Urban Kayaks ended up being one of the highlights of our quick weekend trip and was such a fun…read morelast-minute decision. Their location right on the Riverwalk is incredibly convenient and surrounded by gorgeous architecture, bars, and restaurants, making it easy to turn into a full evening downtown. The check-in process and safety/education class were simple, informative, and very beginner friendly. Our tour guide, Drew, was absolutely phenomenal. He was kind, funny, incredibly knowledgeable, and did a fantastic job making sure everyone felt comfortable and had a great time. He kept the group moving at a pace that worked well for everyone, which made the experience feel relaxed and enjoyable. We chose the sunset tour and highly recommend it. Seeing the golden glow reflect off the Chicago buildings from the water was stunning and such a unique way to experience downtown Chicago. The tour lasted about two hours and covered roughly two miles, making it the perfect light workout before heading out for late-night sushi afterward. You should definitely expect to get a little wet from paddle splashes, but that's part of the fun. Overall, it doesn't require a ton of physical effort, just a willingness to laugh, paddle, and enjoy yourself!

Came here a few months back in the summer and it was a great experience! If you even remotely are…read moreinterested or enjoy kayaking, you should absolutely try with urban for their downtown river tour! Drew and Caroline gave an excellent tour, as they were friendly, funny and were enthusiastic about sharing the unique information about the architecture downtown. The requirements are pretty straightforward, as they teach you all you need to know and the kayaks are well kept. The tour is about 2 miles overall and 2 hours in total. A bit pricey but I would say it's more than worth it for the experience and I would rent with them again.

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 child has been at Goddard since the summer and we are getting ready to leave to go to a new…read moreschool that is closer to our new house, and we are heartbroken. The staff and teachers at Goddard so deeply care for her, and I have seen her grow both socially and intellectually in really incredible ways. The teachers have been curious about her and her needs, and I feel like she wakes up looking forward to attending. Everyone there knows her, and admin has been really accommodating and helpful when they didn't need to be. I was very picky and did a lot of visiting and research before I chose Goddard--I chose them because I love the private playground and community activities. But the school itself has been a really big blessing to my kiddo, and I have seen her explode in confidence, language, and social skills. I am very sad to be leaving.

We cannot say enough positive things about The Goddard School on Armitage. Our daughter started at…read moreGoddard when she was 16 months, and she's now in the pre-K program. It has been amazing to see her growth. The Goddard team has been so incredible at every step of the journey -- whether helping with potty-training in her toddler class, or sparking her curiosity and sense of self in the pre-K class. The teachers are exceptional. They are loving, genuine, and apply a mix of instruction and compassion that has helped our daughter thrive. We are so appreciative of the Goddard community. They have been an absolutely integral part of our family.

From the owner: Our goal is to give the kids an awesome Spring Break and Summer and make things easy on the…read morefamilies. Spring Break |March 25-29, 2024|M-F | 7:45a - 5:45p and Summer | June 10- August 1, 2023 | M-F |7:30a - 6p. This year we will have a special Bonus Week |August 5-9, 2024| M-F | 7:30a - 6p|. Our fee is inclusive and covers morning and afternoon snacks, lunch and all of our offered activities and programs automatically. There are no extra registration steps for certain programs, no before or aftercare needed and no need to pack and lunch or a snack - in fact when your kids arrives, we will ask them which of the two options for lunch that day sounds good. Picky eater? We will see if we can customize the order to their liking. We never leave campus so caregivers can drop off and pick up their campers whenever it is best for them within our hours of operation. We offer registration by the day or week for Spring Break and for Summer by the whole summer (best value), weekly, by the day or half day.

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.