough for him. Sure enough my son was surfing great after one lesson and said he didn't need to do a second lesson, so my daughter took the second lesson and just like my son, one lesson was all it took and she was killing it! Dave and his crew are awesome!

I entrusted these quality instructors with my 3 children for 3 days of surf lessons. The staff was…read moreso incredibly positive and encouraging. They had my kids riding in waves after just a few tries. Safety was also always a priority which was one of my big concerns. My children swim well but had never been been out past the waves in the ocean. It was such a great experience, which left my kids begging to go back. We will 100% see you guys next summer.

I am writing to share my experience and observations about Camp Barnes, which I attended for three…read moreyears -- as a camper in 2023 and as a Counselor-in-Training (C.I.T.) in 2024 and 2025. While there are positive aspects of the camp, the overall environment is toxic, disorganized, and poorly managed, particularly for staff and C.I.T.s. As a camper in 2023, I enjoyed activities like campfires, arts and crafts, kayaking, archery, and sports, and most counselors were kind. However, even then there was significant drama within cabins, many campers felt excluded, bathrooms were dirty, cold water was rarely available, and toilet paper and soap often ran out despite repeated requests. The bathrooms were especially unsanitary -- during Girls' Week this year, 4 out of 5 toilets were clogged most of the day, showers flooded, campers had only two minutes to wash (barely enough), and menstrual blood and feces were left on walls and floors. Sewage water even backed up into kitchen drains during meal prep.   As a C.I.T., my experience was discouraging and not at all what was promised. The program was advertised as an opportunity to shadow counselors and develop leadership skills, but in reality we were treated like janitorial staff -- expected to wash dishes, refill water, and clean for hours while male counselors often stood by and contributed little. We arrived at meals an hour early and stayed up to two hours after to clean, with little to no training on how to interact with campers. In 2024, I left early due to a toxic cabin environment and lack of guidance, and in 2025 I returned for Girls' Week 1 hoping things had improved. Unfortunately, they had not. On arrival this year, no clear instructions were given; it was up to us to set up our cabins and pick counselors to shadow. One counselor, Shelby, stood out as kind, organized, and great with campers, but most others were unclear, dismissive, or power-hungry.   Several incidents this year demonstrate the camp's unprofessionalism. For example, Cabin 10 has a long-standing tradition of campers writing their names or messages on the walls, which staff had witnessed and tolerated for years. This year, after campers added some slightly inappropriate but harmless messages, counselors Ashleigh and Ashley Gott made us scrub the walls (despite knowing the permanent marker wouldn't come off), then forced us to hold plank positions and do push-ups -- roughly one for each of the 160 signatures -- even though most of us physically couldn't complete them. Meanwhile, two C.I.T.s completely shirked their responsibilities, ignored campers, used their phones in front of them, and refused to help clean, yet faced no consequences. Those of us who did the work were criticized by Ashley Gott as "childish" and told to "realize we weren't campers anymore." At the end of the week, we were even blamed for a trash bag left in our cabin, even though it had been there since Boys' Week, already full of food and trash when we arrived.   While Camp Barnes does offer fun activities and memorable moments for campers, the lack of organization, poor sanitation, toxic staff culture, and unprofessional treatment of C.I.T.s caused me significant stress and anxiety. As a camp run by the State Police, I expected higher standards of professionalism and accountability. I have decided not to return to Camp Barnes, and I sincerely hope the administration takes these concerns seriously to improve the experience for future campers and staff. If you have any further questions about my experience, please feel free to reach out -- I am happy to provide more details. Thank you for your time.