My family has been active in Camp Fire for 4 years, with me as a club leader, and we LOVE it! Our…read moreboys have an amazing organization to belong to that is non-discriminatory and non-religious. I have 2 special needs kids, and all kids are met right where they are at. Kids do service projects, outdoor skills, crafts, and much more. They earn emblems to sew onto their uniform. Camp Fire is so affordable, even for our one-income family. My family has attended Camporee (summer family camp) for 4 years, Fall Fest (autumn family camp) for 1 year, and my older child has attended Yelm Day Camp for 2 years. We have also participated in numerous day events that get the clubs together - all well organized and exciting. All the staff and volunteers are kind, respectful, compassionate, and FUN. I highly recommend Camp Fire in general, and especially our local council - Camp Fire Orca.

From the owner: Family Clubs: We meet regularly to explore the outdoors, exercise our creativity, engage in…read morecommunity service, and make new friends! Camp Fire clubs help youth build self-esteem, learn life skills and become responsible citizens concerned about and active in their communities. Day Camps: For youth entering 1st through 9th grades. Programs in Puyallup, Yelm, and Tacoma. Overnight Camp: Camp Orca is located just west of Olympia on Summit Lake. Week long adventure (Sun-Sat) for youth entering 4th-12th grades. Family Camp: No Camp Fire experience necessary! Join us in June or November for a fun filled weekend exploring nature and meeting new friends. Heated cabins always guaranteed! Statement of Inclusion: Camp Fire works to realize the dignity and worth of each individual and to eliminate human barriers based on all assumptions that prejudge individuals. Designed and implemented to reduce sexual, racial, religious, and cultural stereotypes and to foster positive intercultural relationships, in Camp Fire, everyone is welcome.

Although I wasn't part of the experience, my daughter went to a birthday party here yesterday. She…read moresaid it was fantastic and she would love to have her own party there. There was an instructional portion for the ceramics and then the kids were allowed to make their own items. She made a bowl and a cat. The family was also able to bring pizza and cupcakes in. She had such a great time that we have been checking out other classes that are held here. Very neat spot.

Open Arts is a studio offering classes in drawing, pottery, sewing, voice, piano and guitar. Most…read moreclasses are for children/teens, but they do have a fair set of classes for adults as well. John, the director of Open Arts Studio, is a dynamic guy who is so charismatic...it's easy to envision him sitting at a piano, leading a bunch of people in song around a piano a la Cole Porter. He's the voice teacher and drawing teacher and he's great at both. Home schoolers note: they offer classes during the day for home school students! For me, one caveat is the price. It's not astronomical, but most classes are about $125 for a session, about 5 classes, and it adds up. I believe it's because of this that some classes aren't very full. On the up side, if you take more than one class, or have multiple children enrolled, you get a 10% discount. They hope to add cooking classes somewhere down the line. We are looking forward to the addition as I know my daughter would learn a lot because they are both organized and inspiring at Open Arts!

I like the fun and welcoming atmosphere at YMCA Camp Seymour. From the moment we arrived, the staff…read moremade us feel right at home. The counselors are enthusiastic, supportive, and clearly care about creating a safe and memorable experience for every camper. My child came home each day full of stories about the outdoor adventures, new friends, and exciting activities like archery, canoeing, and campfire songs. One of the things I appreciate most is how the camp helps kids grow in independence. Away from their usual routines and screens, campers learn to make decisions for themselves--whether it's choosing a new activity to try, solving small challenges, or managing their time during the day. That sense of ownership builds confidence and resilience. Camp Seymour also does a great job of encouraging goal setting. Each camper is guided to set personal goals--big or small--and work toward achieving them. It might be something like trying the climbing wall for the first time or learning how to paddle a canoe. These goals help kids feel accomplished and proud of what they can do, especially when they step out of their comfort zones and succeed. The camp's values of community, respect, and personal growth really shine through in everything they do. It's a place where kids can be themselves, try new things, and build skills that stick with them long after camp is over. We're already looking forward to next summer!

This was my daughter's first year at Camp Seymour. She is 9-years-old. She had THE BEST time ever!…read moreI have genuinely never seen her so happy coming back from something. She was excited when we signed up, but a little apprehensive when I dropped her off. I was nervous that she was a bit too young, but this was definitely not the case. She came home wanting to go right back, already talking about next summer, and how she wants to work with her when she is older. The staff are wonderful, they have great food, including a vegetarian option for her (so important), and it's a beautiful place. Definitely recommend!

BEACH Program there is just a huge money pit. They sell it at all costs, selling scholarship dreams…read moreto so many under-informed and impressionable parents. Chris has told everyone that he can get your daughter a scholarship. They just want your money.Your daughter will be considered a "cash-cow" to them. If you are on their regional beach team, DON'T EVEN WASTE YOUR MONEY - that's a joke. Yes, Christy will smile all day and tell you how awesome your daughter is, etc, and swipe your card. Its a hard sell to parents that are just trying to do their best for their kid and are easily deceived & boy do they lay it on THICK. Next is the whole "Ohana" or 'family' bs they try to sell. I don't care what they say, there is no Ohana or team feel here. Girls/parents screw each other over all the time - its literally a pit of viper parents. Really, its bad - the worst club experience x 100 - because you have to schedule your own partners (NO, they do not help or pay) and schedule your own games - with other moms, complete with ego's & rampant backstabbing that Dakine is aware of but does nothing to step in. Its not much better on the Elite travel team. Fork over $3k for the summer & winter - and if you are not part of the ~10 favored Chris crew - you are just a funding source for them. Know this going in, they WILL treat you and your daughter poorly. They WILL NOT help you with partners to play with. You WILL get lots of smiles and BS, until you figure out (like most of us) you were completely duped. They completely lull you into a sense of security that they will take care of you. THEY DO NOT. And btw, most parents on Elite detest Chris, but have to pander to his narcissistic BS to get attention for their kids. Its pretty pathetic. Just know, there are other orgs out there to consider, before getting sucked in. Just remember he is selling the same lines to every fresh faced girl and mom/dad who walk in there! They depend on the old saying "a sucker born every minute".

Excellent camp this summer for my daughter she learned a bunch from high level coaches.read more

Beautiful peaceful place. I love when I get to come up here…read more More rooms for breakouts than usual camps, and great staff to staff to work wirh

The best place for summer camp! Loved going to summer camp with my church and youth group. Great…read morememories.

Four Star Farm is a horse farm, that caters to kids horse lessons, specializing in dressage. They…read morealso offer Equine Assisted Therapy. What I like about this place, is that it teaches kids how to take care of a horse. You don't just put your kid on a horse, slap the horses rump, and tell the kid to hold on. Kids are expected to clean out the stall of the horse they ride, they need to brush the the horse down, clean its hooves, etc. My wife joined a ladies riding group on Sundays. They have ponies and horses of all sizes. They also do dressage and do jumping! They might be the same thing, but I am new to horse terminology, so don't judge me! I like going there to help out just to be around the horses. When I am having a bad day, the horses sense it, cheer me up! I highly recommend this farm.

Every single place has its pros and cons though Four Star Farm is just constant cons. Let's start…read morewith the cleanliness of this facility. The cleanliness of everything surround this place is just plain gross, for example, the Moldy hay the owner refuses to get rid of since she spent money on it, therefore she has to use it. The grain as well has rats living in there plus it's moldy due to her buildings falling apart and leaking. The stalls on the other hand sometimes don't get done for days maybe weeks on end depending on whether kids come out to clean them or not. Another key thing is there is basically a ton of junk not used or that have no use on this property that just sits and rusts, which can hurt a horse if they got out. The other thing they have going for them is the violation of Child Labor laws. The violation of labor laws includes younger kids cleaning around 24 stalls or more depending on what the owner wants to be done (kids being around 5 or younger maybe 12 or older). All the considered 'older girls' didn't get paid during any of the time they took to 'teach' these kids which were about 4 or more hours of work depending on how long each of the kids stayed. Basically, we were glorified baby sitters that didn't get paid or have a choice to help with these kids. We were also forced to give these kids lessons even though we had paid for a 'lesson' which we never got, the Owner had threatened to not let you ride if you didn't do any of the work or give lessons you couldn't ride. The third thing has to be the amount of disorganization she had during all of this. The lessons were insanely disorganized due to the fact that we had so many kids and no trainer, so all the kids have learned our bad habits let alone we had no room in our already pretty big arena for almost 9 horses. Along with many parents and kiddos did not sign the waiver or at least the Owner never made sure it was signed at the time of the 'lesson' plus when they were riding not every kid was on a suited horse for there weight and height which led to a lot of horses becoming lame. She also held summer camps which consisted of around a week of riding a horse, learning how to do things involving horses, though many of them have never even touched, sat, or have even seen a horse before. The week of camp was terrible 14 kids or more broken up into different groups doing activities these kids didn't want to do along with the counselors which were just us older girls not getting paid and again being glorified baby sitters whilst teaching these kids how to ride and 'be safe around horses,' while none of us knew how actually be safe around a horse. One of the last things has to be the amount of neglect and strain put on these horses. A lot of these horses either had riders that were too big, tack that didn't fit properly, food fed to them that was moldy, many of the horses lower on the pecking order became insanely skinny and the Owner didn't care. The Owner refused to call the vet for several horses that were colicing & she was just going to let them die. In fact, she let a 20-year-old horse die of colic along with the person who decided to stay the night and ignore the signs of colic, then waking up the next morning to him dying. The Owner had done the same thing with a miniature horse saying she would watch him overnight even though they also had visible signs of colic. She, the Owner had decided to do this procedure on a horse who had a side bone, she had a not so good vet come on out, pull out the pain nerves in her front legs, waited for them to heal after 2 weeks then put a rider on her and jumped around 5 feet with her having little to no work previously. Though that procedure made her permanently lame since she can't feel her legs any longer due to those nerves bein gone. The Last and final topic has to be the amount of drama that goes on around here. Since there is no trainer out there ever we girls and I mean literally all girls would ride after giving a lesson the Owner forced us to do or else we didn't ride that day. Going back to no trainer since there was no trainer to give the 'older' girls a lesson it became full-blown chaos and everyone started to get on everyone's back on things which meant a ton of gossip of how each girl was riding. The Owner didn't shut this down when her attention was brought to the situation instead she just sat there and ignored it along with her picking a favorite than her herself deciding to talk crap about the older girls as well.

I visited the Nisqually Reach Nature Center for the first time yesterday. The nature center is…read moreinside a large house. Piles of wet shoes lay outside the entry way. There were tanks filled with sea stars, crabs, and fish on display. A different tank housed a representation of a mud flat. Microscopes lined the perimeter on the inside of the building. Several children were peering into them shouting excitedly that "I saw this HUGE plankton!" "Look at THIS!" After I went outside and sat on the fishing dock, adult volunteers at the Nisqually Reach Nature Center took a group of children to the beach to explore. The volunteer staff at the nature center are excellent with kids. Their strong voices can be heard from a distance giving clear, fun instructions to their charges. I heard later from one staff member the kids were attending a summer camp. I didn't have a lot of time to spend at the nature center yesterday, so I will definitely be back! It's a nice area that has a surprising amount of great blue herons and even more seals. Keep in mind: This is a Discover Pass area. You will need a Discover Pass to park here.

I haven't visited the actual building, I visit the beach at least twice a week to take my dogs for…read morea walk near the beach and play. Great parking area for trailers and visitors, loading ramp for your boat, and nice starting point for kayaking near the nisqually delta...watch for the tide. No issues if you are taking the dog off leash, as long they are not near to the state park, plenty of room to play.

We scheduled our grand daughter's first riding lesson at Punk Rock Pony. The location was hard to…read morefind at first but after a call we got onto the right gravel road and to the farm. Adina was great! Knowing it was her first ride she sent pictures and videos of the horse she would be riding prior to the lesson so she could get to know the pony. She first taught her how to groom and saddle the pony. Then came lessons in the arena to learn commands and then a guided trail ride. Our granddaughter felt confident and successful and cannot wait to do it again. The horses are well trained and Adina is great with kids. I rode as well with them and learned new things as well despite being a seasoned rider. Thanks again!

I recommend her lesson to all our family and friends! Adina's such a great coach! she was patient…read morebut firm with her students. She's also very accommodating with our busy schedule! Really appreciated! We love to come learning riding with her every time!