I have a neurodivergent 5 year old who thrives on structure and gets nervous around new things and loud noises. Needless to say, we weren't sure if he was going to be able to handle camp, let alone Steve & Kate's. Turns out he had a fantastic summer. It's easy to pinpoint the reason too: Janelle, the camp director, and her incredible staff. We really weren't expecting any accommodations, but/and Jenelle and all the counselors quickly realized what my son needed, put some changes in place for him, and connected with him in an amazing way. My son was so happy and he learned that he can fun with less structure, be safe with new people, and make new friends. I'm gushing, I know, but this summer was super-special and I couldn't let it go unnoted. read more

In 3 weeks at the camp, a child called my child "brown", another child threw pizza at her after she defended herself from his verbal attacks, another child grabbed her by the wrist. Thank God my child has a strong sense of self and knows how to verbally and physically defend herself. With that being said, this is not how I want her to spend her summer. Summer camp should be a place where a child relaxes, and not where she develops defensive techniques from verbal and physical attacks. Stay AWAY!!! To the parents of these bullies, DO BETTER. These types of behavior are learned and fostered at home. Update: I met with the Director and Associate Director of the program and they informed me that 2/3 kids that were involved in the incidences were expelled. The last child was 4 year olds and not fully aware of what he was doing. I was happy that the administration did not dismiss what was going on and acted swiftly. read more

Good camp for kids, lots of activities to keep kids engaged and active. Highly recommend read more

-I had an awful experience with this camp. My son was a lot smaller then his peers so I thought having everything done on the property was a good thing as my son was only 6 and very small last summer. - Each room is suppose to offer a different interest or activity for the children to freely explore throughout the day, no guidance, they are just kinda roaming the building, which i had many concerns about. The rooms were full of antiquated and second hand looking equipment and toys, if any. Very meager surroundings considering the tuition! I also thought sending him to this camp he would be around a diverse group of children and be lead to have many enriching experiences that would prepare him for first grade. BOY WAS I WRONG. Please tour the building yourself ( pop up unexpected and ask them to walk you thru the building), it is a complete mess, its essentially a old building, a old school repurposed with things thrown in each room. I thought the children are guided thru out the day to try the different rooms like sewing or baking, etc. They aren't! and half the time some of those rooms aren't even open most of the time. The kids wonder the building (which is strange to let a tiny 6 year old do in my opinion) and play outside in the underwhelming playground all day. -The children are expected to explore all the rooms on their own, however many children stick with what makes them most comfortable and what they are familiar with and many stay in the same room all day with cheap blocks or scattered toys or go outside. The "playground" is very run down and so is the entire building. -The lost and found is always FULL because they are very unorganized and irresponsible about storing your children's belongings. My sons BRAND NEW sneakers were STOLEN while doing "water activities". He came home with some other child's worn out sneakers. They asked the other child's parents if those were his sneakers and they said yes even though my son told them they weren't. When I arrived they asked me and i said no, however they let the child leave earlier and the parents refused to give my sons sneakers back when contacted . Luckily that morning i took a picture of my son with his sneakers on, I showed them the picture of my son from that early morning showing it was impossible that those were my sons sneakers, they were forced to replace them and there was no penalty for that child or his family for outright stealing my sons sneakers and replacing them with their sons worn in old ones. -My son learned nothing, no new skills. He was bullied, pushed and hit cause he was smaller. I got more calls from this camp within 2 months than i ever got from a year of school. The staff is mostly teenagers kinda sprinkled throughout the property whom are half ass baby sitting. A lot of the children were bullies and were not properly supervised or corrected. - The menu is completely limited and not what it appears to be or as presented. It lacked nutrition and variety. My son was basically offered plain cheese pizza everyday. He gets better lunch at his school except the tuition isn't half what it was at this camp. This place doesn't offer skills, activities, guidance, atmosphere or safe conditions for your children to explore, or make friendships. MY SON HAD SO MANY INJURIES AND BULLY STORIES IT WAS HEART BREAKING! I SPOKE TO HIRE UPS AND THEIR WAS VERY LITTLE ACCOUNTABILITY, LOTS OF ATTITUDE AND NOOO CHANGE. THEY THRU ME A SMALL PARTIAL REINBURSEMENT WHICH CAN NEVER MAKE UP FOR THE SUMMER FROM HELL AS MY SONS FIRST SUMMER CAMP EXPEIRENCE - Expensive does not mean better or even AVERAGE in this camps case. Please BUYER BEWARE!! I have receipts to prove EVERY LAST THING I AM SAYING. read more

Absolutely not!! I do not recommend this camp at all. It's really expensive and for what? It's dirty, It's dangerous, and kids get bored so easily. The kids here are mean and the counselors don't do anything about it. The counselors always favorite the little kids. In HQ, the counselors don't care about you unless your a little kid. The rules are never enforced on the favorites. I see kids cry every morning when they go to camp and honestly I don't blame them. read more

As others have mentioned, communication is completely lacking. There was an emergency once due to a downed power line and camp had early dismissal. Neither my husband nor I received a call or text. I happened to check my email and saw a letter from 2 hours before with notification that we were to pick up our kids early. I had to reschedule 3 patients already waiting for me in order to get to camp to pick up my kids. Poor emergency outreach on the part of the camp. Additionally, the camp is lacking in supervision. My children were bullied by other kids at times- son was choked once, called a "son of a bitch" by another child, hit with a rock twice, hit with a stick, had other kids peeping on him while he was trying to change. My daughter was also hit by a stick and a boy slapped her butt. I believe this is all due to lack of engagement on the part of the counselors and the redundancy of the activities- kids were bored and getting into trouble. Thankfully our kids communicate openly with us and we were able to help them navigate these situations safely but I would never send my kids here again. Also, from my daughter's accounts, some of the counselors were mean to the other kids- throwing baking dough on the floor, telling children to shut up. AND to top it off, my son's raffle prize was stolen on the last day. Now, I won't say that my kids did not have any fun or make any friends. My daughter enjoyed baking and my son tried sewing (although no instruction was provided for this activity). They had fun with slip and slides and some other games. However, this was their least favorite camp and they have asked not to be sent back next summer. Instead they will be returning to another camp they had attending the first half of the summer break. My children have been attending camps since they were in preschool and this has hands down been the worst. It hurts my heart as a mother. Do not recommend. read more

This camp is perfect for my high energy kid. He wakes up excited and ready to go to camp and comes home happily exhausted. He loves the variety of activities and I love the flexibility of not having to schedule in advance and knowing that we aren't losing money like we would at a traditional camp if we want to skip a Friday or we have a day with alternate plans. I also really appreciate the amount of communication I get as a parent. I have access to the video and music projects he's worked on during the day. The counselors and staff have been great at answering our questions and helping my son feel more comfortable on his first few days. He's a typical picky eater and has been very happy with the food and I've been enjoying not having to make lunches or pack snacks. read more

This is probably my favorite summer camp that my kids had attended .kids come home excited and happy and they always have fun stories to tell. We definitely come back next summer. read more

Steve & Kate's Camp - Montclair - This picture was taken last Friday after I pick them up they were so happy - Summer Camps Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

This 'new' camp in Montclair was a big hit this summer with my kids and many of their friends. They absolutely loved being there and was surprised at the many things they were free to try each day. They learned to sew, make stop animation lego movies, voice recording. They learned how to bake bread, try new international flavors of food and be their own scheduler. They loved the warm, funny, kind staff. It felt like a summer home. The flexibility for us was fantastic! Day to day camp, not week to week. Flex schedule during the day, any time drop-off, any time pick-up. Lunch included! That was a big bonus for those of us who detest making packed lunches every day! They already can't wait for next year! read more

My 4 yr old daughter attended Steve and Kate (Montclair, NJ) for about a week and 1/2 this summer. The other day as I was picking her up, Kate let me know that she had just had an accident where she fell from the bouncy house and hit her head. We understand that things happen, but naturally we were hesitant about sending her back. Since I had to work the next day, we sent her back and I tried to contact them several times throughout the day to check on her, but no one responded. The fact that my child fell on her head the day before, and I'm calling the check on her and no one responds, reflects very poorly on the camp. This also happened a previous time where I tried calling/emailing/texting and received no response! As a parent, this is just unacceptable. I actually had to leave work early (in NYC) and head over there just so I can check on my daughter (who I took home with me immediately). We've sent our daughter to a few camps so far this summer trying to get a feel (this is her first summer not in daycare) and every other camp managed to respond to any question/phone call we ever had, very promptly. That is key. Not to mention that she was sent home each day missing a personal item (towel, water bottle, swimsuit, swim shoes). This also has never happened with any of the other camps. So overall, pretty disappointed in the lack of attention/ oversight/organization that seems to be provided for the kids as well as the camp's lack of communication/response given to parents. We contacted the camp to let them know our frustration after we took her home, and no one has responded. That's all I needed to know. She will not be going back. read more

Such a breath of fresh air to have a "free range" inspired camp experience in the area. My children (5yo and 7yo) really took to this model and enjoyed a much needed respite from the structure and programmed fun that is inherent with preK and k-5 settings. We found the camp counselors to be warm, engaging and approachable. Their hours were a boon for a working family like ours and we most definitely tested their operating time schedule. They were always setup and ready to go right on time at 7:30am :-) We're very excited that the camp is planning a return engagement next summer! read more

I would like to Thank you, my son Maximillian had a blast he couldn't stop talking about everything he did at the camp he truly was a happy camper. Thank you for making my son feel so comfortable this is a great camp and I would recommended to anyone and everyone. Thank you so much. Mrs. Ivonne Veloz. read more

We did two years with Steve & Kate's K-Camp in Montclair. The first year--also their first year in Montclair--when my son was 4, was amazing, and he loved it. The second year (Summer 2015), when he was 5, was a disaster. The program had become much larger, and there was clearly less supervision for the K-camp kids than the previous year. The older kids liked to scare the younger kids--for example, my son was afraid to use the bathroom because older kids would switch out the lights and tell the little ones that there were ghosts. I often got calls about my son getting hurt, and when I would ask for details, no counselor had been present to see what happened. Despite my speaking to staff on many occasions, nothing was done to remedy the situation--they would simply reiterate that their camp is "free range" and that that doesn't work for everyone. Agreed. But think twice before you send your kids to a camp that is more concerned about their philosophy than the safety and emotional well-being of their campers. I sent a follow up letter and review to Steve and Kate's and received NO response. UPDATE: Following this post, I did hear back from a S&K rep, and we spoke at length about our family's experience last summer. We had a good conversation, and it sounds like they will be implementing changes designed to address the issues I raised in this review. Based on this, and the fact that we had a good experience the first year, I'm raising my rating from one star to three stars. read more

Steve & Kate's camp is amazing - kids get to do what they want, when they want to....creates a lot of independence but they get lots of guidance if they need it too. So many different activities. Also - the counselors were WONDERFUL with my 5 year old daughter who had a really hard time separating from me the first few mornings of camp - the counselors sprung into action and were able to de-escalate the ensuing meltdown quickly and stayed with her until she was ready to roam the camp. they checked in with me several times throughout the day (even texted me a few pics) to reassure me that she was fine and settled.......was such a great way to handle the whole situation and now my daughter really likes going to camp. read more

Steve & Kate's Camp was a huge hit with our son. He went all summer and loved it. Giving him the freedom to decide what he wanted to do each day was a really great experience. A summer without scheduled structure and having him motivate and decide is so important to us. Looking forward to next summer! read more

Steve and Kate's Montclair camp made some amazing donations to Toni's Kitchen, a soup kitchen in Montclair. Lots of items that we normally would have otherwise had to purchase. Great community support! read more

This is my second review of this camp. We were excited to return for a second year and my son (8 years old) loved it just as much this year as he did last. The autonomy to learn, grow and discover was perfect for him. We will absolutely return for a third year! read more

I would give ten stars if could. I loved the staff there they were all so very nice. The staff members who work in the office where very nice and kind to all the campers who were sick/injured. The launchpad counsellors where awesome at there job. The studios held endless fun for the campers to never be bored. The camp looked amazing and had lots fun games for the campers. The food the chefs were making was very good and the campers had options rather than just one food item that they got. This camp was very great and I think everyone should go. read more

It is never too early to start thinking of summer camp! My girls (7 and 9 years old) had the best time at Steve & Kate's Camp​ last summer in NYC! We did it for 8 weeks straight. It was so much fun we cancelled all other camps they had registered for. This organization has been doing the camp for 36 years all over the country and they just get it, and have it down as a science. It is good for kids and it is good for parents. It is easy, it is fun, it is flexible, it is cheaper than tons of camps in town (the more days you do, the cheaper it gets, but we ended up paying less than $70 per day including breakfast, lunch and snacks), and best of all they refund you any day you do not use. You drop-off and pick-up your kids anytime between 7:30AM and 6PM (so everyday it can be different, and you don't need to tell them in advance, just show up). Their activities range from baking, to animation, to outdoor water activities, to rock-climbing, to inflatables, to dancing, to tons of sports, you name it, they have it, and your kid can pick and choose any activity any day any time. In 2016 they will have four locations in NYC (plus the myriad they have all over the country). You register for one place, and can attend any location anytime... in NYC or elsewhere (yes, you can register in NYC and if you go on vacation to Fan Francisco you can just show up with your kid at that location). It's genius. It's the end of summer camp as you know it. I highly recommend it and so do both of my daughters. Check it out: http://steveandkatescamp.com/ read more

My daughter attend this camp last year, she was 6 at the time. I'll explain what kind of child she is, so you'll understand my two stars a little better. She is a positive, very creative, smart, and easy going child, loves anything from art to sports, music to cooking, and so on. I thought this would be a perfect camp because it had a lot of things she likes and some new activities, plus they got to make their own schedule. After the 4th-5th week she was bored and kept coming home with unfinished projects. The reasons for the unfinished projects were: not enough time, not enough supplies, line was to long for the next step and lost interest.There is absolutely no structure or guidance for kids who want more to do or want to learn new things. The dance room is just a room with a radio. The stop animation creation, was just legos, not clay. The jewelry making was just tied yarn. No team sports, yoga, or anything that brings kids together. Everyday is the same, except on their special days, which is once or a few times a week, depending on the event/activity. Then the kids had to wait on a long line to do the special, because of the long line they only got to go once. Checking-in and out want slow and the machines were always giving the staff problems. However, there were a few positives :the staff was nice, the food was good, the game at the end of the day was exciting, the bread she made was always delicious, she meet a new friend and we got our money back from the unused days. I'll keep looking for a camp that is a better fit for my daughter. read more