We have been at Riverwoods Montessori for 3 years! Our kids love their teachers, friends, and…read more"work!" The teachers love our kids and we have been amazed at the skills our kids have acquired. As an early childhood educator myself, I struggled with the idea of putting my children in a childcare center, but Riverwoods Montessori is far beyond what you find anywhere else! I have looked at many different options for our kids, and nothing has come close to the experience we have had there. This Fall, our third child will begin his infant program at Riverwoods and it is the only place I can imagine trusting with my baby! We highly recommend their programs!

Like other yelp reviewers have found, when a child deviates from the director's vision of a model…read moreMontessori student, the child is expelled with little warning and only days to find new care. In our particular case at the Riverwoods, IL location, with only one parent teacher conference months before stressing a few correctable problems, were the director's tone was very optimistic, it was a surprise to later hear that our child is no longer welcomed. When we were told of the expulsion, the director's response, which felt more like a lecture, was very cold. We were given 7 business days, that also happened to be during a major holiday week were schools are closed and providers are unavailable/limited, to find a new care provider. The director's handling of our situation was irresponsible and disrespectful. Perhaps, if she would have suggested and worked with us to create and document a mutual plan, provide progress reports and establish a clear channel for communication, we would have had a different outcome, (or at least a better understanding and respect for how they acted.) Happily, we found wonderful care for our child who is thriving and well adjusted. I would never recommend this provider and ask other parents to reconsider placing their child under the supervision of this director.

If you want value for money, The Science Lab is not it. I don't know who is giving all the positive…read morereviews but Im being generous giving 3 stars. We had my son's 5th birthday party at the Northbrook location this past June and I was shocked. The kids had fun with the experiments but the place was dirty and unkempt. The overalls the staff and kids had on needed a good clean. The room we were given for the party was small and a dump. For almost $800 and just 2 hours start to finish was a joke. I don't know what i was thinking. This place is not worth it, it is a complete rip off. And the do called gift box that comes with the package is laughable. It probably cost them $2.

We had a party on Saturday for my daughter's birthday. It was fine…read more Communication leading up to the party and the process of booking was a mess. No response for days, multiple phone calls in the same day trying to book the party (apparently no good record keeping system, no central location for info of people spoken to). But my main issue is after the party. My daughter received "insta-snow" in her goodie bag. 4 hours after the party she was using it and it got into her eyes. I immediately called the only phone number I could find and am still upset with the response I received. First of all, they have "no phone number" to their location in Northbrook - where we had our party. They can't transfer you, you can't get any answers. The only thing they could help me do is book a party. They can't get in touch with anyone, can't get in touch with a manager. Nothing. So we left it as he was passing an "urgent message" to their manager. I'm not interested in their urgent. It's been over 30 hours and no response. Still waiting. They don't care about the safety of my child. We will never participate in any activity at KSL again and will also share that they don't have good safety and communication protocols in place.

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 is my warning to all people thinking about working at this camp, PLEASE DONT. Worked at this…read morecamp during the 2023 summer. horrible experience. The only pleasant thing about it was the campers, everything else was disgusting. To start, the way Gary, Abbey, Sammie, Robin, and Stacy treated the staff was horrendous. One girl I go to school with quit 3 weeks in because the head staff members were treating her so poorly. I stuck it out, although I thought about leaving many times. They were disrespectful and cruel towards young staff members especially. There was also a lot of suspicious things going on at the camp that parents didn't know about. For example, there was an 18 year old girl who was fired from the camp and arrested for stealing more than $10,000 worth of money from the camp. There was also a male counselor there who was making a lot of the young female staff members uncomfortable. The new staff members in particular barely got to eat lunch because the returning staff members used them as "potty break takers" for the little kids, even if it wasn't their camper. There was so much manipulation going on at this camp and new staff members were severely taken advantage of. I will never EVER be working here again, and you shouldn't either.

Such a hidden gem. This is a members owned small club. It offers 2 swimming pools, (1 lap pool and…read more1 kiddie splash) many tennis courts, and small restaurant that serves hot food and snacks. They offer a super great summer camp for children. The groups are much smaller then park district and I love that they focus on tennis lessons and swim lessons vs the standard just letting the kids play all day, best part children stay on site. They offer crafts and other activities such as soccer. You can choose to have a hot lunch provided for the children or pack a sack lunch. Also and something I think is a HUGE bonus is that you can sign up for full weeks or just one particular day, so its very flexible around summer vacations. My kids are excited to start summer camp!!

If you're looking for more indoor fun this winter this review is specifically for the treehouse. I…read morewas a bit worried about the crowd factor on a chilly Saturday morning but my twosome had the company of only q few other kids. At first look my daughter said "this is amazing!" And I thought "nice! $3 (per child) well spent." Main attractions for my children included a little playhouse (where they probably spent most of their time) and of course a huge ball pit. They technically don't allow kids under 3 in the ball pit but since there weren't many kids around didn't seem to mind my 2 yr old was there. Then again I understand the age requirement because having to recuse him from the balls over and over again proved to be annoying. Be sure to check their website* for their hours but they are typically open: Mon/Wed/Fri: 9:15-11am Tues/Thurs: 3-5pm Sat: 10am-12pm It's also a very popular and affordable spot for BDAY parties. * http://www.deerfieldparks.org/parks-facilities/jewett-park-community-center/tree-house/

We travel for play parks. For reals, people! Parks can get boring after a while. The same park over…read moreand over and over again. So when a friend put together a play date here, I cried out "Sign me up!" And boy we were not disappointed. The park actually has several sections to it -- two toddler/infant playgrounds that were gated. (We didn't spend any time here so I can't comment.) It has a baseball field and then the big playground, which is where we spent time. As a mom, I appreciated the picnic benches in the shade as well as clean (yes CLEAN) bathrooms. The playground was impressive. There were a huge merry-go-round with ropes you could climb up as well. It was pretty freaking cool! And you don't see those things that often anymore. Which makes me sad and makes me old all at the same time. But the killer was the slide/fort monstrosity that any kid would go ape over. You just gotta check out the photo for yourself. There are two incredibly long curly cue slides. My kids could have run up and slid down all day. But then the structure is made like a fort with a full deck at the top. And it's covered so no one gets sunburned. Kids banded together and before I knew it, there were about ten boys playing pirates. I felt like I was watching a rendition of Lord of the Flies but thankfully everyone survived. This park is worth a little drive to wear out the kids!

This was my first time at Taste Buds Kitchen in Bannockburn, IL. This was part of a team building…read moreexercise that my manager put together for a group of eight people. About a week or so before the event, we were given three options to select from for the menu we would be preparing, so we ended up with pasta. Taste Buds Kitchen is located in a mall, so I had some difficulty locating it, but finally saw it. We were split into teams of four and the meal we were prepping was fettuccini, spinach/ricotta ravioli and a marinara sauce. Our instructor was Lauren and she was very nice. There were two ladies assisting her as well, responsible for the clean-up and helping with the prep work. Lauren was great explaining all the steps as well as showing up the prep moves. I love fresh pasta but never thought about making it (and still won't do it at home), but I had no idea how easy it could be with the right tools. Making the dough was fun and interesting, with each of us taking turns kneading the dough in preparation to make the fettuccini and the spinach/ricotta ravioli. Making the fettuccini was such fun and so easy if you have the proper equipment. I really enjoyed putting the dough into the pasta roller to flatten it, then into the cutting attachment to make the pasta. We each got turns going through the process, so I can say that all of us made the pasta and sauce. The spinach/ricotta ravioli and a marinara sauce were also very easy to make. Marinara I have made at home before, but the recipe we used at Taste Buds added a twist by adding shredded carrots for sweetness. Not something I would have thought of, but it really worked. Making the spinach/ricotta ravioli was a hoot. The very first one was a hot mess, but I learned and moved on to make perfect restaurant quality looking ones (IMO). Because we did a morning 2-hour session, tea, water and lemonade were provided for us. What we prepared was delicious and a nice early lunch. Because Lauren and her crew had made dough in advance, there was plenty of pasta for eating and to take home. My only complaint (if there is one) is I would have loved that we had made more of the marinara because it was so good and I would have loved to have taken more home. Overall this was a wonderful experience and the staff was amazing, cleaning up behind us, setting the table, cooking the pasta and ravioli for us. I think this is something I would consider for my direct reports as a team building event.

What a wonderful experience! We did a chocolate summer cooking camp from 9-12. And it was so much…read morefun. They really made it exciting for the kids and we really enjoyed the treats after chocolate camp. We plan on returning next year. Thank you Taste Buds

FSA = a well organized frat party for little kids... My son…read moreabsolutely loves his schoolyard sports class he takes at Joy of the Game (they teach at a few different locations). He's in good company because I don't know any kid or parent who doesn't love FSA. And what's not to love? The coaches are high energy, friendly & have the ability to keep the attention of dozens of pre-schoolers at once. I don't know what happens at half the classes my kids attend due to lack of communication from the teachers, but FSA does an amazing job communicating via email with us. We receive weekly updates, they post a ton of cute pics and my son loves their monthly challenges. The February challenge was to take a picture of your kids eating veggies and they'll give them a piece of candy. My son was almost as excited to eat his veggies at dinner that night as he is to go to FSA every week. Between the emails I get from FSA and the limited info I get from my pre-schooler it seems like they are introduced to many different sports, but most of their time there is spent playing game after game (including a lot of different versions of dodgeball). While dodgeball may be my worst nightmare, throwing balls at each other is a dream for these little boys (or even the few girls who sign up for their classes). My son comes out of FSA with a huge smile on his face and always sleeps well that night...so that's really all that counts! The schoolyard sports class consists of the youngest kids, but they have sports leagues (flag football, basketball& baseball) as the kids get a little older. They also have a summer camp that is extremely popular among the elementary aged school kids And their bday parties are also always a good time. Basically FSA is "strong" when it comes to everything they do and I know my son is in good hands with them!

This is a perfect combination of fun and discipline. They took a group of kids ages 6-11 and got…read morethem running through an obstacle course, challenging themselves and having a ton of fun. They even got some kids who are reluctant to do challenging physical activities to take on the course with enthusiasm!

5/5, 10/10. HGG provides a great environment for an AWESOME birthday party. We held one for almost…read more30 of our 8 year old's friends and family, and they wanted to keep going back for free play and more obstacles. The staff operate such a well-run birthday party (and their camps and classes), that all we had to do was show up. Everything was thought through and our kids have the biggest smiles on their faces. Even if a child feels unsure about an obstacle, the staff coach them through it and give them the confidence to try something new. Go for a class, stay for a camp, host a party! We've been going to HGG for 5+ years and it will always be a special place to us.

What can I say? My son loves coming here. I needed a camp for working people. I can drop him off…read moreas early as 8 and pickup goes until 5:30. I also needed a "pick your weeks" schedule, because I am divorced and share summers with my ex. I signed him up last year because of this and he insisted on coming back. Highly recommended!

Our kids have been attending Oasis for many years and it is by far THE best camp around. The…read morecounselors are great and the owners, Brooke and James, focus on making the camp fun, but also creatively fit in many learning opportunities throughout the summer. Oasis is one of the highlights of the year for our kids.

If I could I would still be attending summer camp in my 30s. I'm counting down the days until my…read morenow 4.5 yr old is old enough to go to overnight camp- not because I want less chaos in my house, but little does she know that I'm planning on going with her. Or at least visiting a lot! When I first checked out Tamarak it reminded me a lot of overnight camp. Lots of greenery and just plain fun! I decided last August that I was going to enroll my daughter in their munchkin program for this summer. As this summer approached I got a little nervous because wasn't sure she was ready to leave the doors of her nurturing pre- school, take a bus to camp and stay all day long. It turns out she was more than ready and I can't imagine her having a better summer than she did at Tamarak. She loved her counselors (shout out to Faith who runs the munchkin program along with Jess, Isabel, Hillary and sam for putting up with her and many other 4 yr olds each day). She loved the activities (swimming & arts and crafts her personal faves). And most of all she loved the bus ride to and from camp, which opened her eyes (or ears) to many more music options. The price of Tamarak alone was worth getting to switch out the kiddie music in my car for Taylor swift and Katy Perry. Tamarak has open visitation. I expected to take advantage of it many times throughout the summer but between work and the rest of life just made it there once. However, I was so impressed by the camp based on that 1 visit: it was well organized, the kids were safe and it just looked like so much fun. My daughter cried when I told her she'd be going back to the "tough life of pre school in the fall" because she wants to stay at tamarak year round. I'd like to be at camp year round too, but at least she's lucky enough to have a summer at tamarak next year and beyond.

My 2 daughters went to went to Tamarak country school. We've had experience with 14 teachers and I…read morecan say, while they all offer different types of support to their students, they have all been quite good. My 2 girls have wildly different personalities one introverted and creative, the other extroverted and focused. The former needed more support from the Tamarak teachers and she received it. She is no longer afraid to speak out. She really loves school. This is a metamorphosis to me and I feel a significant portion of this change can be attributed to the teachers at Tamarak. The teachers set goals for the girls and worked with us on techniques that we could use at home to help them. The day is broken up into big group, small group and individual choice education & play. They focus on literacy, letters and math concepts as well as social aspects of learning. Both of my girls were completely prepared for kindergarten. Tamarak offers additional learning opportunities in programs like GIFT, and STARs. We took advantage of GIFT this year, which extended the day from 2 1/2 hrs to 5 hrs (lunch is included). These extra classes offer benefits. 1) It prepared my youngest for full day kindergarten (first one didn't have it and full day kindergarten was a shock to the system for her) 2) extra learning opportunities in geography, and the one that impressed me the most was public speaking and presentations. This may sound like too much...I thought it would have been, but....the kids to so well! The got to talk about something they liked doing and in this non-threatening environment....they had no problem talking to the class. The school has several outdoor play areas and an indoor gym for rainy/cold days. They care a great deal about the health of the kids, plenty of hand washing :) Lucia, the director, is a force. She is really really a great director. She is responsive to suggestion and a fabulous leader. We will be back for summer camp next summer for sure.