By far our favorite camp! We have been going for years. The activities and the counselors make it…read moreamazing

My child will be going to some W&W camps for his third year in 2015. It was a friend's…read morerecommendation that led me to this camp. He loves going to the Farm with games, pool and a more relaxed day, usually the last day of a very busy & active week of travel, water and play. I trust the counselor's with my child's life every time I leave him and I admire the owners for using negative reviews in training counselors, many who spent years as participants in the camp. Accidents happen, even when children are with family. My child was hurt badly enough to need hospital care when with a grandparent but he was having too much fun & did not tell until he came home & became symptomatic, then we were treated with an ambulance ride. That's just kids. So even though my child has asthma and carries an Epi pen due to fireant allergies, I trust this family team of counselors unequivocally. He has built his confidence and made new friends every trip. Since camps are broken down into weekly choices, he can pick the adventures he wants. I love this concept, the active nature of the camps and allowing my child to have adventures I am physically unable to offer.

The staff was really nice and the birthday party that was going on was handled well. The kids had…read morefun with all the activities. Kind of like organized chaos. Good way to spend an hour or so and burn off all that energy

What a horrible new manager! Rude and absolutely refused to honor our passes because they were…read moreoriginally purchased as a gift to me, and were put in MY name! I've never had an issue there before and the owner lady has been super nice and helpful when I met her last year. Will not be back until that manager is gone.

I didn't know what to expect from this place. Some science centers are kids-only affairs (despite…read morenot being billed as such) while others have more to offer visitors of all ages. Fortunately, the Austin Nature & Science Center ended up falling in the latter category. The main building houses an assortment of bones, shells, and rocks (as well as an axolotl tank) and another building is home to various reptiles. Outside areas include a dino pit (where kids can dig for fossils) and several animal enclosures. What makes the latter unique is that the animals are rehab/rescue cases. They include everything from a bobcat to a porcupine to a 34-year-old one-eyed owl (!!) and more. Granted, Austin Nature & Science Center does offer more for a younger crowd, and it isn't particularly easy to get to by bus, but it's hard to argue with a chance to take in flora and fauna for free.

Great FREE option in Austin for kids!…read more One of the best parts is you can see an axolotl (two, actually) in their visitor center building. Then you can head over to the birds of prey, the reptile/fish building, and the animal enclosures. There's also a little lake and a large sand pit (dino dig). There's a cool room in the visitor center that has all sorts of nature items (bones, dead bugs, shells, rocks, etc.). You can bring in your own stuff to trade! Is it a huge amount of things to do/see? No but for a free attraction, it's pretty great. Parking is across the street -- lot is shared with Zilker Park and all the nearby attractions so it can get busy.

We've been going to Summer Spark the past three summers, and my two 8 year olds are so excited to…read morego back this summer. This is such a special camp. The owner picks very high quality staff (teachers, I'm pretty sure) and trains them very well. It's not just a camp, it's a giant leap forward in your child's social, emotional development and problem solving skills. But the kids would not tell you that, they just love that they are having fun! I love that they get out and explore nature and create stuff out of recycled materials to solve fun challenges. They also learn the vocabulary of growth mindset and team work. The only drawback has been the location - but they've already fixed that by expanding to additional locations. Oh, and yes, it is one of the most expensive camps, but it's worth it!

My daughter absolutely loved this camp and Skylar Bossen is such an amazing camp coordinator. We…read morewill definitely be returning.

My youngest has attended many summer camps at Switch Willo Stables two Summers in a row now. She…read morereally enjoyed her time at the camps and always came home excited to share what she did with the horses. If she could change one thing about the camp, I am pretty sure she would have the campers spend more time actually riding the horses. Even though she felt she didn't get enough time riding horses ( I can't recall the amount of time the campers spent riding horses, but it did seem rather short at the time), however, she is always talking about returning to camp. My one complaint about the camp is that the "counselors" are older kids(12,13 and up) who have been riding at Switch Willo for a while. While I did find some of the "counselors" completely competent, others left me wondering if my 7 years old was more mature than her "counselors", which was obviously disconcerting. Fortunately, I never heard of any dangerous situations ( and I know I would have heard about any if they occurred because my daughter takes her "reporting" very seriously.). All in all, my daughter always left camp happy and exhausted, just the way we want her. ;)

My son and his friend came here for summer camp. They were treated well and the staff were friendly…read moreand the location is beautiful. But for the price of the camp, we wish they had more than 45 mins a day on the horses. At other stables we've tried since my son has had more time riding horses in less than two sessions than he had all week at Switch Willo summer camp.

This is the best camp EVER! I have been going here for 2 year's and I will defiantly come every…read moreyear that I can. This camp help's you become a better person by practicing the 4 R's (Responsibility, reaching out, reasonable risk, and respect). Everybody there is nice and kind. My first day ever going, I was so nervous that I wouldn't make any friends but when I first met my cabin mates, I felt like we've been friends for ever. The cabins don't have any air conditioning but they do have fans and on the bright side it's cold in the morning but that's the fun of it. The bathrooms are grows but that stuff does not matter. What does matter is the fun of camp. Their is always so much to do. You could never get bored. From sitting at the hearth (the place were fine arts is) too climbing the rock wall, your always having fun. There are also many water activity such as pool, paddle sports, free swim, ski, knee boar, tubing, blobbing, etc.

Our 9 year old son just finished his second summer session (3 straight weeks of sleep-away camp in…read morenon-air conditioned cabins with no direct parental contact or tech devices allowed) at Camp Champions on Lake LBJ in Marble Falls and before we even left the property, he was asking us to sign up for next year. That right there is a glowing endorsement, folks. As budget-minded, practical parents, it was a tough sell for us at first. This camp, while phenomenal on the surface with a long history of success since 1967 and amenities & growth experiences galore, costs almost an arm & a leg. I'm saying our whole family of 3 could go to Europe for the cost of the 3 weeks for 1 kid here (an hour's drive from Austin). Why would we make the sacrifice and commit to this quite pricey annual tradition? As Brian J mentions in his excellent review, it's the 4 Rs that Camp Champions models in every staff member and enforces every day in all of the campers: Responsibility, Respect, Reasonable Risk, and Reaching out to others. You will never find another summer program with such enthusiastic and caring owners, staff members, teen counselors, and youth participants. Sure, it all looks great on paper, but it's truly fantastic in practice. Participants learn how to: live with 8 other "siblings"; share responsibility for their living space; maintain a caring community; manage conflict; support others in need; self-regulate; appreciate nature; honor elders; step up as a leader; and try something new & challenging every day. Yes, these are all lessons that we teach within our family, but there's nothing like having these kinds of experiences in an environment outside of the group of people who have to love you because you're a blood relative. The maturation that I see in my singleton child each year after the Camp Champions experience is priceless to me. What else? Fun, of course! The property is gigantic, with every kind of summer activity you can imagine, from swimming (lake & pool) to ropes course to skiing to sailing to climbing to archery to horses to go carts to arts/crafts to gaga & pickle ball. You can tour the camp virtually here: http://www.campchampions.com/campers/video-map-tour. There are also the Trojan/Spartan color battles, evening torch lighting, Sunday vespers, and hundreds of other little inside jokes, rituals, and traditions that make campers feel that they are a part of special tribe for the rest of their lives. Parents are kept informed about their child during the camp session via daily photos and owner Steve Baskin's inspiring blog. We also have access to a system where we can send as many emails as we'd like to our campers, but if your child is like mine, you won't be receiving many letters in return. Both years, we've received a measly 2 postcards the entire time -- he was having too much fun to write home! A note on diversity. This is a desirable quality which needs improvement at Camp Champions, and efforts are underway to do just that. During Summer 2016, campers and counselors from 7 different countries were represented, with about 1/3 of my son's cabin speaking a first language other than English. Recently, a foundation was started to help fund scholarships for campers who could not otherwise afford to attend. There's more to do, but I appreciate that the Baskins recognize this issue and are acting to address it.

My son enjoyed the camp this summer. He came home exhausted but looked forward to the next day. He…read moreshared many stories and was comfortable with the staff. Mr. Yo Han greeted them with so much energy each morning during drop off and had the same amount of energy at afternoon pick up. Thanks for the wonderful experience!

This is the second year my son has joined Camp Fire summer camp and has had an amazing time each…read moretime - hiking, learning archery, swimming, building forts, making new friends. The counsellors are so kind and enthusiastic about learning about nature and having fun. Its a special place!

We absolutely loved our time at Goddard Steiner Ranch!…read more Both of my daughters (ages 1.5 and 3) attended for about a year, and I can honestly say it was such a wonderful experience from start to finish. My youngest was only there for about six months, but in that short time she learned so much -- singing her ABCs, counting, naming colors, and even identifying emotions! Ms. Amy and Ms. RiRi were amazing with her, and she adored going to school every morning. My 3-year-old had Ms. Rosie for a bit, who was so warm and engaging -- she even taught her how to "boop," which she still does to people to this day! Then she moved on to Ms. Abby and Ms. Mary, who are both phenomenal teachers and truly loved by all the kids (especially my daughter -- they were her favorites!). The front office staff was always welcoming, accommodating, and communicative. The daycare itself is clean, organized, and full of fun, creative activities. One thing I really appreciated is that there wasn't a lot of staff turnover, which made it feel more like a family. We had to move, otherwise we'd still be there. We miss the teachers and the community so much. If you're considering enrolling -- take a tour, and see for yourself!

I'm updating my review since I found LOTS of horrible reviews of this school from other parents…read moreand employee reviews of this school that are.. eye opening to say the least. I attached those screenshots so they don't get buried with the good reviews Jennifer pays people to write. Also for parents, if you seem skeptical ask questions! My cell is 7132926701 you can reach out to me there or you can reach out to me on Facebook etc. It's obvious Jennifer Burton ( the owner) wants to refute these claims, but I will not be silenced. My child starts to physically shake walking into any other school now. I keep asking myself why? what happened to my child at that School? She's terrified, and that is so not normal. Parents- if your kiddo is screaming and crying saying "I don't like my school" LISTEN TO THEM!