Really cute indoor play place for toddlers, so well organized, and clean. Our little one loves to…read moreplay here!

We celebrated my child's birthday at Swings & Wings and it was honestly the easiest, most fun party…read morewe've ever hosted! We booked the private party package and had access to the whole play space -- bounce house, ball pit, climbers, all of it. Our host took care of setup and cleanup so we could actually enjoy the party instead of running around. The kids had a blast, and I loved that there was a quiet/sensory room for anyone who needed a break from the excitement. My daughter and her friends had a BLAST! If you're looking for an stress-free, kid-approved birthday spot in Alameda, Swings & Wings is it. We'll be back!

We recently came for a birthday party for my friend's son. The reason why my friend chose swings…read moreand wings is because she has a 3 month old baby, and wanted to do something special for her 6 year old son that didn't require a lot of work on her end. There were supposed to be party attendants, however, one of them was out sick, so the party attendant service was not provided as offered. One staff member (she was wearing a hijab), came in later, and kept to herself, and was on her phone at the front desk. My friend went up to the front desk and asked if she could have help with lunch cleanup so we could prepare for singing and dessert. The venue requires everyone to wear socks, so we didn't want people stepping in food. The employee came at that point and helped sweep. There was an elderly women in our party, whose son came to pick her up towards the end, as well as help pack up up since my friend was busy with her infant. At the end of the party, another employee came up to my friend to discuss the bill. The employees wanted to charge for him to come into the venue, and they also charged the party attendant fee. My friend expressed to them that we did not have a party attendant and did not want to be charged for it. The girl in the hijab begin to have attitude with my friend, and told her that she helped, to which my friend responded that she had to go seek her out and found her doing nothing and on her phone, and she only helped to sweep after being asked. The two employees began cleaning up suddenly, but were talking about my friend within earshot. It was disheartening because it seems like a great place for kids to play and has so much potential, but I felt so bad for my friend that she was treated this way, and just wanted a little help so she could celebrate her son's birthday.

I signed James up for Epworth when he was about 18 months old,. He's almost 2 1/2 now so we are…read moremoving on to preschool. It seems now I am finally able to write a long overdue review. As a stay-at-home-mom I was starting to go a bit stir-crazy being in the house and the local park each day, I felt like our week needed some structure and I found Epworth through BPN emails. We were invited to visit a session to check it out and that day I felt like we how found just what I was looking for! The playgroup meets in a room in a church that is set up as a playroom (there is no religious instruction or influence on the playgroup in case you might be wondering.) There is a climbing structure and a castle and lots of toys (especially trucks.) It is also set up with art projects, paints and drawing. The room is large, but very contained and safe, so my son could play and I could keep an eye on him without worrying he'd get hurt or get into something he shouldn't. Families take turns bringing a small snack, but everything else is provided. We both got a lot out of time there. For James it gave him an opportunity to practice sharing and turns, along with seeing the same children each week. For me, it gave me some structure to the week, and the opportunity to meet a lot of great moms (and some dads) who's children were the same age as my own. We could share a cup of coffee and talk about what stage/challenge/fun things our children were doing while they enjoyed playing. I've met some great families there that I intend to keep in touch with. We really enjoyed our time there and I am so grateful I checked it out!

I just moved to the E.Bay and was in search of a playgroup. I found Epworth Playgroups thru a…read moresearch on Yelp. I immediately contacted the group organizer and I was off to my first play group the following Monday. I ended up taking my 10 month old nephew that day. The playroom was full of fun toys and games to keep the children busy. The moms that I met were super nice and I soon knew that I wanted to go on a regular basis. Unfortunately, my nephew wanted an earlier nap that day and we didn't stay much time. I am looking forward to going the following Monday with my son and nephew!

We attended Gymboree Play & Music at Lakeshore for a year, from when my daughter was 18 months to…read more30 months old, and it was such a wonderful experience! The teachers are fantastic--Ms. Leah in Play & Learn and Ms. Muna in Music class were both patient, energetic, and great at leading activities that kept the kids involved while fostering social and motor skill development through Gymboree's catchable bubbles. The classes struck the perfect balance between structured routines and free play, making them ideal for school preparation at an early age. At some point last year, a new owner took over and made some really thoughtful improvements that elevated the space. They spruced up the otherwise plain walls, added a baby gate to prevent little ones from running in and out of the play area without their adult, and even replaced the circle time carpeting. These small but meaningful upgrades made the environment feel even more welcoming and safe. One of the things we really appreciated was the flexibility in choosing which class to attend. Most of the time, we could just drop in, which was incredibly convenient. That said, for busier days--especially when it was raining--it was a good habit to book a class in advance through the app to make sure we had a spot. At first, it took about a month for my daughter to feel fully comfortable, which I think is completely normal. She started by observing and then gradually joined in after watching her peers interact. It was amazing to watch her growth--learning problem-solving skills (like navigating play structures, balancing, and safely calculating jumps), improving her motor skills, and practicing taking turns and following directions. A big plus is that the play area is always so clean and well-maintained--much better than the park. And while socks are usually required in indoor play spaces, I appreciated that kids could go barefoot here, which helped with my daughter's stability and movement. My daughter loved it so much that she would sing the songs at home and even ask for parachute time outside of class! Now that she's moved on to preschool, I do wish there had been a transition class to help bridge that next step at a younger age. Otherwise, our time at Gymboree was truly special, and I highly recommend it for little ones and their parents looking for a fun, social, and enriching experience.

My baby loves Gymboree! We has so much fun singing (the instructor sings great!) and especially…read moreloves the bubbles. It's clean, fun, and always a great time

So far just one class with my 5-year-old son, but I'm very impressed on multiple fronts. After the…read moreinitial drop-in class yesterday we purchased weekly classes with the full expectation this initial great experience will only be surpassed. Husband & wife team Matt and Chelsea (owners) and Matt's sister Stephanie are lovely. It's a really great space and Matt is preternaturally good with younger kids. I shadowed my son for a bit in the studio to observe both my son's behavior in a structured environment and the instructors' teaching style. My son is both young and inherently independent (and often distracted) so this was bound to be revealing. Matt and Chelsea's approach to teaching is closer to informed guidance and it seems to work very well with my son and the other kids I observed. They let the child initiate their creative intent and then equip them with the technical information they need in a manner that is both empowering and not overwhelming. As for my son's proclivity to essentially 'not listen,' Matt in particular was excellent at focusing my son's attention on the task at hand and contextualizing what needed to be done so that he could 'own it.' It's clear his forthcoming studio experiences will be about so much more than learning and enjoying ceramics. This isn't 'OK class today we're going to make a coil-built pot. First I want you to take your clay and...'. Not at all. In an hour and fifteen minutes, my son made two objects in distinctly different techniques: a bowl thrown on the wheel and a slab-built shark. In the course of building those two pieces he was exposed to: centering clay on the wheel; managing the clay to expand, compress, elongate and widen his bowl; keeping his eye on his work; keeping the clay moist; the effects of various pressures applied to the clay on the wheel; scoring and attaching separate pieces with slip; scribing; use of various tools; under-glazing; clean-up, and more. I imagine he'll have to revisit every one of those lessons in subsequent classes but it's a gentle teaching style that works well here. Matt and Chelsea always had an eye on each of the kids and were great about transitioning between them to give guidance in a way that seemed very natural. The space itself is wonderful and can only be described as luminous. Well, that and clean. This is not a stereotypical 'mad potter's studio,' nor is it an anal 'everything in its place mausoleum.' Instructors have a clear view of everything going on in the space at all times. There's a front seating for parents/nanny's to hang out (WiFi available) and get some work done if you want to wait. Parking in the neighborhood doesn't seem to be a problem. The most critical measure of Kids-n-Clay is the reaction from my son, who really didn't want to leave and spoke of it more or less non-stop the rest of the day. Looking forward to what's next here. If you attend a drop-in class, be aware it takes about 2-3 weeks before pieces cycle through the process and can come home with you. But that's just ceramics. Highly recommended.

My kid loves this place! The kids can use the pottery wheel or just mold clay on the table. There…read moreare assistants there to guide the newer sculptors, and the owner, Matt, encourages the kids to design what they feel.

My very picky, opinionated daughter loves Alameda Makering and Ms. Deneese. This is our second…read moresummer and she's gone to a couple pop-up workshops throughout the school year, and she comes home beaming with pride on all the incredible, high-quality crafts and delicious cooking she's done that day. Ms. Deneese curates every class with creativity and thoughtfulness. We highly recommend Alameda Makering, especially Ms. Deneese.

My daughter has a great time at Makering camp! She loves all the crafts and comes home excited to…read moredo them with me. The baking activities are also really fun and have led to us enjoying the recipes at home.

So happy they made it to the east bay. We had an amazing experience and all of the sensory play…read moreareas and spaces were done well. My wife Nicole has been waiting to attend one of these pop ups and it over delivered for us and our kids!

We came to San Francisco Spark Social to attend our first Oogubi sensory experience back in summer…read more. We had a blast at the event and so did our little one ,we actually returned a second time to attend the Aquatic Wonderland foam party as well . We definitely all need a parent timeout sometimes .. this experience offered some small talk with other parents , some unique food vendors and an awesome watermelon lemonade from the bar. Some of the food vendors and bar give us a discount because they partnered with oogubi for the day . Our son at first wasn't convinced he was "able" or wanting to get dirty but mom came prepared with extra clothes and wipes . I also got messy right along side him , all the kids were able to wash their hands near the entrance as well with a make shift sink . ( the restrooms weren't that far from the event tent either ) Restrooms are Gender neutral- but we used the right hand side restroom because it had a square cut out big enough to change a drenched diaper . My son loved the small running water sinks and colored water bins, musical instruments, seeing other kiddos interact with the different stations , us adults really like the dinosaur exploding volcanos with baking soda and vinegar pipets. Towards the end of the event we also purchased a cute monkey balloon that was holding a banana.

I cannot say enough about this camp only that I am sorry, as a parent, that I didn't know about it…read moresooner!! This is our son, Ezra's 2nd year going. He is currently 10 yrs old and he LOVES it. He's had some rough experiences with other camps (bullying) so I was trying to find him a camp that was a great fit for him and engage stimulating days and promote confidence in personal growth! Mike is wonderful. I don't know how to handles it all BUT the camp counselors are all youthful and very active with the kids! Thanks a MILLION again for creating such a great experience for Ezra! We'll be back next summer!! :)

You know a camp is amazing when your kid can't wait to go in the morning and is happy and exhausted…read more(in a good way) at the end of the day. My 9-year-old had a blast. He loved taking BART, the ferry, Muni, the bus, even hiking. He loved going to San Jose to the Tech Museum and to San Francisco to the Exploratorium and into the Oakland hills to the Chabot Space & Science Center. He loved the counselors. He would go back in a heartbeat. Thanks, UA team for a great experience!