We hosted our sons 4th birthday party here from 5-7pm on a Saturday in January…read more We weren't sure how the timed stations and open play time was going to go with a group of 4 year olds but our experience was wonderful! The host was great with our son, the place was clean and organized, and it was a huge hit. The simplicity for decorating with just a banner and table clothes we brought was perfect and it was very convenient to have the rolling container to wheel all the presents out to the car. Would recommend!

Had a 3rd bday party for my son and it was a perfect venue for it. Dan was our party coordinator…read moreand he did a wonderful job. It was very organized and there was perfect amount of time in each space. The pizza was delicious and everything was so nice and prepared. The kids had an absolute blast and my son loved it.

I would highly recommend this daycare in comparison to the other surrounding ones. Ownership and…read moremanagement truly care about the kids and are very hands-on themselves in the overall care and attentiveness to their kids and facilities. The education and curriculum is far superior then most other daycares. The place is extremely clean as well. I started off my first born there 3 years ago and now I enrolled my second child and both love going everyday.

I would not recommend this school. We had a terrible experience there with our 4-year-old, whose…read moreattendance at the school was a short 4-months. From just a few weeks in, we noticed that he was more irritable, and somewhat sad on a fairly regular basis. He would constantly ask us to stay home, stating that he "hated" his new school. We also noticed that there were constantly new teacher assistants, (none of whom would ever introduce themselves), and he was switched into a new class just 2 months after he started. He began asking us if he was a bad kid and he also started telling us that he would "never let us down." For context, he attended a wonderful Goddard school prior to our move back to the area, and we never had any problems. We had an in-person meeting with the school's administrators to address some of the concerns. He was put a plan to help "correct" his troublesome behavior, and 1-week later, without warning, we were contacted and told that he could no longer attend. On his final day, he came home and told us that his teacher told him he was leaving the school because he was a bad kid. The administration told us we should have him evaluated as his behavior was "troublesome". Against our better judgement, we had lengthy meetings with both our pediatrician and an outside evaluator, and both informed us that he was a perfectly normal 4-year-old. They both agreed that they thought something else was going on at the school that we had not been privy to. It's been 2 months since we left Goddard, and our son is a different person. He is so much happier, and his "spark" seems to be back. In summation, this school does not care about the children that attend. And the insinuation that something was "wrong" with our kid was beyond reproach. In retrospect, I am grateful our tenure was short-lived and would not recommend this school.

I have mixed feelings about this kayak tour company. I signed up because although I'm a very…read morecapable and seasoned kayaker, I didn't know this river and I like learning about the ecosystems and local wildlife. For this reason I like having tour guides. Going up the river was fine. Coming back went a bit sour. I went as slow as I was capable of paddling or not paddling, but apparently it was too fast for the preference of our tour guide. I was barely touching the water with my paddle. I have no idea how I could have gone any slower. It wasn't humanly possible. After shouting at me several times, he took to chasing me down and ramming my kayak so it'd spin in circles. Would I rent a kayak here and kayak the river alone? Yes. Would I personally use a tour guide here? No I wouldn't. Would I recommend? If you're a family with little kids or a drunk sorority house, absolutely. If you know what you're doing, just go it alone. You'll probably enjoy it more. Edit: If the tour guide had concerns for group safety, he could have said so. Although ramming my kayak with his seems to be a bit of a conflict as far as my safety goes. It was an unprofessional approach when he could have simply explained why he needed me to slow down

It almost seemed like a dream. From the very start, cruising through a large patch of lotus plants,…read moreit felt otherworldly. Very peaceful, going at our own pace. Enjoyed the cliff walls of Buffalo Rock and the shallow waters of some side passages. We paddled for 5 hours, covering 8 miles total. After we were done we headed to charming, historic downtown Utica for drinks and dinner at Skoog's Pub & Grill in North Utica, IL. I was impressed with the logistics and operation of the kayaking experience, from the guide* to the equipment and online booking process. *Full disclosure, the guide was my twin sister, but I am being objective...seriously.

Finding Rayito de Sol (Wheaton) was a blessing that brought a lot of peace to my family during our…read moresearch for child care. Trusting your infant/child with strangers is an emotional decision but when we took the tour, we immediately felt at home. From day one, you and your baby are family. They are so proactive with communicating and keeping you in the loop both with regard to baby's well-being as well as daily enrichment activities. I was previously employed at 2 different high-quality ("high-end") daycare centers in Chicago (Boystown and Logan Square) and the quality of care is of the highest caliber. The Spanish immersion is not just marketing. They truly do everything en español while still being able to communicate with any non-spanish speaking parents completely in english. This daycare also accepts CCAP! I will never stop singing their praises. We love Rayito! ****** Encontrar a Rayito de Sol (Wheaton) fue una bendición que trajo mucha paz a mi familia durante nuestra búsqueda de cuidado infantil. Confiar a su bebé/niño con extraños es una decisión emotiva, pero cuando hicimos el recorrido, inmediatamente nos sentimos que habíamos encontrado una segunda familia. Desde el primer día, tú y tu bebé han encontrado su segundo hogar. Son muy proactivos de comunicarte y mantenerte al tanto en lo que respecta al bienestar del bebé y además, a las actividades diarias de enriquecimiento. Anteriormente trabajaba en 2 guarderías infantiles de alta calidad (osea de buen tono) en Chicago (Boystown y Logan Square) y la calidad de Rayito de Sol es del más alto calibre. Realmente todo está hecho en el idioma español -- sino también si es necesario, todas pueden comunicarse con cualquier padre que no hable español. ¡Esta guardería también acepta CCAP! Nunca dejaré de cantar sus alabanzas. Me encanta Rayito!

I love that my daughter is so happy at Rayito. She is happy to go into her teachers' arms each day…read moreand that is a huge comfort. I have peace of mind knowing she is loved and in capable hands. Also, love that they have 2 separate sinks in each classroom. One basin is for hand washing for food prep ONLY and the other is hand washing for diaper changes/potty, etc. So no cross-contamination! This is more than just daycare. In addition to language immersion, they are teaching our babies about new concepts, music, colors, the world, and social-emotional topics every day.

My son with autism has been participating in programs of one kind or another for over 15 years…read more His life has been enriched by his participation in the programs provided. I have found that there have always been programs that fit him throughout his development. The days off camps, holiday camps and summer camps have filled his days in more fun ways than we could do at home. He has grown through his participation. Staffing can be an issue at times. The more time you spend with "special" people, the more you learn to interact or intercede. Although in services and training are provided, nothing beats experience. As with all activities, I am just proactive with the aides in addressing how to interact most effectively and efficiently with my son. Many states do not offer special recreation. We are lucky in Illinois to have WDSRA. It's made a positive difference in my son's life and our family!

I found out that my daughter did not get into their day camp because they have a lottery system. I…read morelost sleep making sure to get her in as quickly as possible and was under a great deal of stress with financial issues and getting the monetary help quickly enough. It was for nothing because other kids overflowed and she got screwed over in that lottery. If you want to get your kid in their pricey day camp make sure to have alternative plans, just in case.

Brief history: We toured a half dozen daycares in River North and selected our best one. Later we…read moremoved to the South Loop, toured another half dozen daycares and picked our best one. This year, we transitioned to Child Development Center and have never been more pleased. Stacy and Charmaine run a great facility, and our kids love the play-based learning environment!

From the owner: Our Center is also a State PreK located in the downtown area. We have 5 classrooms for 2-5 year…read moreolds year round and offer a summer camp for older grade school children throughout the summer. You won't be disappointed with our early childhood degree teachers in all of our classrooms. Give us a call or an email to set up a tour.

My 30th birthday was a way for me to help my fear of heights and propel me into a new adventurous…read moredecade. I've never zip-lined and I feel this was the perfect activity for me to combine them both. It was a BLAST! We did the longer version and it was the perfect length of time. The tutorial made you feel confident, and the safety measures made you feel secure. My fiancé and I went at 10:30, so it wasn't super packed. I noticed when we left people were coming in and it did look like the wait at each station would have been a longer. Will return!

This was such a great obstacle course and zip line. The young people helping out were so kind and…read moreefficient. You could not ask for a better group in this scenario. The participants were more mindful of the staff because they were closer in age. Restored my faith in the younger generation