Unsolicited Proselytizing and Dishonesty I had been taking my son of eight here on and off for a few months. It's not too far from my work, reasonably priced and the atmosphere is generally creative. My little one is crazy about remote control cars and enjoys the company of other children who share his interest for legos and building things out of wood all of which 'The Planet' provides. I would say that for the most part staff is very attentive and I agree with their general philosophy which teaches kids values by respecting their independence as individuals. What I don't agree with however is day care providers pushing their brand of Christianity on my kid. My partner and I teach our kid to respect all religions and beliefs but we also expect a daycare environment to be upfront about their religious philosophy, especially if they plan on sharing that ideology with the children in their care. As a gay parent I am very conscious of finding an open minded environment for my child. My son's passion lies in building things, especially out of wood. Tom, is the wood-shop instructor, and my experience with him has not been pleasant. It became obvious that he was the one taking my son aside and indoctrinating him. When I confronted him and requested that he not proselytize to my son he lied and denied any wrong doing at first and then as I presented the facts, and quoted what my child had been saying, he became defensive, almost lost his temper, and said something along the lines of "Kids have the free will to believe what they want!" before dismissing me rudely. Needless to say my child is never going back. Now at this point I should say that no where in the daycare's philosophy statement (which you can read on-line) does it say anything about the organization being religious let alone holding conservative Christian beliefs. Also the staff at the Planet are all related (Dave Kersting, the brother of Tom, is the owner/head) so there is not much recourse in terms of redressing a problem employee. read more

The Planet - Art Schools Near Me - Sausalito, California

I read the first review of The Planet with great dismay. I would like to contribute our experience, which has been 100% positive. My 2 sons both went to The Planet to do wood-working for years before moving on to sports as they got older (other activities are also available, but they both loved to use the tools and make things). The vibe is relaxed and the kids are encouraged to follow their interests. They can play, inside or out, or work in the woodshop or beading room. My younger son went here once a week for 2 full school years, and Tom was the first grown-up outside our family he felt comfortable with and spoke with--he was otherwise very, very shy and quiet. One time when I arrived to pick him up, I heard him chatting away. I couldn't believe my ears. Needless to say, this was a safe, comfortable environment for my son and has a place in my heart. I do not know whether the brothers who started the Planet are Christians (I would have said they were not religious, whatever religion they are) and after reading Jon's review, I asked my kids whether they talked about God/Jesus etc. while at the Planet. Neither had any idea what I was talking about. So, I can say that over at least 4 years, there was no mention of religion to my children while there. So our experience was very different than Jon's. I recommend The Planet as a wonderful alternative to structured after-school activities. read more

The Planet made our life in the Bay Area possible, I can not say enough good things about them. My son has a severe cognitive disability due to a stroke. Once he got into middle school it became nearly impossible to place him in after-school or vacation day care. Other programs were too structured and and age-specific for him. Without The Planet, I don't know what we would have done. He was a regular at The Planet until he turned 18! The wonderful staff at The Planet welcomed him and kept him feeling safe. And, he always had fun working in the wood shop or in the sewing center. They were very patient with his quirks and good at keeping me informed when any problems arose. His younger sisters also love going to The Planet and we sometimes take them for drop-in care on Saturdays. If we didn't live in Fairfax now, they'd go there a lot more often. I like the relaxed, Old Marin, vibe there and I like the kid-centric unstructured approach. read more

A fun and safe place for kids to play and create! Run by incredibly caring people.. if you are working all day or just need a few hours to run errands The Planet is great for kids. read more

This review is long overdue. Both my 16 year old son and 15 year old daughter have incredible memories when the Planet comes up for discussion. My son proudly displays his functioning pinball machine he made when he was 7 and my daughter continues to have her blue and pink wooden birdhouse on her bookshelf. I don't know why there are negative reviews here. My daughter was not yet diagnosed with ADD and didn't have friends as a young child. The Planet was her safe haven and it was the only place she had self confidence. My son learned to be a gifted designer and product improvement person. He has just modified a Quantum quad copter that has an army of engineers and designers. His drone is much improved. I truly believe it is because of The Planet bringing out the creativity in him. We as parents are being sucked into the crazy New world order of demanding so much academically. Kids just want to be kids. That said No one wants to be around an unruly child or parent. When my kids were still in elementary school we relocated to the South Bay for family reasons. Big mistake. Kids here have music, math, foreign language and advanced English as after school activities starting in kindergarten. No more being a kid. Very sad. Luckily my children will always remember their incredible experiences at The Planet. They are heading on a successful college track too! read more

Love, love, love this place. Wish it were around when I was a kid. It is heaven for any child with a creative imagination. If not, they will find your inner child for you. read more

I'm really sad to be writing this as I loved the idea of The Planet and had heard good things. I paid for the 30 hours, and my kids have been three times and used (20 so far)..alas, the other 10 hours I am donating to the non profit and putting the most odd experience to, well experience. I have a beautiful boy, 8 years old, incredibly sensitive and often lacking in focus....its an issue and we know it.. Still I read the Planets rules and they state they will correct a child for not listening, especially to parents...good, great, we agree! I also have a spirited 7 year old girl, outspoken funny and often interupptive in her rush to enthusiastically gush! First three hours visit, lunchtime - 3pm...great. Boy corrected for not listening, girl corrected for interrupting. Its all good. Second visit 3-6pm. I feel slightly uncomfortable as Dave does not look very happy today..however upon my return he tells me that my boy had talked of egrets and has had too much fun. I am appreciative and happy with Dave's dry sense of humor. Third visit (today) I arrive at 3pm and feel distictly 'ignored' upon arrival. I also notice my boy is being watched and told before he even starts anything that he will be tidy today...mmmm...I leave. I pick up at 6pm and after watching the man before me try and make a joke of his daughter, stalling to leave because she enjoys the place so much, and hearing Dave and Sophia reminding him it is gone six and they are closed, I watch my daughter sign herself out. I then watch my boy sit at the computer and get his name wrong...so he deleted what he has written and attempts his name again, admittedly being silly. Here it came, like a shockwave to me....I tell my boy to stop being naughty and sign out because its after 6pm 9by the way five after 6pm). Dave not only tells my boy he must get off the computer (thats fine) and that he must listen to him, he then raises his voice significantly, tells my boy he needs to do a 30 minute time out on the stage next time he comes in, and also comments on how he does not listen 'when his mother is around'.....my boy bursts into tears, Dave walks off (not a word to me by the way) and Sophia looks sheepishly in my direction and smiles....I left without hesitation as it was all just wrong. Four things....discipline is welcomed in our family but 1. We do not need to raise our voices in an authoritarian way, authoratative is sufficient. The Planet talks about not damaging children's hearts, well my kids is definitely bruised....tell him what he cannot do, calmly, and then talk to him about why he cannot do it...don't storm off....how is that helping his development? 2. Advocating rights for minors I agree with, but how can Planet hope to achieve this if they do not recognize the correct way to collaborate with the parent..... I was chastized by Dave aswell, very clearly....he insinuated I have no control over my child..and if he did not mean to then he sure did a great impression. 3. Telling a child that next time he comes to the camp, he has to have a 30 minute time out before he does anything else....really!!..it reminds me of my Mum telling me, wait til your father gets home ( so he can exact his bullying and bash the hell out of my self esteem - then I can go enjoy myself). Punishment for bad behavior has to be exacted there and then.... 4. Is written at the bottom. In summation, I have read Dave's website in detail. I see that he is very intelligent, very detailed in his writings, and strongly opinionated on 'modern' methods of child development, among'st other things. Today, what I got from Dave was a feeling he had already judged me as a parent based on something, i'm not sure what... he totally failed to communicate with me, and in my opinion, he was suppressing some real anger. I think he also, by threatening punishment next time, successfully put me off taking my kids there again...and it has crossed my mind, that's exactly what he may have wanted. 4. Parents today will make mistakes, as parents of yesterday also did...we have one thing in common, we all love our kids. read more

I am so happy to have found the planet. They had not been advertising much so I got a tip from a friend with an eleven year old son. He had been going to the planet since he was five or six. In our overly technical screened world, this is the place that kids need. It's not a virtual world--the kids are hands on making things and interacting in real time with their peers. Not only can my seven year old son now proudly use a saw, hammer, and nails, but he is learning respect, manners, patience, and kindness from Tom and the other teachers. When my son gets interested in a topic, he goes to the planet to create things that he is interested in doing or seeing. I feel like it is why a lot of people home school or "unschooled" their kids. Though my son is in standard elementary school, the planet gives him a place to further topics that he is excited about. For example, he went to his school library and checked out a book about tanks. This started a long conversation in our house about how war is not the answer and we believe in exploring as many diplomatic channels as possible, but that tanks are an engineering feat. My son went to the planet, drew up plans to build his own tank with markers and paper--and then crafted his own tank out of wood and dowels--then he painted it! Another example of how the planet supports us educationally is that my son also checks out books about sea animals and loves it after multiple trips to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Aquarium of the Bay, local beaches, tide pools, etc. Then, he went to the planet, ignored the wood shop and sewed his own stuffed sea animals. The planet is best at instilling confidence in my son. He is so happy that he made these things himself using real adult tools. My son is a high-energy kid with sensory issues and possible ADHD. Tom and the teachers can handle him. On top of this, the planet is an easy drop in place. The fees are very reasonable. That's good because we drop him for a few hours and come back for him and he often doesn't want to leave because he is engrossed in a special project. This nonprofit cannot be beat. I am so happy to support this place. This is way better than hiring a baby sitter to watch my kids who is probably on the phone half the time. It's so much more than giving us parents a break for a few hours. It's gold. read more

This place is a paradise for kids. It's unstructured, old school fun. My kids particularly love the wood shop where they make the most amazing things! There is nothing else like it. Plus, we love the fact that it's drop in so it's completely flexible and you never have to sign up in advance. Cannot recommend it highly enough! read more

Tom in the workshop is a gem. He's patient, knowledgeable and talented. He alters his instructions to make it age appropriate for each child and helps kids kids find their strengths. The planet is a great alternative to sports and video games. read more

The Planet has been amazing. I only discovered it a couple months ago, and my son (age 6) loves it- he's always asking when he can go. It's so cool to find a place that teaches kids carpentry, sewing, jewelry making, etc. My son has come back with the coolest projects. I also love that they are open Saturday's, so if I need to run errands I can just drop him there and he's happy as can be. read more

The Planet has been like a second home for my daughter. She not only LOVES working on projects at the planet but the staff has become like family to her. My daughter goes to the Planet most days after school and would happily go all summer long. I signed her up for other camps thinking she would want variety but I was wrong. We have been at the Planet through the transition from pookies to Julia. I was nervous about how the Planet could continue without Sophia and the pookies but the changes have only made it better. Julia is amazing!! She has a true gift for nurturing kids creativity. There seem to be no limits to what the kids can do - clay sculpting, sewing, painting, drawing, jewelry making, stop motion videos, legos with Dave, wood working with Tom.... On top of all that, the love and caring my daughter receives is priceless. read more

Love this place! This drop off creative play space for kids is awesome. We've been coming here for a couple of years from time to time with friends. We all drop the kids off for a couple of hours of creative and constructive play in one of their three creativity spaces - Legos, Sewing and a Woodshop. Our 7-year-old loves all three. For a modest hourly rate, you drop off the kids and the adults get to head out for a nice coffee or a glass of wine and grownup talk. A real winner! read more

Great place for our son to spend an hour or a day. He always comes home talking about some fun thing that happened, and with a new woodworking project in hand. Highly recommended for boys and girls. Drop by and check it out. read more

Love the idea of this place, however it seems to be for the child who "fits in the box"....their box in terms of what they expect of children. if your child has ADHD, fine motor skills or any issues related, this is not the place for them. I would rather not go into detail about my particular experience except to say that Dave and Sophia can only handle the "best" kids. In my opinion, the best teacher is one who can teach to ALL children, not just the ones who can sit, mind their manners with their hands folded neatly in their lap. They just do not seem to have the patience for certain "types" of children. read more

It seems like a great play space for kids but the owner's rapport with kids is highly questionable.

The first reviewer of The Planet, 'Jon S,' apparently heard an idea he didn't like and overreacted. I often went to The Planet for many years and I have known the staff there for 14 years. Open discussion was encouraged on every subject. There was no emphasis on Christianity or any other viewpoint, but it wasn't off-limits, as Jon S might have preferred. No one had to be afraid to speak his mind politely about anything. We might hear quotes from Jesus - obviously an important factor in Western philosophy - and Aeschylus, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Einstein, Keats, The Wizard of Oz, Robert Smith, Mae West, Lao Tsu, and so on in all directions. The Planet teaches children to think for themselves, mainly through the real-world logic of making things that work - in the Woodshop and Sewing classes. We were also taught to defend our opinions sensibly, and to resolve conflicts directly and courteously for ourselves. Jon S could learn something about that. He did not have to be afraid to talk to Dave or anyone at The Planet; no one there would react the way he did. That's why the Planet's social environment is well known to be exceptionally harmonious. read more

Best place on the planet for kids to learn self reliance without having parents or a structured program to comply with. Kids are encouraged to be creative and can manage their own time too. Much like a previous contributor, I wish I could have gone here too. It's the best! read more

My girls adore the planet. In fact they are always pleading for me to let them be there more often. They can choose to do woodwork (with real saws), sewing of adorable pookies and jewelry making. They are well supervised and assisted only when needed, which allows a huge sense of accomplishment and self confidence, futhermore the things they come home with are beautiful. A secret gem allowing for wonderful hands on learning. read more

The staff were dismissive and disrespectful to my child. They were so mean and it bothered him so much it actually made him cry and he could not sleep. The staff member in question should not be working with children. I would not recommend this place to anyone. read more