Hands down this is my kids' favorite camp of the summer. We literally plan our summer around these…read morecamps. Our walls are filled with the beautiful art that my kids made at summer camp. They have developed such a love of art and joy of creation through Lucy's supportive and wonderful learning environment. What I love most is that Lucy teaches kids about different artists, and then encourages the kids to find their own voice and think creatively and critically about the work they are doing. Her studio is a magical place. I can't recommend this camp highly enough.

Former student, now thirty-year-old adult. I took many classes and camps with Lucy over the years…read moreand loved all of them. It was such a fun environment and I learned so much about art while also having a great time. I loved the variety of mediums and styles we used during classes. And now I work in an art field, which was my dream as a kid. Can't recommend these classes and camps enough!

Our granddaughter went to Trackers Camp El Cerrito. Well…read moreorganized Professional staff Fun activities Very positive experience

We've been doing trackers for years. The kids have a good time but I wanted to weigh in on the…read morepricing of late. The price has gone through the roof, but I'm really irked by the timing. Drop off is at 9:30 and pick up at 2:30, so essentially 5 hours (little more than a half day camp). It's already expensive at nearly $750 a week, but then you have to pay substantially more if you want to pick up or drop off at the same time as most other camps. Basically you're getting a half-day camp at more than full-day camp prices. Really annoying to get nickled and dimed this way.

My daughter has been to KC Summer Day Camp many times over the past few years and she absolutely…read moreLOVES it. The counselors are truly wonderful: fun, caring, and creative and each week the camp has a different theme lead by local experts or artisans (from carpentry and engineering to jewelry and gymnastics) so the kids are never bored. My daughter also looked forward to their weekly field trips which took them on various adventures throughout the Bay Area.The cost is extremely reasonable for a camp of this caliber and the location is picturesque - nestled in the Kensington Hills near Berkeley. Also, a huge plus for this busy working parent is their early drop off and late pick up on those days when I need it. We'll be there again this summer!

How refreshing. If you, like me, have a whole spreadsheet full of summer camps lined up for your…read morekids, you, like me, might get cranky about how many of them have short hours, high prices, longish drives, complicated drop offs and pickups. KCC Camp is so simple. So easy. It's all day, so great for working parents. Each week there's a different theme and specialized classes with a teacher--carpentry, say, or gymnastics. There's a field trip every Wednesday (on an actual bus--no parent driving required! Yay!). There's always tennis and structured play, but also plenty of downtime if that's what your kid wants. It's not the most coddling camp ever, but the kids have fun and come home happy.

My 6-years-old son likes the drawing classes at Art Corner Academy. I took him there in late April…read morethis year when I saw him not knowing what to do with his drawing project at school. The instructor Susan is excellent. She is well-knowledged and talented in illustrations, picture books, and wall paintings. She is very patient and knows how to teach. As a beginner, Susan asks my son to do one drawing project including coloring in each class which lasts about one hour. He likes the achievement when he finishes. He has gained great confidence in drawing after several classes. He now loves drawing!

From the owner: Summer Camp start at July first to 19th. Color sculptures,Paintings,Computer Graphic Design are…read morevaluable. We Accept children age 6 up to high school student.

This place is honestly such a hidden gem. Located next to Costco in Richmond, I Flip Gymnastics is…read moresuch a huge space we had no idea about until a couple of parent friends mentioned it recently. They offer a variety of classes for multiple age groups, open gym hours, and more. I would do some research ahead of time matching your kiddos age ranges with the weekly schedule ~ our drop-in was around $20. I'm sure there are monthly rates and/or memberships, but we wanted to check it out first to see what the gym entailed. The staff is incredible nice, the families/kiddos who come are great, and I appreciate the open space format conducive to safe exploration and play. There does have to be a guardian present at all times, or at least for our time slot there does :) Equipment-wise, we were very impressed. This is most def a super-elevated Gymboree (or for us, the next step!). I'm not a gymnast so not sure the technical terms for the equipment, but from our fist time I noticed the open mat, climbing blocks, trampoline, foam pit, mini balance beams, rings, and more. For the kiddos, they get stamps at the end of the hour long sesh and fun music is played throughout. A trainer is present too. Overall, we will def come back again soon. There is safe parking adjacent to the building, and can't beat grabbing a few items/gas/snacks at Costco before or after class. Happy we have a space in the East Bay like this. Bravo!

Found out about the gym at our kids friends birthday party, it's been 5 months now our two kids…read morehave been attending open gym and camp, couldn't be more satisfied. Super easy communication and kids love Paloma and the staff. See you guys for summer camp!

The kid enjoyed all-sports camp last year quite a bit, and the price is very reasonable as far as…read morefull-week camps go! But I really appreciate Russ the owner, who accommodated switching weeks, two years in a row. (Sometimes you don't know exactly when your vacation will be!). Anyway I'm sure they'll get our business for years to come.

Kids had a great week of play. Lots of games and activities and at the end of the day, they said…read morethey missed Coach Maddy and were excited to go back.

So far just one class with my 5-year-old son, but I'm very impressed on multiple fronts. After the…read moreinitial drop-in class yesterday we purchased weekly classes with the full expectation this initial great experience will only be surpassed. Husband & wife team Matt and Chelsea (owners) and Matt's sister Stephanie are lovely. It's a really great space and Matt is preternaturally good with younger kids. I shadowed my son for a bit in the studio to observe both my son's behavior in a structured environment and the instructors' teaching style. My son is both young and inherently independent (and often distracted) so this was bound to be revealing. Matt and Chelsea's approach to teaching is closer to informed guidance and it seems to work very well with my son and the other kids I observed. They let the child initiate their creative intent and then equip them with the technical information they need in a manner that is both empowering and not overwhelming. As for my son's proclivity to essentially 'not listen,' Matt in particular was excellent at focusing my son's attention on the task at hand and contextualizing what needed to be done so that he could 'own it.' It's clear his forthcoming studio experiences will be about so much more than learning and enjoying ceramics. This isn't 'OK class today we're going to make a coil-built pot. First I want you to take your clay and...'. Not at all. In an hour and fifteen minutes, my son made two objects in distinctly different techniques: a bowl thrown on the wheel and a slab-built shark. In the course of building those two pieces he was exposed to: centering clay on the wheel; managing the clay to expand, compress, elongate and widen his bowl; keeping his eye on his work; keeping the clay moist; the effects of various pressures applied to the clay on the wheel; scoring and attaching separate pieces with slip; scribing; use of various tools; under-glazing; clean-up, and more. I imagine he'll have to revisit every one of those lessons in subsequent classes but it's a gentle teaching style that works well here. Matt and Chelsea always had an eye on each of the kids and were great about transitioning between them to give guidance in a way that seemed very natural. The space itself is wonderful and can only be described as luminous. Well, that and clean. This is not a stereotypical 'mad potter's studio,' nor is it an anal 'everything in its place mausoleum.' Instructors have a clear view of everything going on in the space at all times. There's a front seating for parents/nanny's to hang out (WiFi available) and get some work done if you want to wait. Parking in the neighborhood doesn't seem to be a problem. The most critical measure of Kids-n-Clay is the reaction from my son, who really didn't want to leave and spoke of it more or less non-stop the rest of the day. Looking forward to what's next here. If you attend a drop-in class, be aware it takes about 2-3 weeks before pieces cycle through the process and can come home with you. But that's just ceramics. Highly recommended.

My kid loves this place! The kids can use the pottery wheel or just mold clay on the table. There…read moreare assistants there to guide the newer sculptors, and the owner, Matt, encourages the kids to design what they feel.

My son just attended a birthday party in this little hidden gem. The space is inviting and the kids…read morehad so much fun . The instructors were so kind and engaging with the kids . My little boy is already asking to go back again ! Definitely recommended !

We just had our 10 year old's bday here! Every thing was great, and the kids really got in to the…read moreproject we picked (felt succulent gardens). Planning to come back soon for an adult night (or another private party with my girl friends!).

Got to see a friend's play at CCCT and really enjoyed the whole thing. This place is a community…read moreresource and a treasure - support it if you can.

I was so happy to score a pair of tickets for West Side Story - I have long enjoyed the film…read moreproduction and have never seen a stage production of this musical. Sadly, I was stood up by a blind date and my Yelp buddy Alex couldn't join me so I went SOLO (and left solo). The theatre itself could use some help - the angle of some of the seats isn't great for viewing but it's a very small theatre so that's not the worst problem. The seats are by far the most uncomfortable seats I have sat in a very long time -- I just could not get comfortable and felt stiff and beat up after the first 90 minutes of the performance. The audio system had some problems -- there was a constant buzz and it was rather annoying. The performance was fantastic -- I was very impressed by the tremendous talent and quality of acting on stage. The lead singers' had amazing voices -- and though the casting choices were a bit of a surprise (Riff by an Afro-American man, the Puerto Rican women mostly by tiny Asian-American women) -- overall, they did an amazing show and fantastic performance. Costumes were mostly pretty good - except for one. If you were there, you know which one -- the "plus size" cast member who was doing all the same moves as the other dancers, singing and moving gracefully about the stage -- in such a poor costume that it stuck out like a sore thumb. It didn't have a pleated waistline to allow the skirt flare out like the other dancers, it just didn't look right and it looked like that dancer got cheated of a proper costume. All in all, I would love to return to this theatre - despite any flaws, it's a fantastic bargain and really makes me wonder about all the hidden talent in the general public. Who needs Broadway or Hollywood when you have local theatre?

We are HUGE fans of Monkey Business Camp (MBC) and are excited to share our enthusiasm with the…read moreYelp community here. Our daughter (now age 6) started attending this year, and our son (now age 12) started attending when he was 6. For the past 2 years, he has not attended as a "Camper", but as a "Counselor-in-Training" (CIT)... a sort of junior internship role that MBC has created to train select children who are fans of the program and who demonstrate aptitude for serving as a Counselor (formal, paid role) at some point in the future. For him, this role has allowed him to develop and hone his leadership skills (drawing heavily on skills he developed in scouting), and he loves serving as a mentor to the younger kids who are the Campers. He exudes pride and commitment to the role, and that makes us as parents proud as well. For our daughter, she is completely immersed in the curriculum and talks about it over dinner each night when she returns. For both kids, they are genuinely excited to get out the door in the morning and get to camp... it is an organic kind of excitement... not anything that we push. This is the best kind of inspiration and enthusiasm. And finally, for us as parents, we love how MBC immerses the Campers, the CITs, and their own staff members in the middle of nature (for the summer sessions) and in a school campus setting (for the winter sessions), completely without access to electronic devices. "Device detox" is what we call it, and MBC's culture and curriculum are so effective that the kids don't even seem to miss the devices. I can scarcely believe the words I am writing here, but this is a true statement. Finally, we must commend the MBC staff... from the founder all the way down to the senior and junior leaders... for their intuitive ability to excite and inspire children with a captivating, engaging curriculum that nourishes the mind and body. MBC is everything a camp should be. This is why it is a Berkeley/East Bay institution for childcare and early childhood development. If any of what I've written here aligns with your own philosophy, then don't hesitate... enroll your child(ren) in MBC. It will make a lasting and positive impact on everyone in your family!

My kids love it so much that they're already planning their futures as camp counselors!read more