This is our 6 th summer at Apachi Northside. It is fun, well run, spirited camp, with a plethora of…read moreactivity offerings. From dance, to sports, to crafts, to swim, our child has been exposed to so many great activities. While expensive, it's a great value . Swim program is top notch, and activities are professionally run, varied and excellent. Older kids get a choice of activities and go on field trips. Beth, the director, is great. She hires an enthusiastic, bright, diverse and fun staff year after year. Apachi counselors seem to work hard and seem invested in ensuring the campers have a great time. My daughter has made awesome friendships and looks forward to returning and seeing her camp friends year after year We have loved this camp!

this is one of the worst summer camps to send your kids to. my daughter was exposed to not only to…read moretoxic campers. but extremely inappropriate topics. the older kids at this camp would come up to her and say extremely inappropriate things. and when she tried to speak up about them the counselors didn't give a care. I am never going here again.

Went to Dacoma daycamp in the 1960s and they taught me to swim, Archery, Arts and crafts, Softball,…read moreBoxing in a roped boxing ring on the campus, how to spot Poison ivy in wooded areas, also had an indoor and outdoor Dining area with picnic tables and bench seating, Offered certified Instructors that taught how to breathe while swimming in outdoor swimming pool, Also offered weekend sleepovers on Friday nights inside the dining room which they relocated the tables and bench seating to make room for the cushioned sleeping lounge bedding that accommodated approx 50 children to be together inside a controlled environment with Fans and adduquit ventilation Lotta memorable experiences I still remember to this very day and the daycamp is still open and located in Northbrook, Illinois it's 2026

The way this camp is managed is like MacGyver surviving in the wilderness. Everything is re-built…read moreby maintenance every year. NOT licensed contractors or verified companies that follow strict building regulations. The owners have done everything privately, undermining any IL regulations that stand in their way. The sicker issue is that you wouldn't have to work here to know all that. I've never been someplace as jury rigged as this. Most of the grounds were originally built by the original owner and his son along with their maintenance crew. Even the pool was built up of PVC pipes along with all the other plumbing. Id like to also mention that it's a known fact in the surrounding neighborhood community that the owner's have cut every corner possible to be as cheap as possible. Even the counselors are a blend of high school students along with undertrained adults who are supposed to take care of your kids. If that wasn't shady enough, they have their own people drive the buses too, not seasoned professional bus drivers. It's all dangerous, unsanitary, and unprofessional. Like seriously, painting over rust doesn't prevent rust either and this place is for kids. I'm sorry for any kid being told they were going to camp and got this instead, and on top of all that, to charge as much as they do to run a literal garbage heap, they could at least buy quality food for the kids. They are eating SISCO! That's prison quality food. The cheapest possible option. Once again the surrounding community knows Decoma and the family that owns it for this. That's why a vast majority of their kids that attend come from completely different neighborhoods, and for the price, your kids could attend an ACTUAL camp in IL or elsewhere and be assured their safety and well being under actual rules and regulations governed by law. You have been seriously warned.

This summer camp and after school program was the worst place I've ever experienced a few years…read more Every time I come to camp, I witnessed a lot of bullying and fighting going on everyday, and the counselors wouldn't do anything about it, but only a few trusted counselors that were my favorite had jump into action to break things up. I was in the 10 and up group, and I've met one of the worst kids who used to bully me. This was because I had suffered from a mental disorder, but overall the kids in my group started to accept me. I think that the alternatives they offer there, are pretty underfunded, or cost too much due to Covid, so that's why people don't sign up for activities anymore. I've realized back then that the program had stop hosting other activities where kids can be as productive as possible, because once again, due to Covid, the city can no longer afford it. They're charging parents way too much money to send their kids to camp. I even couldn't come to camp for about a month or 2, until my mom finished the payment. If you have the resources to send your child to a well funded program I would recommended, because it seems like the camp hasn't made a recovery to help kids with colleges and organizations where kids can be in a fun learning environment for their future

I found the summer camp here to be extremely poorly run. Communication from the directors was…read morenonexistent (plans would change and parents would not be notified) and I sent several emails that went unanswered. Facility staff was extremely unfriendly. Counselors were all very young and inexperienced and did not facilitate positive interactions between the campers. My child was reluctant to go every single day and has asked that we never again sign up for camps at this location. The only bright spot was the assistant director who seemed to be trying her absolute best to make this a good experience, but wasn't working with much.

Brought my infant and ended up pulling her out within 3 weeks of being there and ended up needing…read moreto quit my job because there were no other openings for infants in nearby daycares and we don't have family nearby to help out. They over-promised in the tour and under-delivered. They told us they would have someone watching the infants sleeping at all times, and I never saw anyone in that area of the room. Also, they let babies cry without helping them and the teachers don't know developmental milestones and do developmentally inappropriate activities with infants. The teachers ask you for heads up before you arrive, and I quickly realized why the one time I didn't give a heads up. They were neglecting my 3 month old daughter. The director, Amber, defends the staff who spends lots of time on their phones rather than caring for the infants. Beware of bringing your infants to this place.

Poor communication, high turnover, classrooms constantly out of ratio. The Regional Director does…read morelead. Our child was without a Lead Teacher for three months and we were told every few weeks they were going to have someone new join. They never did. It put the children's development at risk.

Also the most expensive camp among dozens of other great options in Chicago. Communication was…read moresloppy and programming disorganized. Did not appear the staff had much training. We obviously will not be back and I cannot recommend Freda to friends.

We've sent out two older kids to Fred's for two summers now, and next year we're excited that the…read morelittle one will be old enough to join them. Every day, the kids were so excited to get to camp, they repeatedly validated our decision to choose Fred's. We couldn't be happier. They simply do everything right.

We've been at YMCA Children's Center for the past two years, and we couldn't be happier with our…read moreexperiences! Both sets of teachers were so loving and caring. There are a lot of activities planned for the kids all day long, so my toddler has a very structured schedule with a lot of appropriate stimulation. He's happy to go to school every day. I would absolutely recommend McGaw!!!

This review is simply based on a tour, so please take this for what it is. The teachers and level…read moreof care seemed ok. Nothing struck me as particularly bad, but nothing really impressed me either. With that said, I was in complete awe when I saw how much they charge for infant care (even for those of us with memberships). I have toured literally every single daycare in Evanston and compared rates, and this one is either the most or second most expensive. For these rates I would expect exceptional care, better-than-average adult child ratios, and immaculate facilities, but that's really not the case. If you walk past their building you will see broken windows. Basically this is a pretty average daycare for above-average rates. I really wanted to like this daycare because of its convenience, but unfortunately the cost was enough to drive my family away.

We sent our 4-year-old to this camp for the entire summer of '18 and we are pleased. There are few…read moreoptions in Chicago for a full day of summer care for kids under 5. The staff were all fantastic! There were over 200 kids at camp everyday and they knew us and our child pretty quickly. The camp is somewhat unstructured, there are not naps. There are several themed rooms the kids can choose to work/play in. If I recall correctly there was a singing/recording room, a game room, a programming room, fashion studio, cooking, and a couple others. They can also play outside. Every Friday had a dress up theme. Frequently there was a bouncy house, water apparatus, or other fun structures for the kids to play in. I think the total cost was about $2700 or $3000. Recommended!

Steve & Kate's camp is AWESOME! The camp allows the children to choose which activities that they…read morewant to engage in which, I find very creative & inspiring for children. The counselor are really cool too. They are vibrant, energetic, patient and kind. My daughter likes this camp so much that she didn't want to go anywhere else soooo, it's our 2nd consecutive year! Thank you Steve & Kate's Lakeview family, you're the BEST !!

My daughter is asking to return for the third year. We do the extended day camp. She is eleven,…read moreand her experience during the school year was on a park district team, so this increased level of challenge, playing with girls who are more skilled than her, and the independence of going to the dining hall, being grouped with girls she did not know, the bus trip to a WNBA game, etc., was great for developing resilience.

I've attended this camp three times (2 sessions in a row this year) and have had a blast! "Spider",…read morethe coach is very educated. You have lots of independence which I like. It's lots of basketball, you play for 8-9 hours a day. Although it's hard, there is lots of free time for resting/eating. The food is great and the independence is so fun! I highly recommend sending your kids to this c